Music includes writers.
A composer ( Latin compono ; literally `` one who puts together '' ) is a person who creates or writes music , which can be vocal music ( for a singer or choir ) , instrumental music ( e.g. , for solo piano , string quartet , wind quintet or orchestra ) or music which combines both instruments and voices ( e.g. , opera or art song , which is a singer accompanied by a pianist ) . In broader usage , `` composer '' can designate people who participate in other musical traditions who create music , as well as those who create music by means other than written notation : for example , Blues or folk singers and guitarists who create songs through improvisation and recording and popular music writers of musical theatre songs and arrangements . Music . However , 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music , saying , for example , `` There is no noise , only sound . ''