Imagine a sound, a tone. Engineering and math might go into creating a musical instrument that can make that tone, but that same sound also depends on acoustics, perception, creativity — a multitude ...

“Musical Bodies,” a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, revels in the blurry boundaries between humans and instruments. By Joshua Barone Visuals by Ye Fan Clap your hands. Tap a foot.

The ancients believed that the Earth was surrounded by celestial spheres, which produced divine music when they moved. We lived, so to speak, in a huge musical instrument. This may sound silly but ...