The real question seems to be: what is music? These days it has come to mean CDs and downloads. If you look it up on the internet that's what it is. In terms of formal schooling it seems to be, more than anything, the business of music in which monetary success (fame) is the arbiter of success.
It is apparently a source of confusion.
For me music is an ideal synthesis of conscious and unconscious knowledge and experience, fusing past and present--even incorporating anticipation of the moment to come as every sound impels or resists forward motion. It occupies my entire being in whatever form I enjoy it, whether playing, singing, or listening to others--including beginners.