Rhythm is the basic musical parameter. If sound is shaped by time, then music composition is the temporal organization of sound. Pitch and harmony should not be the primary concerns of a composer of music. Rhythm is the fundamental music parameter. Cage's theory concerning the importance of rhythm led him to a radical re-definition of music.
Music is careful attention paid to on-going experience.
Music is not an object, but an attitude, a presence of mind. Sound is no longer an issue since we are never without it anyway. Sound is time made audible.