Origin of music

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The question of the origin of music can be raised on manifold levels. It may involve biological, evolutionary, historical, artistic, or spiritual aspects. The following article focuses on the biology and evolution of music. It covers questions such as where, when, and why music evolved in both humans and the animal kingdom.

Comparative biology of music: in which species did music evolve?

Although the production of music as such is considered uniquely human, musical utterances of various degrees of complexity and perfection can be observed in several species in the animal kingdom. Acoustical utterances of comparatively low complexity that are innate and serve functions such as signalling danger to conspecifics are usually not regarded as music. The remaining musical expressions are divided into two groups: vocal music or “song” (complex, learned vocalizations) and instrumental music (structured, communicative sound using parts of the body other than the vocal organs and sometimes additional objects).

Animal song

Vocalizations of sometimes amazingly high complexity and musicality have evolved several times in birds and mammals. Most research has been done on songbirds so far, but also parrots, hummingbirds, whales, seals and possibly other species show vocalizations that can be called musical according to above definition.

First appearance of human music

Vocal adaptions for song

As vocal music does not fossilize, nor do the soft tissue structures of the vocal tract, the timing of the origins of vocal music remains quite unsure. A recently discovered fossil indicator of a potential change in neural control of vocalization in humans is that modern humans have a larger thoracic vertebral canal than other primates. This enlargement may be linked to greater control over breathing, as this region contains motor neurons that control some respiratory muscles. Such increased breathing control is assumed to contribute to the faculty of complex vocalization and could thus be a cue to the timing of the origin of song. By comparing the thoracic vertebral cavity size among hominids, it has been concluded that increased breathing control occurred no earlier than late Homo erectus, i.e. roughly 500.000 years ago.