Origin of Music
Music has been regarded as a universal but definitions vary widely around the globe and through history. It is still unclear whether the origins of music can be fully understood. Scholars often take polarizing positions. Much debate surrounds the origin of music and language. Both topics were not given much attention before the middle of the 20th century. The main source of contention has been divided into three perspectives since the topic’s revival. First, is music a protolanguage that resulted from adaptation?; second, is music a spandrel that resulted in language? or is music and language both the result of a common antecedent.
SEE ALSO: Quick History of Music
There is little consensus on any particular theory for the origin of music, which have included contributions from archaeologists, cognitive scientists, ethnomusicologists, evolutionary biologists, linguists, neuroscientists, paleoanthropologists, philosophers, and psychologists (developmental and social). These are some of the most popular theories:
- Music is an example of sexual selection. It may have arisen in mating calls. This theory, which is perhaps the most important one about music’s origins and evolution, is usually credited to Charles Darwin. This theory first appeared in Darwin’s 1871 text Selection in Relationship to Sex. It has been criticised since there is no evidence that human sex is “more melodic” and therefore no evidence of homosexual dimorphism. There are no other examples of sexual selectivity that does not include significant sexual dimorphism. Recent commentators have cited music’s use within other animals’s breeding systems. They have nevertheless propagated and developed Darwin’s theory. These scholars include Peter J.B. Slater and Katy Payne.
- Both music and language are thought to have sprung from the same “shared precursor”. This theory was first promoted by Herbert Spencer and the composer Richard Wagner , who referred to the shared ancestor of music and language as “speechmusic”. This theory has been supported by many scholars, including the archeologist Steven Mitchell.
- Music was created to satisfy a practical need. These are some of the propositions:
- To help organize cohesive labor, originally proposed by the economist Karl Bucher.
- First proposed by the musicologist Carl Stumpf to improve long-distance communication.
- To improve communication with the Divine or other Supernatural, the first suggestion by the anthropologist Siegfried Nadal.
- To facilitate “coordination, cooperation and cohesion”, especially in the contexts of families or communities.
- To scare off predators and enemies.
- First proposed by Curt Sachs , the musicologist, music had two origins: “From speech (logogenic), and emotional expression (pathogenic).” Sachs observed the variety of music in the world and noted that not all music is communicative.
SEE ALSO: The Influence of Afrobeat
Many cultures have their own mythical origins in music creation. Many cultures credit multiple originators of musical instruments. For example, the legend of Ling Lun who invented the bamboo flute using the song of mythical fenghuang bird, according to Chinese mythology.
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