Why do humans like music?

[BMW]

(From the point of view of a being evolving towards better characteristics to survive somehow it doesn't make much sense... excepting the evident cultural one).

My doubt is, should we like music at all?

(In case, I do like music, I even play the trumpet and the violin -a bit).

[Theaetetus]

I went to school with someone with Asperger syndromewho hated music. For some reason no music seemed to click for him.

I think music and dance are two necessary traits that are necessary for humans. Both produce a kind of euphoric sense that I think is necessary for human happiness.

[de Silentio]

Because music has a way of resonating with our internal emotions.

Or it is a by product of evolution. Perhaps our musical inclinations grew out of mating calls?

[GoshisDead]

Cognitive Studies show that music, rhythm, and especially beat synchronizes various normally mosaic brain functions.

[paulhanke]

Originally Posted by de Silentio

Perhaps our musical inclinations grew out of mating calls?

... that's one of the pending hypotheses ... Darwin hypothesized that the general intellectual evolution of hominids created co-evolutionary pressure on vocal skill and that "rudimentary song" emerged as an ancient form of hominid communication ... under this hypothesis, music plucks at the vestiges of this form of communication, evoking very old (emotional) responses ...

[de_budding]

Communication, as in African drumming, has given rise to many musical techniques such as 'call and response' used in Jazz improv' all the time... watch a couple of brass Jazz heads do some call and response improv' and it is like they are talking to each other, each one extending or reacting to the other. Also, our body has a natural pulse and I think this has something to do with dance and our natural rhythm.

But anyway the evolutionary view of art in general can be taken down a 'community' route which highlights spare cognitive abilities, practice and the communal benefits of art (music specifically.) This is a very popular idea that from boredom sprung recreations, from recreation sprung the community benefits and so on... (this is Neolithic btw) the first instrument we have is a bone pipe from 7,000-9,000 BC.

Any way, the focus is on musical cults (goths, punks etc.) and music community. It is almost with a religious and sacred attitude that some people attend raves and festivals today.

And let's not forget drugs, maybe when man first used drugs he created art? How implausible is that considering we know we were making multi-tonal music before 9,000 BC?

Personally I think it was as stated above, a certain amount of self sufficiency was set up giving us free time, giving way to twiddling and fiddling, which in turn gave rise to recreation, which in turn gave birth to basic art, which developed into the complex communal tool of worship, praise, celebration etc. I also assume vocal communication and drumming as communication played a big role in defining the idea of music somehow.

Dan.

I thought about it and re-read the question, and I think the 'communal' explination of worship, praise and celebration would explain tidely why we 'like' music and why it is so emotional...

[BMW]

Originally Posted by de_budding

And let's not forget drugs, maybe when man first used drugs he created art? How implausible is that considering we know we were making multi-tonal music before 9,000 BC?

(...)

I thought about it and re-read the question, and I think the 'communal' explination of worship, praise and celebration would explain tidely why we 'like' music and why it is so emotional...

If you are right, we ought to learn not to like music... for our own good!


Do you think it is somewhat a drug? Something we use to feel better without really solving the problems we have?

Regards,
S.

[de Silentio]

Originally Posted by de_budding

And let's not forget drugs, maybe when man first used drugs he created art? How implausible is that considering we know we were making multi-tonal music before 9,000 BC?

Skip to 4 minutes.

YouTube - History Of The World Part 1 - The Stone Age

[Deftil]

This is an interesting question. I can usually at least come up with my own hypothesis for just about any aspect of the human condition, but on this one, I'm at a loss. How strange!

[urangutan]

Imitation of the environment. Many tunes can be related back to bird calls, drums are a reflexion , not just of pulses but stampedes even a single cat and prey chase. The weather, water and wind all have an effect on rhythm and harmony and music can reflect this, from Mike Oldfield who would use a thousand instruments to express what Jean Michel Jarre could do it with a synthesiser. The emotion that Sabicas could draw from the point of bleak insanity, with just a guitar and his improvised lyrics, is evidence we are addicted to music itself. Gregorian chants and opera, even yoddling (for you folk out there) says that an instrument isn't the only part of music but music can help embelish the story.