The Origins of Music

Nadel, S. F.

doi:10.1093/mq/xvi.4.531

Cited by 17 publications

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“…Language is also necessary for expression of rational thought and organization of human societies. It may well have evolved from the need for social bonding between individuals belonging to the same group 2. Language also permits projections into the past and into the future and is necessary for the transmission of knowledge 3.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison between Language and Music

Besson

Schön

2001

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

150

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Similarities and differences between language and music processing are examined from an evolutionary and a cognitive perspective. Language and music cannot be considered single entities; they need to be decomposed into different component operations or levels of processing. The central question concerns one of the most important claims of the generative grammar theory, that is, the specificity of language processing: do the computations performed to process language rely on specific linguistic processes or do they rely on general cognitive principles? Evidence from brain imaging results is reviewed, noting that this field is currently in need of metanalysis of the available results to precisely evaluate this claim. A series of experiments, mainly using the event‐related brain potentials method, were conducted to compare different levels of processing in language and music. Overall, results favor language specificity when certain aspects of semantic processing in language are compared with certain aspects of melodic and harmonic processing in music. By contrast, results support the view that general cognitive principles are involved when aspects of syntactic processing in language are compared with aspects of harmonic processing in music. Moreover, analysis of the temporal structure led to similar effects in language and music. These tentative conclusions must be supported by other brain imaging results to shed further light on the spatiotemporal dynamics of the brain structure‐function relationship.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison between Language and Music

Besson

Schön

2001

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

150

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“…Music also is a complex system that encompasses different levels of processing: rhythm, melody and harmony. As speech, music has also been developed by all human cultures and plays an important role in social bounding (Boucourechliev 1993; Brown 2000; Levman 1992; Nadel 1930) which led the ethno‐anthropologist, Claude Levi‐Strauss, to write: ‘If we were able to explain music, we could possibly find the key to human thought’ (cited par Gardner 1984:123).…”

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confidence: 99%

Language and Music in the Musician Brain

Besson

Chobert

Marie

2011

Language and Linguist. Compass

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Results of numerous experiments conducted over the past 15 years by using behavioural as well as brain imaging methods have shown that musical expertise influences brain anatomy, brain functions and behaviour. The musician’ brain is thus considered as a very good model of brain plasticity. Moreover, many results have demonstrated that musical expertise not only impacts on music processing but also on several aspects of speech processing including lexical pitch, sentence intonation and the metric structure of words. Conversely, recent results indicated that linguistic expertise with tone or quantity languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Finnish and Japanese, influences the processing of harmonic tones and musical intervals. We discuss possible interpretations of these findings in terms of common processing of the acoustic parameters involved in music and speech and in terms of bidirectional transfer of training effects between music and speech processing.

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“…Agonistic display in the form of war and territorial songs seems to be fundamental to "primitive" cultures (Nadel, 1930). These may be viewed as "advertising" and bluff displays which are undoubtedly met with equal protestations of strength and dominance by rival tribes.…”

Section: Sexual Displaymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Music was regularly used for warfare (jos 6:20), soothing a troubled spirit (I Sam 16:16), celebration of God (2 Sam 6:5) or prophecy (2 Kings 3:14). The first Indian music were the Vedic hymns, sung by the Gods (Nadel, 1930).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One could, group theorists according to their view of which faculty evolved first -speech first and then music (Spencer, Nadel) or music first, and then speech (Vico, Condillac, Rousseau, Darwin), -or whether they were completely separare faculties not phylogenetically related (Newman, Sachs) or developed as one "proto-faculty" sharing elements of both language and music which later bifurcated (Wallaschek, Nertl). Others ie.g: Nadel, 1930) have created categories like "human activity" (the theories of Bucher, Stumpf), for example, as another convenient music origin theory grouping. One might also try to organise theorists by national "schools" (Italian, French, German, English, American), or principal disciplinary bias (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Western Theories of Music Origin, Historical and Modern

Levman¹

2000

Musicae Scientiae

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All music origin theories are concerned with the purpose and effects of music, a subject first systematically broached by Plato who felt that music's primary use was for aggression, defence, persuasion and social harmony. In Cratylus Plato provided an epistemological foundation for later theorists by arguing for a natural correspondence between sound and meaning, opposing the view that names and sounds were arbitrary. One important group of musical origin theories developed this viewpoint, asserting that music evolved as a result of spontaneous emotional outbursts, a form of self expression and communication. Darwin heads a second adaptationist direction, maintaining that music evolved to enhance organisms' sexual attraction, thus increasing their ability to procreate. A third theoretical school asserts that music originated because of organisms' innate rhythmic sense. Other phylogenetic and functional ways of grouping music origin theories are also examined. In evolutionary time music's survival value lay in its use for territorial domination, deterrence of predators, intraspecific competition and social cohesion. Most musical/sonic signalling is deceptive and manipulative in nature, designed to give the signaller a competitive advantage against his/her rivals and therefore to increase his/her progeny. Although music in the western art tradition has only a limited social function, some of these utilitarian and duplicitous elements are preserved in the war, healing and supernatural songs of aboriginal tribes. Today music still serves the function of demarcating personal and group space, creating social cohesion, arousing to action and just pure enjoyment. Because of its ability to reawaken and allow us to re-experience primeval survival emotions, music is also cathartic and therapeutic.

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The Origins of Music

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Comparison between Language and Music

Comparison between Language and Music

Language and Music in the Musician Brain

Western Theories of Music Origin, Historical and Modern

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