4/13/2023 0 Comments Definition of musicality![]() ![]() Accordingly, one can study various levels of information processing relevant to the perceptual and cognitive processing of music or find support for the cognitive and biological origins of music in psychological, physiological, genetic, medical, phylogenetic, hunter–gatherer and cross-cultural perspectives (cf. In addition to the possible survival or reproductive value of music (adaptation), one can examine the neurobiological substrates (mechanisms), their developmental trajectory (ontogeny) and their evolutionary history (phylogeny). The possible adaptive function of music is one of several indispensable levels of analysis of cognitive and biological phenomena that might underlie musicality. Viewed in this manner, music is an exaptation, spandrel or evolutionary by-product of other skills. This notion has parallels to the transformative control of fire by early humans, making it possible to cook food and obtain warmth, which had important cultural and biological consequences. Song and dance mimic the neurochemical effects of social grooming, such as endorphin release, which have important social consequences.Ī prominent non-adaptationist view considers music as a technology or ‘transformative invention’ that makes use of existing skills and has important consequences for our culture and biology. grooming of others involving touch) as a means of maintaining social connections as groups expanded in size. According to Dunbar, group singing and dancing in our hominin ancestors replaced social grooming (i.e. Music is thought to be the ‘social glue’ that enhances cooperation and strengthens feelings of unity. Ī third view stresses the role of music in promoting and maintaining group cohesion. Such vocalizations are considered to have paved the way for language as well as music. ![]() He, like other subsequent scholars, argued that musical vocalizations preceded language.Īnother view considers music to have its origins in carers' music-like vocalizations to infants, which are thought to enhance parent–infant bonds, ease the burdens of caregiving and promote infant well-being and survival. For Darwin, music had no survival benefits but it offered a means of impressing potential partners, thereby contributing to reproductive success. Charles Darwin first suggested a role for sexual selection in the origins of music, a view that was revived and elaborated in recent years. Īt least three adaptationist accounts of music have been proposed. These words, including the reference to music as ‘auditory cheesecake’-a mere pleasure-producing substance-revitalized interest in the origins of music and its relevance for the biological and cognitive sciences. (…) Music could vanish from our species and the rest of our lifestyle would be virtually unchanged’ and ‘it is a technology, not an adaptation’. Steven Pinker provided the most influential critique of music as an adaptation: ‘As far as biological cause and effect are concerned, music is useless. ![]() Some years ago, it became popular to address such questions from an evolutionary perspective, but disagreement remains about whether music is grounded in our biology, whether it played a role in our survival as a species and, if so, whether musicality resulted from natural or sexual selection. Why do we have music? What is music for, and why does every human culture have it? Is it a uniquely human capability, as language is? Are some of its fundamental components present in non-human animals? What biological and cognitive mechanisms are essential for perceiving, appreciating and making music? It is virtually impossible to underpin the evolutionary role of musicality as a whole, but a multicomponent perspective on musicality that emphasizes its constituent capacities, development and neural cognitive specificity is an excellent starting point for a research programme aimed at illuminating the origins and evolution of musical behaviour as an autonomous trait. We argue for the importance of identifying these mechanisms and delineating their functions and developmental course, as well as suggesting effective means of studying them in human and non-human animals. What biological and cognitive mechanisms are essential for perceiving, appreciating and making music? Progress in understanding the evolution of music cognition depends upon adequate characterization of the constituent mechanisms of musicality and the extent to which they are present in non-human species. One critical challenge is to delineate the constituent elements of musicality. Music, by contrast, can be defined as a social and cultural construct based on that very musicality. Musicality can be defined as a natural, spontaneously developing trait based on and constrained by biology and cognition.
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