A comparative evaluation of current theories of the origin of music ( OoM )

1. A comparativeevaluationofcurrenttheoriesoftheoriginofmusic (OoM) Richard Parncutt Centre for Systematic Musicology, University of Graz, Austria International Summer School on SystematicMusicology and Sound and Music Computing (ISSSM), Genova, Italia 15 March 2014 SysMus Graz

2. Across cultures and periods, music is social (coordinating group behavior, strengthening group identity), emotional (evoking basic and everyday emotions but especially pleasure, wonder, tenderness, nostalgia), and melodic/rhythmic (within physical constraints of the human body). It is generally accepted that music and speech had a common ancestor called musilanguage; the two may have split between 10^6 and 10^5 years ago. The split must have occurred because music acquired a special non-linguistic function, e.g. to facilitate group cohesion (like grooming), mate selection (flirting), or cognitive skill acquisition (childplay). In other approaches, music developed in a continuous line from protomusical primate behaviors, or emerged accidentally because it was somehow pleasurable. Another candidate for music's origin is motherese, which emerged some 10^6 years ago because it promoted infant survival when gestation became shorter due to increased brain size and a narrower pelvis, in turn due to bipedalism (Mithen, 2009). Musilanguage and motherese may even be the same thing. We do not know enough about ancient environments and behaviors - let alone ancient music or protomusic - to evaluate such theories directly. But we can evaluate how well each theory predicts the apparently universal social functions, emotional qualities, and structural features of music as we know it today. That may be the most objective way that we have to evaluate and compare competing theories. In this presentation I will attempt to systematically list the main characteristic features of music as we know it today and evaluate the extent to which each theory predicts each feature. A list of such features is essentially just a definition of music. A major difficulty in defining music has always been to distinguish it from speech, with which it shares many characteristics. A possible solution is first to list the common features of music and speech (comparable with a definition of musilanguage) and then to list the ways in which music and speech differ. Music and speech are both acoustic signals, and both are structured (gestural, rhythmic, melodic, syntactic) and both are social (meaningful, emotional, intentional). By comparison to speech, music is less lexical, less socially essential, more spiritual, more repetitive, more exact in pitch/time, less exact in timbre, and more expertise-oriented. A careful analysis of the extent to which each theory predicts these features does not clearly distinguish four leading theories from each other (group cohesion, mate selection, skill acquisition, motherese) but it does seem to eliminate primate behaviors and non-adaptive pleasure seeking.

3. Centre for Systematic MusicologyUni Graz, Austria Bernd Brabec Ethnomusicology Erica Bisesi Expression in piano music Hande Saglam Music and Migration Michaela Schwarz Secretary Sabrina Sattmann Music psychology Andreas Fuchs Music technology

4. Contents • Definition of music What are we trying to explain, exactly? • Overview of current theories How music might have “begun” • Comparative evalution • How well does each predict musical features?

5. Language andmusicuniversal features Cecilia Bartoli Cécile Kyenge

6. Both language and music are 1. Acousticphysical vibrations of voice, instruments, air, ear... Physicallimitations: • physiologyofvoiceandear • size resonancesofvocaltract • f0rangeofmusic ≈ 100 – 1000 Hz

7. Both language and music are 2. MeaningfulThey communicate “information” language: obvious? music: mysterious? philosophical & psychological issues

8. Both language and music are3. GesturalBoth involve body movement (corporality) Language • theories of origin based on sign and gesture Music • dance, conducting, musicians’ gestures • talk about music: “rising melody”, “fast music”

9. Both language and music are 4. Rhythmic and melodic Speech: timing + intonation = prosody Music: rhythm + contour = melody DonJohnson Rice University

10. Both language and music are 5. Syntactic Language • nouns, verbs, subjects etc. Music • motives, scale steps, beats etc. Both • contextual probabilities • hierarchical structures • ambiguities (esp. music)

11. Both language and music are 6. Social Language and music • give groups and participants identity • enable & motivate coordinated action Different “natural” constellations • language: pairs • music: groups

12. Both language and music are 7. Emotional Emotional communication through prosody (timing, pitch, loudness, timbre) Music focuses on: wonder, transcendence, tenderness, nostalgia, peacefulness, power, joyful activation, tension, sadness (Zentner et al, 2008)

13. Both language and music are 8. Intentional • Planning • thinking about past and future • Metacognition, reflection • thinking about thinking • Theory of mind • others’ “minds” are different  language: lying  music: emotional manipulation

14. Differences

15. 1. Music is not lexical Words canbedefined in dictionaries. Meaningdoes not depend on sound. Musical elements not defined in dictionaries. Meaningdoesdepend on sound.

16. 2. Music islesssyntactic

17. 3. Music islesssocially essential • People withaphasia • Relativelybigsocialproblem • People withamusia • Relativelysmallsocialproblem

18. 4. Music ismore spiritualtranscendent, connecting, life-changing Music ismoreritualised • specialtimes, specialplaces, specialfeelings Language ismoreeveryday • any time, anyplace, anyfeeling

19. 4. Music ismore repetitive • peopleusuallysaythingsonlyonce • musicalthemesareusuallyrepeated I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class I must not talk in class

20. 5. Music ismoreexact in pitchand time; language, in timbre • Pitch-time patterns in music  thousandsofmelodies • Timbre in language •  thousandsofwords

21. 6. Music ismoreexpertise-oriented • Speaking • everyonecan do it • everyonepractices • Playingmusic • expertsareadmired • onlyexpertspractice

22. What is a “good” theory? • Satisfiesgeneralcriteriaforgoodtheories • Accounts formanymusicalfeatures

23. A “good” theory is... • simple parsimonious, falsifiable • general accounts for range of phenomena • focused on the main issues • concrete clearlydefinedterms, processes • logical clear argument • empirical observation-based, ecological • seminal inspires new approaches Ockham Kuhn Popper Gibson

24. A good theory of OoMshould explain or be consistent with as many pointsas possible: Music: a cultural construct of singing, dancing, playing instruments?

25. Kinds oftheoryofOoM • Prerequisitesorbehaviors? • Different prehistoricperiods • Oneofmoreorigins

26. Prerequisites versus behaviorstwo kinds of “origin” Prerequisites include • physiology • vocal tract, fast neural processing... • psychology • reflective language, theory of mind... • latent abilities • ability to synchronize to a beat, e.g. Snowball Behaviors include • animal “singing” • motherese

27. When did “music” “begin”?

28. Origin ororigins? Did different processescontributetomusic in different periods?

29. LeadingtheoriesofOoM • Musilanguage • Emotional coordination • Non-human animalbehaviors • Non-adaptive pleasure-seeking

30. MusilanguageEmotional-lexical vocal communicationWere music and language once one? Does music exist because it has different social functions from language? My assumption: Yes, obviously Not obvious: Separation was • functional and deliberate? • start of “consciousness”? • cf. phylogeny and ontogeny

31. Emotional coordinationDoes music exist because it coordinates group emotion, which promotes group survival? Theoretical foundation • Music can coordinate emotions of many people (social control in ritual) • Groups with music can be larger; compete better with other groups Evidence: • Language & music can fulfil social function of grooming (Dunbar) • Growth of group size with brain size Accounts for music’s... social function, emotion, intentionality NOT spirituality, strong emotion

32. Non-human animalbehaviorsIs music an elaboration of ancestral behaviors? Examples: • singing (birds, whales, gibbons) • territorial marking (wolves...) • synchronous chorusing (chimpanzees) For: may explain unconscious “drives” Against: isolated, impoverished skills Can account for music’s... repetition, social function, emotion NOT complexity, intentionality, spirituality Non-human animals are amazingly bad at music and language - as the photos suggest

33. Non-adaptive pleasure seekingDoes music exist because it activates neural reward systems? • Uses multiple existing neural systems: • motor, ASA, language, social, aggression... • Counterevidence • based on accident – could go in the wrong direction? • musicians do not get addicted and suffer withdrawal! • Accounts for music’s... emotion, repetition, spirituality NOT gesture, structure, syntax NOT social function, intentionality

34. Music and stages of sexual reproduction • Flirting • Prenatal development • Motherese • Childhood

35. 1. Flirting: Mate attractionDoes music exist because it indicates male reproductive fitness? • The idea • Males use music to attract females • Females use music to judge male fitness • Evidence (shaky…) • love songs • musicians are mainly male • we are more creative when sexually active • Counterevidence • no gender diff. in music ability; androgeny • other ways for females to evaluate fitness • humans are smarter than peacocks • Accounts for music’s... emotion, intentionality, expertise orientation - NOT spirituality, social glue

36. 2. Prenatal developmentDoes music exist because it evokes the mother schema? The idea Fetus acquires mother schema that promotes postnatal survival and includes sound and movement  motherese, play, ritual Evidence • Musical skills of infants and children • Music as persona (mother perceived by fetus?) • Musical emotion is strong, spiritual (e.g. awe), changed states, enclosure, flow, non-lexical Counterevidence: • Hard to test causal relations • Evidence is circumstantial • Unfalsifiable ?

37. 3. Mother-infant communicationIs music elaborated motherese? Motherese & babbling are musical • prosodic exaggeration • rhythmic, melodic, gestural • emotional, meaningful Evidence: studies on • motherese • infant musicality

38. 4. Childhood: Playing, trainingIs music elaborated childplay? Childplay develops cognitive, social and motor skills, promoting survival • performance, dance  physical skills, coordination • listening  cognitive skills, language Doubts: • Does this kind of training really promote survival? • Is there a “Mozart effect”? Accounts for music’s... • social functions, pleasureexpertise orientation • NOT spirituality

40. Conclusion Ismusic... 40% motherese 20% flirting 20% childplay 20% emotioncoord?

41. Infant musicalitye.g. many studies by Trehub and collaborators Sensitivity to... • melodic contour • relative pitch/duration • specific musical intervals • changes in unequal scales/rhythms + pulse (Winkler; Phillips-Silver) These are “predispositions” “evident in infancy, before they have obvious utility” (Trehub, 2001)

42. Origins of infant musicality Genetic (Trehub) selection for music (mate attraction, training, social glue, motherese…) Learned (Parncutt) prenatal exposure to changing maternal sound, movement and hormone levels

43. Prenatal cognitionHuman gestation: 40 weeks • Taste from 15 weeks • Hearing from 20 weeks • Light sensitivity from 28 weeks (Lowery, 2002) • Memory (Hepper, 1991) & learning (Hepper, 1996) possible functions: practice, infant-mother bonding, promotion of breastfeeding, language acquisition

44. Prenatalhearing in animals Yes: humans, sheep, goats, guinea pigs No: gerbils, rats, cats Function: • Prenatal bonding? • Practice for postnatal perception?

45. Prenatal learning • Fetal rats learn in response to intrauterine stimulation administered occasionally over 5 days (Smotherman & Robinson, 1990) • Fetal humans learn from maternal sound, movement ... almost constantly for 20 weeks • Trivial: Why should a fetus be less good at learning than a non-human animal?

46. Infant ≠ fetus? • Sudden physiological changesat birth: • Breathing • Digestion • No psychological or neurological change! “Birth is a trivial event in development. Nothing neurologically interesting happens” (Janet DiPietro, cited in Psychology Today, 1998) • From about 32 weeks fetus behaves like newborn  Extrapolate infant behavior to fetal behavior?

47. The mother schema(Parncutt, 2009) • Infant schema (cuteness) promotes survival (Lorenz) • Inverse: Mother schema? • Fetal knowledge of maternal sounds, movements and emotions could promote bonding and infant survival • Multimodal and holistic: baby cannot analyse it Evidence for mother schema • very early hearing & learning – what function? • fetus learns maternal smell, taste, diet  preferences (Joy Brown, 2008) • fetus distinguishes maternal voice from loudspeaker on mother’s abdomen (Hepper et al., 2007) …All of this without reflective awareness

48. The phylogeny of music The “mother schema” theory Larger brain 2 to 1.5 million years ago (Falk, 2000; Mithen, 1996) Today, the first 3 postnatal months are the “4th trimester”

49. The ontogeny of musicThe “mother schema” theory • * Prerequisite: Long-term multimodal recognition memory • multimodal = sound + movement + emotion • for similar, repeated patterns • not episodic memory! (e.g. no memory for birth) • ** Play is like motherese , ritual is like play • Both evoke “motherese feelings” • Both are reinforced by operant conditioning

50. From motherese to music “It is not surprising that societies all over the world have developed these nodes of culture that we call ceremonies and rituals, which do for their members what mothers naturally do for their babies: engage their interest, involve them in a shared rhythmic pulse, and thereby instill feelings of closeness and communion. The inborn propensities for imitation, reciprocity, and emotional communion in infancy have become further elaborated and used in ritualized and ceremonial forms that themselves build and reinforce feelings of unity among adults, all of which ultimately serve to hold the group together.” (Dissanayake, 2000, p. 64, cited by Davies)