How Did Music Begin 333333
How did music begin? What did the first music sound like?
Music is all around us and is a large part of many of our lives. It exists in every culture across the globe. Yet, we often don't stop to think about how music came to occupy this position. Who first thought of music? Who produced the first melodies and songs? How did music develop as such an important aspect of our lives? The search for answers to these questions leads us thousands of years into the past.
Harper playing before Shu
Scholars from around the world are trying to learn more about the first types of music, the instruments that created that music, and what role music had for early humans. In 2009, a group of researchers unearthed a primitive flute made from a hollow bone of a griffon vulture. The flute is thought to be 35,000 to 40,000 years old, and it is possible that it was made by Neanderthals, who lived during this time period in the part of Germany where the flute was found. The flute had five air holes along the hollow tube, and scholars say that the flute would have been capable of playing complex melodies. An experimental archaeologist even made a reproduction of the flute and was able to play "The Star Spangled Banner" on it.
While this finding was a rare one, scholars have found a few other flutes that appear to be this old or maybe even older. Yet, the music and world of these early human ancestors are still largely a mystery to us. Findings like the flutes help us to learn more about not only the music of prehistoric peoples but also the lives that they lived.
Prehistoric, or primitive, music includes all music created in preliterate cultures. Thus, prehistoric music includes the first types of music ever created or played. Because the groups producing this music did not leave a written record for us, we know much less about the early music produced than we do about later music. The reality is that we don't really know who first created music or how they came to create that music.
Music is all around us and is a large part of many of our lives. It exists in every culture across the globe. Yet, we often don't stop to think about how music came to occupy this position. Who first thought of music? Who produced the first melodies and songs? How did music develop as such an important aspect of our lives? The search for answers to these questions leads us thousands of years into the past.
Harper playing before Shu
Scholars from around the world are trying to learn more about the first types of music, the instruments that created that music, and what role music had for early humans. In 2009, a group of researchers unearthed a primitive flute made from a hollow bone of a griffon vulture. The flute is thought to be 35,000 to 40,000 years old, and it is possible that it was made by Neanderthals, who lived during this time period in the part of Germany where the flute was found. The flute had five air holes along the hollow tube, and scholars say that the flute would have been capable of playing complex melodies. An experimental archaeologist even made a reproduction of the flute and was able to play "The Star Spangled Banner" on it.
While this finding was a rare one, scholars have found a few other flutes that appear to be this old or maybe even older. Yet, the music and world of these early human ancestors are still largely a mystery to us. Findings like the flutes help us to learn more about not only the music of prehistoric peoples but also the lives that they lived.
Prehistoric, or primitive, music includes all music created in preliterate cultures. Thus, prehistoric music includes the first types of music ever created or played. Because the groups producing this music did not leave a written record for us, we know much less about the early music produced than we do about later music. The reality is that we don't really know who first created music or how they came to create that music.