Creating music is a distinctive behavior of our species: Humans of all cultures occasionally gather to make music together. However, there is discussion amongst scientists as to whether such behavior is a manifestation of innate psychological mechanisms that evolved as adaptations for music, or whether the diversity of musical behavior simply exemplifies the inventiveness of the human mind, in which case music should be considered a product of human culture. Scholars advocating the latter view divide further into those who believe that music is an evolutionary by-product, existing only for hedonistic reasons, and those who argue that certain musical behaviors emerged because they serve some culturally adaptive function. The goal of my dissertation was to add new empirical data to this debate by conducting behavioral studies with preschool children. In study 1 I tested the hypothesis that certain musical rituals emerged to foster social bonding, ultimately increasing prosocial in-group behavior. I found that joint music making enhances subsequent cooperative and helpful behavior among pairs of 4-year-old children. In study 2 I investigated the ontogeny of rhythmic entrainment, our ability to move in synchrony to a musical beat. I found that children spontaneously entrain their movements to an external drum beat at earlier ages and with higher accuracy if that beat is presented in a social context. Study 2 revealed large inter-individual differences in synchronization accuracy. To explain these, I hypothesized that rhythmic entrainment develops via social learning processes during early musical enculturation. I extended the original design of study 2 by adding a new condition (joint drumming without visual access to the partner’s movements) and a questionnaire about the participants’ musical experience. I collected comparable data from Germany and Brazil, assuming that children from those two countries gain qualitatively different experience with music. I found that in both samples the differences in synchronization accuracy correlated with those in musical experience. Furthermore, only German children tended to drum out of synchrony if the partner’s movements were hidden from view. I discuss my results in light of the above scenarios and come to the conclusion that music’s apparent adaptiveness to various instances of its use can be best explained by cumulative cultural evolution.
Table of Contents
1 General Introduction
1.1 Overview
1.2 Terminology
1.3 Universals of Musical Behavior
1.4 Systems of Transmission
1.5 Finding Verifiable Hypotheses
1.6 The Developmental Approach
1.7 Goals of the Thesis
2 Study 1: Prosocial Effects of Joint Music Making
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Methods
2.3 Results
2.4 Discussion
3 Study 2: Ontogeny of Rhythmic Entrainment
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Methods
3.3 Results
3.4 Discussion
4 Study 3: Individual Differences in Rhythmic Entrainment
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Methods
4.3 Results
4.4 Discussion
5 Study 4: Local Differences in Musical Enculturation
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Methods
5.3 Results
5.4 Discussion
6 General Discussion
6.1 Overview
6.2 Evolutionary Functions of Music
6.3 Evolutionary History of Music
6.4 Biological Prerequisites for Music
6.5 Universal Structures of Music
6.6 Applications in Music Education and Therapy
6.7 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Topics
This dissertation aims to investigate the evolutionary and ontogenetic origins of music by conducting behavioral studies with preschool children, exploring how music functions as a social tool for fostering cooperation and rhythmic synchronization.
- The evolutionary function of music as a tool for social bonding.
- The developmental trajectory of rhythmic entrainment in early childhood.
- The role of individual experience and culture in shaping musical competence.
- The interaction between social context and rhythmic synchronization skills.
Excerpt from the Book
Making Music is Social Behavior
Merriam, Blacking and many other ethnomusicologists have provided considerable field data from around the world to underscore that musical behavior is usually embedded in a social context. In many, perhaps most traditional small-scale societies, music making involves overt action and active group engagement, and is employed not only in caregiver-infant interaction, entertainment and courtship, but also in ritual ceremonies, particularly at times of significant life transitions, such as during initiation rites, weddings or funerals (Cross, 2009). This social embeddedness (Tolbert, 2001) seems almost to exclude Western forms of listening to music, which often occur passively and in a solitary setting, rather than in a social one. However, Cross (2003) argued that during such solitary listening experiences the music itself constitutes a trace of human activity – that music conveys a ‘sense of agency’ (Overy and Molnar-Szakacs, 2009) – with which a private listener may virtually interact.
Furthermore, human music typically occurs in a performative context: Particular songs or dances recur in specific rituals, often stressing supernatural or mystical themes (Arom, 2000, Nettl, 2000). These contexts vary considerably from culture to culture, but all cultures seem to differentiate celebratory music from dirges or laments, adult’s music from children’s music, lullabies from work songs, or draw some similar distinctions (Fitch, 2006a).
Finally, ethnomusicological research indicates that musical behavior might be better conceived of as a mode of interaction among people, with fluid boundaries between creators and listeners. This view stands in sharp contrast to how musical performances are conventionally perceived in contemporary Western societies, namely that one group of people (the performers) actively creates music for another, passive group of people (the audience). This suggests that evolutionary sciences need to find means of addressing the study of music’s proximate and ultimate functions which are inherent or emergent in processes of musical interaction (Cross and Tolbert, 2009).
Summary of Chapters
1 General Introduction: Outlines the theoretical framework, terminology, and research objectives concerning the evolutionary origins of music through developmental and cross-cultural lenses.
2 Study 1: Prosocial Effects of Joint Music Making: Investigates whether joint music making enhances spontaneous cooperative and helpful behavior in four-year-old children compared to non-musical interaction.
3 Study 2: Ontogeny of Rhythmic Entrainment: Explores the early development of rhythmic entrainment by comparing synchronization accuracy across different social and non-social drumming conditions in children.
4 Study 3: Individual Differences in Rhythmic Entrainment: Examines individual differences in rhythmic entrainment in three-year-olds and correlates these with active musical experience and social context.
5 Study 4: Local Differences in Musical Enculturation: Extends the investigation of rhythmic entrainment to a cross-cultural perspective by comparing German and Brazilian children.
6 General Discussion: Synthesizes the empirical findings to argue that music is best explained as a cultural adaptation driven by cumulative cultural evolution and social interaction, rather than specific biological modules.
Keywords
Music evolution, rhythmic entrainment, prosocial behavior, joint music making, musical enculturation, cultural evolution, developmental psychology, cross-cultural studies, shared intentionality, social bonding, group cohesion, behavioral tool, joint action, musical universals, comparative psychology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
This work investigates the evolutionary origins of music by studying its social functions and the ontogeny of musical skills, such as rhythmic entrainment, in young children.
What are the central themes of this dissertation?
The core themes include the relationship between music and prosocial behavior, the development of rhythmic entrainment, and the role of cultural learning in shaping musical competence.
What is the main research question being addressed?
The author explores whether musical behavior is a genetically evolved adaptation or a byproduct of cultural evolution, particularly focusing on how musical activities facilitate social interaction.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The dissertation utilizes experimental behavioral studies with preschool children, incorporating controlled social conditions, circular statistics for movement analysis, and parental questionnaires to assess musical experience.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The work presents four empirical studies conducted with preschool children in different cultures to test hypotheses regarding social coordination, helping, and synchronization skills.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include music evolution, rhythmic entrainment, prosocial behavior, joint action, and cultural enculturation.
How does the author define the "Cultural Learning Hypothesis"?
The hypothesis suggests that musical skills, such as synchronized movement, are learned behaviors acquired during early enculturation through observation and active participation in social musical rituals.
Why are preschool children chosen as the primary research subjects?
Children are ideal subjects because they demonstrate active musical engagement while lacking the normative training that often complicates studies of adult musical behavior.
- Quote paper
- Sebastian Kirschner (Author), 2011, The Social Origins of Music, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/180239
