Sign up and stay connected to your favorite communities.
I've often thought about this. I think if an alien race ever discovered us, music would be one of the most intriguing things about our species.
My guess is that it originated as sort of element of tribal bonding. Also, notes that sound pleasant in coordination i.e. C & G have frequencies that differ from each-other at even ratios and our brains recognize these as pleasant. Another cool fact, those who appreciate the grinding and winding sounds of metal music may have had ancestors who developed an appreciation for the hunt - as many of the noises are similar to those of dying animals.
Music is similar to speech, in that it carries emotion through changes in pitch, velocity and rhythm. We use recorded music as a method of one-way communication.
I posted this because recently I have been doing a research regarding the importance of music to the African American culture post civil war. For those who are interested should look into this, its sort of intriguing.
/r/AskReddit is the place to ask and answer thought-provoking questions.
Other useful resources