HUMAN BEINGS are (almost) the only mammalian species that possesses both speech and music.

 

By “almost” I mean, whales and dolphins also communicate with sound, wolves howl and singing birds know melodies.

 

By speech what we mean is very clear; we use speech to communicate our thoughts to our fellow humans both in spoken and written form.

 

But who do humans need music?

 

Every single human being, male or female, handicapped or normal, young or old, has a desire to sing and dance and listen to music. It is as essential as the desire for food, drink, sex and sleep.

 

Mankind uses music to express and convey feelings and to develop a sense of togetherness. Different social groups have their own songs that give them an identity. The socialists have the socialist’s international group. Soccer and football clubs have their own groups who compose songs for them and nations have national anthems.

 

Music may express sadness, love, loneliness, happiness and so on conveyed to people through notes and lyrics. Some languages of Africa and China have a melody to differ between meanings of the words uttered. Music consists of rhythm and melody, dancing goes according to the rhythm and singing according to the melody.

 

Until the beginning of the 20th century music was closely linked with religion and church festivals. For instance our grandparents used to get to know their life partners in musical gatherings and not like contemporary people on the Internet or in a discotheque.

 

Ever since the Stone Age, the best dancers and singers have always been given due recognition. The invention of the record player and the gramophone made it possible for the first time to reach out to a wider audience. Thus raising the prominence of stars like the Beatles. The invention of the Walkman made it possible for people to listen to music of their choice without disturbing others.

 

The Internet enables amateurs to share music and music videos with people from across the globe and even generate revenue at the same time.

 

What do scholars and professors tell us about the phenomenon of “music”?

 

German professor of psychiatry Manfred Spitzer authored a book titled “music in the head”.

 

He has a physical-neurobiological approach to “music” and explains how music is being generated from physical oscillations in the network of neurons.

 

He also talks about his favourite subjects “talent” and “learning” as the example of musicality. He also mentions about music therapy, not surprising for a psychiatrist!

 

Nobel prize winners Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz carried out research work on many subjects, which include playing behaviour of toddlers, aggression and fighting in humans and animals, etc., yet I wonder why they have published nothing about the subject on “music”.

 

It would be a great theme for biologists: Do songbirds, whales and dolphins possess music, and why do wolves howl? Is it for finding a mate or to stabilize a group?

 

These are some questions, which always crop up in my mind. I wish other citizen reporters who know more about it can enlighten us more by providing some more facts.