Who invented music?

Singing along is fun, but when did it all begin?

2023-07-21 -

The short answer is no one knows who invented music. No historical evidence exists to say exactly who sang the first song, whistled the first tune, or made the first rhythmic sounds that resembled what people would recognise today as music. However, musicologists (someone who studies the history of music) know that it happened thousands of years ago. Artefacts (objects made by humans) and other evidence can help scientists understand how and why the ancients played music.

The earliest civilisations throughout Africa, Europe and Asia had music. Back then, many humans may have believed it was a divine creation, a gift from the gods. Indeed, gods and goddesses from many religions and mythologies are associated with music. Stories and works of art tell us that the African god Àyàn was a drummer, and the Greek god Apollo played the lyre, an ancient type of string instrument.

Sweet sounds coming down

Some scholars say singing was the first kind of musical sound. Not that people back then were crooning full-length songs. Instead, they made simpler vocal sounds – perhaps just a few notes put together. If that’s true, perhaps early humans began to speak and sing at about the same time.

Why did they sing? Maybe they had an impulse to imitate something beautiful, like bird sounds. Vocal imitations of other animal sounds could also have been used for hunting, much like a modern-day duck call. It’s also possible that singing was a way to communicate with babies and toddlers, like early versions of lullabies.

Singing in churches throughout Europe during the Middle Ages (about 500–1500BC) is well documented. At first there was only a single vocal melody, but later two, three or four voices would each sing different melodies, adding to the complexity of the sound.

Musical instruments

Archaeologists (experts who study ancient objects) have helped musicologists learn about old musical instruments from the artefacts they’ve uncovered, such as flutes and whistles made of bone, pottery and stone. The archaeologists used a process known as carbon-14 dating to find out how old the instruments were. All living organisms – animals, plants and people – have some carbon-14 in them. When they die, the amount of carbon-14 gradually decreases, little by little, over years, decades and centuries. When the scientists measured how much carbon-14 was left in the flutes – which were made from the bones of large birds – they discovered some of the instruments were more than 30,000 years old.

In Japan, some ancient whistles and rattles, made of stone or clay, are about 6,000 years old. It’s possible they were played during religious rituals. In Greece, instruments like the krotala – a set of hollow blocks bound with leather – were played 2,500 years ago. The Greeks also used finger cymbals and frame drums, similar to the kind you might use at school. Musical instruments could also be associated with different types of people. Shepherds played the syrinx, a simple whistle-like instrument that was easy to take into the fields. Richer people might play the aulos. Because it had two pipes, it was harder to play and required training from a teacher.

Manuscripts and artwork

In Africa, 4,000-year-old rock paintings and engravings found in Egyptian tombs show musicians playing what appear to be harps. Greek pottery often depicts musical scenes, and these images often appeared on vases and urns. Hand-made medieval manuscripts also provide clues. Illustrations with ink, and sometimes gold leaf, often show musicians playing an instrument.

A world without music

Can you imagine living today without music? Music helps us celebrate joyful events and consoles us when we’re sad or in pain. Think for a moment what music in the 22nd century might sound like. Who knows? Maybe – in about 77 years – you’ll find out. Created by Laura Dallman, Lecturer in Music History, University of Florida, US. Published in association with theconversation.com