The Evolution of Melody: Tracing the History of Music

Did we clap before we hummed?

How did music start?

Before the rhythm of hitting rocks together to create a beat, people could dance. Was there music before that?

I’d venture a guess that whistling or humming a tune could’ve been it.

Of course, a quick internet search would tell us the origins, but this way is much more fun.

Did women hum before men? It sure seems plausible. Did they form a chorus for more acoustic prowess so folks could dance?

There were no aliens with mikes in the caves that we know of, but there was amplification.

Empty, hollowed spaces are empirically sought for the apparent reverb needed.

It didn’t take long, I’m sure until drumming was introduced to work in unison with the ‘singing’ voices.

Our imagination can only go so far. Time to check the facts on the web.

Talking about sounds, rhythms, and melodies.

Dr Google tells us it goes back at least 40,000 years, but what does he know?

Photo by Adriana Aceves on Unsplash

It’d have been a sight to see. People singing and dancing around a fire pit, enjoying a great evening of entertainment after a long and arduous hunting day.

I’m imagining the women did the dancing first, if for nothing else, for aesthetic reasons. And the men, the drumming, for the strength required.

It wouldn’t have been long before booze was introduced by fermented techniques that got better and better as time evolved.

Did they have any songs that were more popular than others? Did they have any songs they could remember, favorites, maybe?

It’s all extremely curious and fascinating, particularly when we have all these humans mixing with each other on all the continents.

We know storytelling was a hit from way back, through actors, performers, shamans, and voodoo priests, but we know little about how humming and singing developed.

We can suspect we always searched for a well-being state, a relaxing time with close family and friends, so human entertainment must have been a priority. By the same token, creativity is embedded in our DNA, so it wouldn’t be too strange a thought to imagine we would invent various forms of performances to engage one another and to mate as well.

Photo by Vinh Thang on Unsplash

Some cave paintings attempt to tell the story, but they’re not exactly precise, leaving us with more questions than answers.

When did singing start, and where?

There are so many questions in our history. The history of humanity — and what contributed to our evolution — is being revealed daily as anthropologists dig into rocks in their quests for clarity.

If time travel becomes possible one day via quantum mechanics or any other scientific means, it’s possible that many of the things we take for granted nowadays are anything but facts.

However, until then, we have to live with the mysteries and guesses, which are nonetheless fantastic, as the truth itself may undoubtedly be.

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