Origins of Music

Music has a long and complex history. It may predate language (and certainly predates the written word) and is found in every known culture, past and present, varying wildly between times and places. "Music history" is the distinct subfield of musicology and history which studies the history of music theory.

The development of music among humans occurred against the backdrop of natural sounds. It was, in all probability, influenced by birdsong and the sounds other animals use to communicate. Some evolutionary biologists have theorized that the ability to recognize sounds not created by humans as "musical" provides a selective advantage. Prehistoric music, once more commonly called primitive music, is the name given to all music produced in preliterate cultures (prehistory), beginning somewhere in very late geological history.

Traditional Native American and Australian Aboriginal music could be called prehistoric, but the term is commonly used to refer to the music in Europe before the development of writing there. It is more common to call the "prehistoric" music of non-European continents especially that which still survives folk, indigenous, or traditional music. The prehistoric era is considered to have ended with the development of writing, and with it, by definition, prehistoric music. "Ancient music" is the name given to the music that followed.

Ancient music was long thought to be all monophonic, but recent archaeological evidence indicates that this view is no longer true. The "oldest known song" in cuneiform, 4,000 years old from Ur, deciphered by Prof. Anne Draffkorn Kilmer (University of Calif. at Berkeley), was demonstrated to be composed in harmonies of thirds, like ancient English gymel, and also was written using the diatonic scale. Neither harmony nor the diatonic scale can still be considered developments belonging only to "Western" music.

One pipe in the aulos pairs (double flutes) likely served as a drone or "keynote," while the other played melodic passages. In addition, double pipes, such as used by the ancient Greeks, and ancient bagpipes, as well as a review of ancient drawings on vases and walls, etc., and ancient writings (such as in Aristotle, Problems, Book XIX.12) which described musical techniques of the time, all indicate harmony existed. In ancient Greece, mixed-gender choruses performed for entertainment, celebration and spiritual reasons. Instruments included the double-reed aulos and the plucked string instrument, the lyre, especially the special kind called a kithara. Music was an important part of education in ancient Greece, and boys were taught music starting at age six. Greek musical literacy created a flowering of development; Greek music theory included the Greek musical modes, eventually became the basis for Western religious music and classical music.

The term Early music era may also refer to contemporary but traditional or folk music, including Asian music, Jewish music, Greek music, Roman music, the music of Mesopotamia, the music of Egypt, and Muslim music.

Answer

Some people believe that birds were the first source of music.

For those who are spiritual would agree that music has its genesis in the heavenly. Lucifer was the one whom God appointed to play music. He later lost his position as Chief Musician and was hurled down to earth where he is now known as Satan or the Devil. He never lost his ability to play music and thus he used this ability to influence people to create all sorts of evil concoctions... .