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Music Perception

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THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC: INNATENESS, UNIQUENESS, AND EVOLUTION
JOSH McDERMOTT, MARC HAUSER
Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 23 No. 1, September 2005; (pp. 29-59) DOI: 10.1525/mp.2005.23.1.29
JOSH McDERMOTT
Perceptual Science Group, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
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MARC HAUSER
Department of Psychology and Program in Neurosciences, Harvard
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Abstract

THE ORIGINS and adaptive significance of music, long an elusive target, are now active topics of empirical study, with many interesting developments over the past few years. This article reviews research in anthropology, ethnomusicology, developmental and comparative psychology, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology that bears on questions concerning the origins and evolution of music. We focus on the hypothesis that music perception is constrained by innate, possibly human- and musicspecific principles of organization, as these are candidates for evolutionary explanations. We begin by discussing the distinct roles of different fields of inquiry in constraining claims about innateness and adaptation, and then proceed to review the available evidence. Although research on many of these topics is still in its infancy, at present there is converging evidence that a few basic features of music (relative pitch, the importance of the octave, intervals with simple ratios, tonality, and perhaps elementary musical preferences) are determined in part by innate constraints. At present, it is unclear how many of these constraints are uniquely human and specific to music. Many, however, are unlikely to be adaptations for music, but rather are probably side effects of more general-purpose mechanisms. We conclude by reiterating the significance of identifying processes that are innate, unique to humans, and specific to music, and highlight several possible directions for future research.

  • Received August 20, 2003.
  • Accepted June 16, 2005.
  • ©© 2005 BY THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Vol. 23 No. 1, September 2005

Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal: 23 (1)
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THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC: INNATENESS, UNIQUENESS, AND EVOLUTION
JOSH McDERMOTT, MARC HAUSER
Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 23 No. 1, September 2005; (pp. 29-59) DOI: 10.1525/mp.2005.23.1.29
JOSH McDERMOTT
Perceptual Science Group, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
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MARC HAUSER
Department of Psychology and Program in Neurosciences, Harvard
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THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC: INNATENESS, UNIQUENESS, AND EVOLUTION
JOSH McDERMOTT, MARC HAUSER
Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 23 No. 1, September 2005; (pp. 29-59) DOI: 10.1525/mp.2005.23.1.29
JOSH McDERMOTT
Perceptual Science Group, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • View author's works on this site
MARC HAUSER
Department of Psychology and Program in Neurosciences, Harvard
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • View author's works on this site
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