Primate Music

The other day, I heard a piece on NPR about bonobos playing instruments and making music. That in itself is interesting (as it the work being done at the Music Research Institute at UNC-Greensboro), but there was also a theory of music described that was new to me (but might be old hat to some of you).

Basically, the theory was that music comes from womb sounds, so the mother’s heartbeat, voice, and breathing are the foundations of music. Maybe that’s why some people talk about liking rap songs for the beat, and not caring much for the lyrics.

Here’s the radio piece
Picture of Cotton Top Tamarin