The Evolution of Music

Musical instruments have been found in the archaeological record from at least 40,000 years ago and despite the diversity of human civilization, we are yet to find a culture which lacks music. Other species also make ‘music’ – from a grasshopper’s chirp to a nightingale’s song – but is human music simply an extension of that evolutionary heritage?  What can modern studies of genetics and anthropology tell us about the evolution of human musicality?  Can neuroscience explain why music evokes such strong emotions? And what happens when the ‘biology of music’ goes wrong?