Thomas Guntrip
Evolution is a well-known biological term referring to how organisms change over time, and part of this is natural selection, which acts to preserve the best suited, ‘fittest’ traits for the environment inhabited by an organism. Fitness is simply how well an organism can reproduce and survive in its environmental conditions, and the fittest traits help either reproduction, survival or both. Many societies have included music as a big part of their culture, raising the question of whether music has a biological function assisting our survival and reproduction. This article aims to address this question and looks at the opposing argument which suggests music simply arose as a by-product of communication, language specifically.
Music is a Spandrel
(Fig. 1) The architectural term spandrel (S) is also used in evolutionary biology. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spandrel
The term ‘spandrel’ is taken from architecture. To explain, if a designer creates arches to support a dome, there will be a gap between the arches. These gaps exist for no reason, but they still exist. The word ‘spandrel’ is also used in evolutionary biology when referring to a phenotypic trait that only exists as a by-product of some other characteristic that evolved due to adaptive selection. There are two types of traits that may be referred to; a phenotypic trait refers to one which is observable, whereas a genotypic trait refers to a trait that is coded for in your genes but may not be visible. Some suggest that music may be a spandrel of the more innately adaptive function of communication, that it holds no evolutionary use and does not assist individual fitness in any way.
Pinker (1997) supports this argument by suggesting that music has no biological cause or effect. He elaborates by saying that it does not increase lifespan, number of grandchildren or give an accurate prediction of the world. His view ties into the perception that music is only hedonistic, meaning it simply exists for pleasure. This is backed up by the fact that music stimulates reward pathways of the brain which are involved in sex and eating, and that interact with dopamine.
Music is an auditory peacock
However, some scientists propose that music did evolve as an evolutionary adaptation to help with fitness. Dunbar (2012) suggests that music is likely to have evolutionary advantages, such as assisting reproductive chances in sexual selection. This is a type of natural selection where individuals of one sex pick individuals of the other sex to mate with and engage in competition with individuals of the same sex to win over individuals of the opposite sex. Charles Darwin himself supported music as an evolutionary adaptation to improve the chance of reproduction in the process of sexual selection. From his perspective, music is a way in which individuals can ‘show off’ to the opposite sex, in order to mate and pass on genes to the next generation. This view is also supported by how music has interacted with human societies over time. For example, in tribal hunter-gatherer societies music combined with dance were used as a courtship display particularly by males, to attract a mate.
(Fig. 2) The men of the Wodaabe tribe perform dances and sing to attract wives (From 6:50 mins onwards). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jCmEJ64bOU
There are a few biological reasons these activities would display fitness. Dance is rhythmical movements to music and displays good cardiovascular fitness, strength and flexibility. These physical qualities were vital in essential tribal activities such as hunting for food. Men would require the strength and flexibility to throw spears and rocks at their prey, and cardio to run for a long period of time. This display of fitness is also present in modern cultures such as the Wodaabe tribe and western societies, for example in club culture.
(Fig. 3) The elaborate tail of the peacock is an example of the handicap hypothesis. https://effectiviology.com/handicap-principle/
Another reason music may be an attractive trait to the opposite sex is that dancers or musicians allocate time into learning and improving their skill. The handicap hypothesis suggests that males display energy-consuming traits to show females they are a good mate choice. One example in the natural world is the peacock tail. Musical activities take time and energy, both learning to play an instrument, learning to dance and even listening to music.
Every organism has limited energy resources. When exploring the handicap hypothesis in the context of music, it can be said that by taking time to interact with music in various ways, males are exaggerating that they have excess energy to allocate to non-vital activities.
(Fig. 4) Jimi Hendrix displays ‘good fitness’ through his guitar-playing.
More evidence to suggest males playing music is attractive to the opposite sex is given by Levitin in his book ‘Your Brain on Music’ (2019). He highlights the sexual prowess of superstars like Jimi Hendrix and Robert Plant, the lead singer of Led Zeppelin. Both these individuals were documented to have many sexual partners. This book is a brilliant resource for all matters concerning the science behind music and I highly recommend it to anyone who finds this article and following articles interesting.
Music may either be an evolutionary adaptive activity helping individuals to display good fitness to the opposite sex, or it may simply be a spandrel of communication. This is an unresolved debate which has well-renowned scientists on both sides of the argument. So why do you think music exists? Keep your eyes open for the next article in this series on the science of music, which will discuss how music interacts with our emotions.
Where to find out more:
- The meaning of fitness in evolutionary biology: https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/accumulating-glitches/the_meaning_of_fitness/#:~:text=To%20an%20evolutionary%20biologist%2C%20fitness,is%20adapted%20to%20its%20environment
- What is a spandrel? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandrel_(biology)#:~:text=In%20evolutionary%20biology%2C%20a%20spandrel,direct%20product%20of%20adaptive%20selection
- The role of dopamine in our musical experiences: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/9/3793#:~:text=Previous%20research%20has%20consistently%20shown,e.g.%2C%20money)%20(refs
- Sexual selection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_selection
- Courtship display: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtship_display
- The Wodaabe tribe: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39070587
- The handicap hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handicap_principle
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