Instant Genius

Why do humans make music?

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Our lives are full of music, from the songs we sing along to on the radio to the orchestral scores that bring a film to life. But why is it that humans love to make music, and how did it evolve in the first place?

Musicologist Prof Michael Spitzer, author of the new book The Musical Human (£30, Bloomsbury), joins BBC Science Focus online assistant Sara Rigby on this week’s episode to explain.

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    Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

    • The psychology of the sea shanty: Why work songs are such earworms
    • Could these gloves be the future of music? – Imogen Heap
    • The neuroscience of happiness – Dean Burnett
    • Dr Pete Etchells: Do video games encourage gambling behaviour?
    • Why you can’t multitask (and why that’s a good thing)
    • Phobias, paranoia and PTSD: Why virtual reality therapy is the frontier of mental health treatment



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