A key development, on which modern human vocal abilities depend, was the achievement of a feedback loop between the perception and production of sound that allows precise imitation, and meaningful variation, of the acoustic properties: Fundamental frequency, duration (and its role in rhythm), amplitude, and timbral spectrum. These are the four specific properties that influence our sensations of sound. They play parallel and complementary roles in both language and vocal music, represented in blended synchrony such as unison song and collective speech; as well as temporally organized sequences such as call-and-response and polyphony.
This Research Topic presents studies that examine evolution of these universal abilities. Fields represented will include animal behavior, cultural evolution, and studies of the phenomenon of human musicality from a variety of perspectives. We will set out to invite or attract submissions from a wide variety of fields able to address issues relating to the topic.
Our focus is intended to deal with greater precision with the phenomenon of the acuteness of human aural perception and its evolved role in music and language; and how musical abilities are acquired and transmitted through vocal learning in relation to speech development and musical expertise. This may build on the wide range of sources employed to explore this topic in, for instance, recent work by the editorial team:
- Bannan, N, Dunbar, RIM, & Bamford. J. (2023). The evolution of gender dimorphism in the human voice: the role of octave equivalence. Current Anthropology.
- Bannan, N. (2022) Two Servants, One Master: The Common Acoustic Origins of the Divergent Communicative Media of Music and Speech. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 6 (2), 21-42.
- Podlipniak, P. (2022). Pitch syntax as an evolutionary prelingual innovation. Musicae Scientiae, 26(2), 280-302.
- Harvey, A. R. (2017). Music, evolution, and the harmony of souls. Oxford University Press.
The intention is to draw widely on all disciplines that may relate to the topic - including Acoustics, Anatomy, Animal Behavior, Anthropology, Artificial Intelligence, Audiology, Evolutionary Biology, Linguistics, Musicology, Psychology, and Instrument Design.
Appropriate fields contributing to the topic may include:
- The continuum between language and song
- The role of infant directed speech (‘motherese’)
- The feedback system and the interdependence of production and perception
- Tuning systems
- Pitch and emotion
- Vocal learning
- Imitation and variation
- Comparative acoustic communication across species
- The role and nature of vocal signalling
- Musical creativity
- Inner hearing
- Musical memory Synchrony
- Bipedalism and human rhythmic behavior
- Vocal synthesis and artificial intelligence
- Choral blend
- Motivational aspects of singing
- Vocal health and well-being
- The health benefits of singing
- Song and second-language learning
- Music and dance
- Acoustic archaeology
- Responses to environmental resonance
A key development, on which modern human vocal abilities depend, was the achievement of a feedback loop between the perception and production of sound that allows precise imitation, and meaningful variation, of the acoustic properties: Fundamental frequency, duration (and its role in rhythm), amplitude, and timbral spectrum. These are the four specific properties that influence our sensations of sound. They play parallel and complementary roles in both language and vocal music, represented in blended synchrony such as unison song and collective speech; as well as temporally organized sequences such as call-and-response and polyphony.
This Research Topic presents studies that examine evolution of these universal abilities. Fields represented will include animal behavior, cultural evolution, and studies of the phenomenon of human musicality from a variety of perspectives. We will set out to invite or attract submissions from a wide variety of fields able to address issues relating to the topic.
Our focus is intended to deal with greater precision with the phenomenon of the acuteness of human aural perception and its evolved role in music and language; and how musical abilities are acquired and transmitted through vocal learning in relation to speech development and musical expertise. This may build on the wide range of sources employed to explore this topic in, for instance, recent work by the editorial team:
- Bannan, N, Dunbar, RIM, & Bamford. J. (2023). The evolution of gender dimorphism in the human voice: the role of octave equivalence. Current Anthropology.
- Bannan, N. (2022) Two Servants, One Master: The Common Acoustic Origins of the Divergent Communicative Media of Music and Speech. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 6 (2), 21-42.
- Podlipniak, P. (2022). Pitch syntax as an evolutionary prelingual innovation. Musicae Scientiae, 26(2), 280-302.
- Harvey, A. R. (2017). Music, evolution, and the harmony of souls. Oxford University Press.
The intention is to draw widely on all disciplines that may relate to the topic - including Acoustics, Anatomy, Animal Behavior, Anthropology, Artificial Intelligence, Audiology, Evolutionary Biology, Linguistics, Musicology, Psychology, and Instrument Design.
Appropriate fields contributing to the topic may include:
- The continuum between language and song
- The role of infant directed speech (‘motherese’)
- The feedback system and the interdependence of production and perception
- Tuning systems
- Pitch and emotion
- Vocal learning
- Imitation and variation
- Comparative acoustic communication across species
- The role and nature of vocal signalling
- Musical creativity
- Inner hearing
- Musical memory Synchrony
- Bipedalism and human rhythmic behavior
- Vocal synthesis and artificial intelligence
- Choral blend
- Motivational aspects of singing
- Vocal health and well-being
- The health benefits of singing
- Song and second-language learning
- Music and dance
- Acoustic archaeology
- Responses to environmental resonance
