Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

doi:10.11647/obp.0301

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music - cover image

DOI

https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0301

License

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright

Steven Jan

Published On

2022-12-06

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80064-735-0

Hardback978-1-80064-736-7

PDF978-1-80064-737-4

HTML978-1-80064-741-1

XML978-1-80064-740-4

EPUB978-1-80064-738-1

AZW3978-1-80064-739-8

Language

English

Print Length

806 pages (xxxiii + 773)

Dimensions

Paperback156 x 55 x 234 mm(6.14" x 2.17" x 9.21")

Hardback156 x 58 x 234 mm(6.14" x 2.28" x 9.21")

Weight

Paperback1499g (52.88oz)

Hardback1690g (59.61oz)

Media

Illustrations61

Tables17

OCLC Number

1361809219

BIC

AVA
JHMC
JMH
PSAJ

BISAC

MUS006000
MUS020000
MUS007000
MUS015000
SCI027000

Keywords

evolutionary theory
music
relationships between music and evolutionary thought

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

Steven Jan (author)

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music by Steven Jan is a comprehensive account of the relationships between evolutionary theory and music. Examining the ‘evolutionary algorithm’ that drives biological and musical-cultural evolution, the book provides a distinctive commentary on how musicality and music can shed light on our understanding of Darwin’s famous theory, and vice-versa.

Comprised of seven chapters, with several musical examples, figures and definitions of terms, this original and accessible book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the relationships between music and evolutionary thought. Jan guides the reader through key evolutionary ideas and the development of human musicality, before exploring cultural evolution, evolutionary ideas in musical scholarship, animal vocalisations, music generated through technology, and the nature of consciousness as an evolutionary phenomenon.

A unique examination of how evolutionary thought intersects with music, Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music is essential to our understanding of how and why music arose in our species and why it is such a significant presence in our lives.

Endorsements

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music is an immensely comprehensive and detailed discussion of the connections between music and evolution. Steven Jan compares a range of views about how musicality biologically evolved and about how different forms of music culturally evolved, and argues that considering these questions has profound implications for how we should think about the evolutionary history of our aesthetic, linguistic and cognitive capacities more generally. The book will be of interest to musicologists and evolutionary biologists alike, as well as to philosophers of music, philosophers of biology, and indeed anyone with more than a passing interest in how we came to be the musical creatures that we are.

Dr Justine Kingsbury

University of Waikato