Just in via an alert from New Scientist (NS) via Facebook (Fb):-

TOP STORY Special issue: The roots of music

“Why is music so important to us, and can engaging with music change the way our brains work, even as adults?”

Since not all readers here will be signed up to Fb, here is a link to (free access) the relevant page at NS. From there, my personal fav thus far (early doors) is the Virtual Barber Shop (requires headphones)

Humans are obsessed with music. Even if you don’t play an instrument or exist to the soundtrack of an MP3 player, chances are that you consider music to be one of the things that makes life worth living.

One reason for this is that our musical roots run deep: even before our ancestors could speak, they probably sang to one another. Darwin was the first to suggest this, but the idea has only been taken seriously in the past decade. Now it is helping researchers address some intriguing questions.

Is our love of music special, or do other animals take similar pleasure in a beautiful melody? Is human musicality innate or learned? How much of what we hear is “out there” and how much is an illusion created in our brains? How come some people are completely unmusical? And can engaging with music change the way your brain works, even as an adult? New Scientist explores all this and more in this special issue.