The Biology of Music

The Biology of MusicAuthor(s): Luis Bentez-Bribiesca, Patricia M. Gray, Roger Payne, Bernie Krause and Mark J.TramoSource: Science, New Series, Vol. 292, No. 5526 (Jun. 29, 2001), pp. 2432-2433Published by: American Association for the Advancement of ScienceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3083962 .Accessed: 01/03/2014 23:25

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SCIENCE'S COMPASS SCIENCE'S COMPASS SCIENCE'S COMPASS

March 1999, p. 3. 2. "AIDS in Context" International Conference, University of

the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 4 to 7 April 2001. Opening address by E. Cameron, text available at http://www.hivnet.ch:8000/africa/af-aids /viewR?987

3. Panel discussion, "AIDS in Context" International Conference (2).

4. While with the Department of Health under Zuma, Shisana had supported the government's stalling on MTCT prophylaxis.

5. "African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Oth- er Related Infectious Diseases," 24 to 27 April 2001, Abuja, Nigeria. Information available at www.un- aids.org/whatsnew/speeches/eng/index.html

6. G. Gray, address, South Africa's First AIDS Walk, Jo- hannesburg, 9 September 2000.

7. Z. Achmat, responding to Simelela's address and exit from the panel discussion at the "AIDS in Context" International Conference (2).

DOE's Support of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) rarely gets the credit it deserves for its science programs, and in the case of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, it deserves a lot of credit. The contributions to the project from Fermilab and Los Alamos National Laboratory that Ann Finkbeiner discusses in her sidebar article "Funding the Sloan" (News Focus, 25 May, p. 1474) came from the DOE. DOE's contribution to the Sloan is considerably larger than that of the tra- ditional astronomy funders, NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF). That DOE made this contribution is a tribute to the vision of its program officers and laboratory researchers, who recognized the im- portance of the Sloan data to such topics as the nature of dark matter and the evolution of the early universe, as well as to tra- ditional astronomy.

As for those who will be analyzing the data, I was startled to read that NASA and NSF have not put up funds to allow the builders of the Sloan to have a major shot at this opportunity. The Sloan will be a revolutionary instrument. The people who have spent so many years bringing it into being deserve a chance to use it.

BURTON RICHTER

Director Emeritus, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

The Biology of Music MUSIC WAS AT ONE TIME THE EXPLANATION OF universal order that supported the concept of the harmony of the spheres. From Pythagoras to Kepler, music and mathematics were in- separable and offered a means to understand- ing the mysterious relation between humans, nature, and the supernatural. In the Perspec- tives "The music of nature and the nature of music" by P. M. Gray et al. (1) and "The music of the hemispheres" by M. J. Tramo (2), the authors discuss recent research into the










BURTON RICHTER


The Biology of Music MUSIC WAS AT ONE TIME THE EXPLANATION OF universal order that supported the concept of the harmony of the spheres. From Pythagoras to Kepler, music and mathematics were in- separable and offered a means to understand- ing the mysterious relation between humans, nature, and the supernatural. In the Perspec- tives "The music of nature and the nature of music" by P. M. Gray et al. (1) and "The music of the hemispheres" by M. J. Tramo (2), the authors discuss recent research into the










BURTON RICHTER


The Biology of Music MUSIC WAS AT ONE TIME THE EXPLANATION OF universal order that supported the concept of the harmony of the spheres. From Pythagoras to Kepler, music and mathematics were in- separable and offered a means to understand- ing the mysterious relation between humans, nature, and the supernatural. In the Perspec- tives "The music of nature and the nature of music" by P. M. Gray et al. (1) and "The music of the hemispheres" by M. J. Tramo (2), the authors discuss recent research into the biological foundations of this unique human biological foundations of this unique human biological foundations of this unique human

capability; however, they favor a biological and evolutionary origin of musical creativity.

The music produced by whales and birds and the physiology of human cochlea are analyzed and compared with the diatonic scale as if it were a universal and invariable series of musical notes. The diatonic scale is an artificial series of notes that is imperfect by its very nature. The scale we use in mod- em music was arrived at no more that three centuries ago. The uppermost note of a circle of fifths lands at a slightly higher fre- quency than the top note of a corresponding span of octaves, and the essential scaffold- ing of the 12-note scale does not fit the abstract ideal of arithmetic perfection (3). How, then, could evolution have shaped whale and bird songs or cochlear hair cells for specific tones in a recently human-made imperfect musical scale? Consequently, it is astonishing to find that whales might have chosen the same musical intervals and that they compose songs of the length of a symphony. However, to compare the descending cascade of notes of the wren's song with Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude," which differs alto-





The nature of music-whether from hump- back whales, quails, or the mind of Chopin. The nature of music-whether from hump- back whales, quails, or the mind of Chopin. The nature of music-whether from hump- back whales, quails, or the mind of Chopin.

Symphony" by Beethoven, which is intended to mimic bird sounds, to the songs of the quail and cuckoo as evidence of the animal capacity to compose music certainly lies beyond scientific demonstration.

Finally, the conclusion by Gray et al. (1), that the roots of music lie closer to our ancient brain (lizard brain) than to our neocortex, seems to contradict that of Tramo (2), who describes extensive corti- cal activity during musical perception. It appears more likely that musical creativity is a unique human quality similar to that of mathematical ability.

Luis BENiTEZ-BRIBIESCA

Oncological Research Unit, National Medical Cen-









ter, S-XXI, Avenida Cuauhtemoc 330, 06725 Mexi-

co, D. F. Mexico. E-mail: [email protected] References and Notes

1. P. M. Gray et aL, Science 291, 52 (2001). 2. M.J. Tramo, Science 291, 54 (2001). 3. T. Levenson, Measure for Measure (Touchstone, New

York, 1995).

Response THE BEGINNINGS OF THE DIATONIC SCALE are impossible to determine. However, ancient Greek theoretical writings on music describe its construction (1), and it also appears as the "Dheera Sankarabharanam," a Mela Raga in the Karnatic system of In- dian music. This system is based on the Sanskrit writings known as the "Vedas," dating from 4000 to 1000 BC (2). In addi- tion, we should also consider that practice usually precedes codification.

Benitez-Bribiesca refers to the diatonic scale as an "imperfect" combination of tones. The pleasure or "perfection" of the diatonic scale, however, is not dependent on whether the semitones are 100 cents (well tempered) or 112 cents ("just" tuning), but rather that it is

an old, natural division of the octave. The intonation of this scale is a matter of cultural taste. Bach's Baroque world of keyboard music demanded the creation of an altered tuning system to accom- modate the tyranny of thematic transpo-

sition through the circle of fifths. | Well-tempered tuning did not create z

r,d the diatonic scale (and many be- lieve that it was not an improve- ment). For many musical cultures still

living close to the natural world, there is no distinction made between themselves and R the world of the Other. They (the Bayaka, 3 the Kauli, or the Jivaro, for instance) do not - care whether scales are well tempered or D equal tempered. Their forms of musical ex- pression are not nearly as limited as those of | the West. The birds, insects, mammals, and z

amphibians these people hear in their envi- z ronments have a range of acoustic expres- sion that extends well beyond the realm of those creatures we in the West would con-1 sider "musical" simply because they fit our ? models of music. Otherwise, why, with so i many birds, insects, fish, mammals (marine and terrestrial), have we stuck to emulating | and reflecting on only those that fit our par- z ticular models of what might seem musical o to our limited ears?

In regard to the comparisons of bird song 2 and Chopin's familiar composition, this refer- c ence was intended to be an example of the z convergence of themes. The thesis is that avian song is a learned tradition, as is human z music, and that ways in which music is learned in birds and humans are often similar (3). And as for music perception and the




York, 1995).








In regard to the comparisons of bird song 2 and Chopin's familiar composition, this refer- c ence was intended to be an example of the z convergence of themes. The thesis is that avian song is a learned tradition, as is human z music, and that ways in which music is learned in birds and humans are often similar (3). And as for music perception and the




York, 1995).








In regard to the comparisons of bird song 2 and Chopin's familiar composition, this refer- c ence was intended to be an example of the z convergence of themes. The thesis is that avian song is a learned tradition, as is human z music, and that ways in which music is learned in birds and humans are often similar (3). And as for music perception and the brain, figure 1 in Tramo's Perspective (4) does u brain, figure 1 in Tramo's Perspective (4) does u brain, figure 1 in Tramo's Perspective (4) does u

29 JUNE 2001 VOL 292 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org 29 JUNE 2001 VOL 292 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org 29 JUNE 2001 VOL 292 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org 2432 2432 2432


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SCIENCE'S COMPASS SCIENCE'S COMPASS

propose that emotions (and their visceral con- comitants) are generated in phylogenetically ancient structures, including the hypothala- mus and midbrain. However, abstract processing of music is subserved by structures, in particular the neocortex, that are not shared by lizards.

PATRICIA M. GRAY,1* ROGER PAYNE, BERNIE KRAUSE, 3 MARK J. TRAMO4

1National Musical Arts, National Academy of Sci-

ences, Washington, DC 20016, USA. ZOcean Al-

liance, Lincoln, MA 01773, USA. 3Wild Sanctuary, Inc. 41nstitute for Music and Brain Science, Har-

vard University, Boston, MA 02114, USA

*To whom correspondence should be addressed.

E-mail: [email protected]

References and Notes 1. W. Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music (Harvard Univ.

Press, Cambridge, MA, 1964). 2. R. Ramanna, The Structure of Music in Raga and West-

ern Systems (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1993). 3. L. Baptista, R. Keister, "Why bird song is sometimes

like music," paper presented at the Bio-Music Sym- posium, annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, 21 February 2001.

4. M.J.Tramo, Science 291,54 (2001).

Structures of the Mind and Universal Music

IS THERE "MUSIC PLATONISM"-UNIVERSAL

music-awaiting discovery? The Perspec- tives by P. M. Gray et al. (1) and M. J. Tramo (2) are relevant to this question. In searching for music platonism, should we pursue a unified theory of external effects (involving whales, birds, etc.)? Does the key to discovery lie in the analysis of genes and brain structure, or is it embed- ded in a defined set of abstract structures that governs our response to music?

Natural sounds, such as the communica- tion signals used by whales and birds, are no more than external stimuli that influence compositions and our musical tastes. In ad- dressing the question of why some sounds are accepted as being "musical" and others not, the scientific query should focus on the filtering process of our cognitive system. Much in the same way that birds and whales represent an environmental influence, other sounds dictate formation of music composition and responses just as well. If we consider the impact of urban sounds on our music, external stimuli effects appear un- likely to underlie music platonism.

Alternatively, might music platonism stem from genes and brain structure? Indeed, a good sense of pitch is an inherited trait, and people vary in tonal memory, sense of timbre, sense of consonance, and auditory memory (3). However, neurobiological research sug- gests that there is no music center in the brin dinnrain, no dominant brain structure that is acti-

propose that emotions (and their visceral con- comitants) are generated in phylogenetically ancient structures, including the hypothala- mus and midbrain. However, abstract processing of music is subserved by structures, in particular the neocortex, that are not shared by lizards.

PATRICIA M. GRAY,1* ROGER PAYNE, BERNIE KRAUSE, 3 MARK J. TRAMO4

1National Musical Arts, National Academy of Sci-

ences, Washington, DC 20016, USA. ZOcean Al-

liance, Lincoln, MA 01773, USA. 3Wild Sanctuary, Inc. 41nstitute for Music and Brain Science, Har-

vard University, Boston, MA 02114, USA

*To whom correspondence should be addressed.

E-mail: [email protected]

References and Notes 1. W. Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music (Harvard Univ.

Press, Cambridge, MA, 1964). 2. R. Ramanna, The Structure of Music in Raga and West-

ern Systems (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1993). 3. L. Baptista, R. Keister, "Why bird song is sometimes

like music," paper presented at the Bio-Music Sym- posium, annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, 21 February 2001.

4. M.J.Tramo, Science 291,54 (2001).

Structures of the Mind and Universal Music

IS THERE "MUSIC PLATONISM"-UNIVERSAL

music-awaiting discovery? The Perspec- tives by P. M. Gray et al. (1) and M. J. Tramo (2) are relevant to this question. In searching for music platonism, should we pursue a unified theory of external effects (involving whales, birds, etc.)? Does the key to discovery lie in the analysis of genes and brain structure, or is it embed- ded in a defined set of abstract structures that governs our response to music?

Natural sounds, such as the communica- tion signals used by whales and birds, are no more than external stimuli that influence compositions and our musical tastes. In ad- dressing the question of why some sounds are accepted as being "musical" and others not, the scientific query should focus on the filtering process of our cognitive system. Much in the same way that birds and whales represent an environmental influence, other sounds dictate formation of music composition and responses just as well. If we consider the impact of urban sounds on our music, external stimuli effects appear un- likely to underlie music platonism.

Alternatively, might music platonism stem from genes and brain structure? Indeed, a good sense of pitch is an inherited trait, and people vary in tonal memory, sense of timbre, sense of consonance, and auditory memory (3). However, neurobiological research sug- gests that there is no music center in the brin dinnrain, no dominant brain structure that is acti- vated solely during music cognition, and that vated solely during music cognition, and that

the structures involved in the processing of music can be understood only in their contribution to other forms of cognition.

Platonism is also not likely achieved by analyzing the contents of music. Key ob- jective parameters in the theory of harmony fail to predict some of the outcomes that strive for explanation. For example, the average rate of pitch vibrato and average extent of a step shared by prominent singers such as Caruso, Chaliapin, and Gigli are undistinguishable from other, much less known, singers (3).

Search for universality should gain from analysis of the interplay between external stimuli and internal deep structures or templates (4), already shown to be universal and definable mathematically in creative behavior. It can be shown that Botti- celli's Venus rising from the waves, Dali's Christ of Valles, a Bally's shoe ad, and Watt's first steam engine are all primed by a simple underlying structure. Several prominent artists, Stravinsky for one, no- ticed the advantage of musical rules and adopted self-imposed limitations (5).

The correlation between external stimuli and internal structures stems from two complementing mechanisms. In one direction, information is categorized through surface structures that lead to formation of deep internal structures, serv- ing as the sources for spawning creative ideas. In the other direction, the internal dynamics, based on self-organization rules, form deep structures such as creativity templates into which external stimuli are assigned.

In illuminating the way to discovering music platonism, a distinction should be drawn between the numerous external stimuli that are received and registered, molding the idiosyncratic styles of music, and the well-defined and generalizable templates of creativity that are adaptable in their contents but enduring structurally. Music platonism will emerge by inferring evolution- based templates and by examining how they weld with other templates found in different forms of human creation.

JACOB GOLDENBERG,1 DAVID MAZURSKY,1

SORIN SOLOMON2

1School of Business Administration, 2Racah Insti-

tute of Physics, Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel 91905

References and Notes 1. P. M. Gray et al., Science 291, 52 (2001). 2. M. J. Tramo, Science 291, 54 (2001). 3. C. E. Seashore, Psychology of Music (Dover, New

York, 1967). 4. J. Goldenberg, D. Mazursky, S. Solomon, Science 285,

1495 (1999). 5. D. Haynes, "Templates are central to creativity," Science

dEbate, posted 13 September 1999. Available at

the structures involved in the processing of music can be understood only in their contribution to other forms of cognition.

Platonism is also not likely achieved by analyzing the contents of music. Key ob- jective parameters in the theory of harmony fail to predict some of the outcomes that strive for explanation. For example, the average rate of pitch vibrato and average extent of a step shared by prominent singers such as Caruso, Chaliapin, and Gigli are undistinguishable from other, much less known, singers (3).

Search for universality should gain from analysis of the interplay between external stimuli and internal deep structures or templates (4), already shown to be universal and definable mathematically in creative behavior. It can be shown that Botti- celli's Venus rising from the waves, Dali's Christ of Valles, a Bally's shoe ad, and Watt's first steam engine are all primed by a simple underlying structure. Several prominent artists, Stravinsky for one, no- ticed the advantage of musical rules and adopted self-imposed limitations (5).

The correlation between external stimuli and internal structures stems from two complementing mechanisms. In one direction, information is categorized through surface structures that lead to formation of deep internal structures, serv- ing as the sources for spawning creative ideas. In the other direction, the internal dynamics, based on self-organization rules, form deep structures such as creativity templates into which external stimuli are assigned.

In illuminating the way to discovering music platonism, a distinction should be drawn between the numerous external stimuli that are received and registered, molding the idiosyncratic styles of music, and the well-defined and generalizable templates of creativity that are adaptable in their contents but enduring structurally. Music platonism will emerge by inferring evolution- based templates and by examining how they weld with other templates found in different forms of human creation.

JACOB GOLDENBERG,1 DAVID MAZURSKY,1

SORIN SOLOMON2

1School of Business Administration, 2Racah Insti-

tute of Physics, Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel 91905

References and Notes 1. P. M. Gray et al., Science 291, 52 (2001). 2. M. J. Tramo, Science 291, 54 (2001). 3. C. E. Seashore, Psychology of Music (Dover, New

York, 1967). 4. J. Goldenberg, D. Mazursky, S. Solomon, Science 285,

1495 (1999). 5. D. Haynes, "Templates are central to creativity," Science

dEbate, posted 13 September 1999. Available at

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/eletters/285/5433/ 1495#EL1 http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/eletters/285/5433/ 1495#EL1

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Article Contentsp. 2432p. [2433]

Issue Table of ContentsScience, New Series, Vol. 292, No. 5526 (Jun. 29, 2001), pp. 2385-2540Front Matter [pp. 2385-2508]Editorial: New World Pathogen Strategy Disclosed [p. 2397]Editors' Choice [pp. 2399+2401]Netwatch [p. 2403]NewsNews of the WeekPresident's New Adviser Ready to Put Science in Its Place [pp. 2408-2409]Bush Grapples with Stem Cells, Cloning [pp. 2409+2411]Lab Chief, Postdoc Clash over Nanotech Paper [pp. 2411-2412]ScienceScope [pp. 2411+2413]Lighting the Way to a Quantum Computer [pp. 2412-2413]NO Helps Make Fireflies Flash [pp. 2413-2414]'Tired-Light' Hypothesis Gets Re-Tired [p. 2414]Russian Turmoil Rattles CERN [pp. 2414-2415]DNA: Once Copied, Thrice Blocked [pp. 2415+2417]Unwrapping a Modern Mummy Mystery [p. 2417]

News FocusWriting Gets a Rewrite [pp. 2418-2420]Dollars and Cents vs. the AIDS Epidemic [pp. 2420-2422]Dammed If You Do, Damned If You Don't? [pp. 2422-2423]E.U. Research Chief's Strategy: Unite and Conquer [p. 2425]Dust Disks and Black Holes Swell the Cosmic Census [p. 2426]A New Wind Sweeps the Plains [p. 2427]Random Samples [p. 2429]

Science's CompassLettersSouth Africa in Crisis on HIV/AIDS Treatment [pp. 2431-2432]DOE's Support of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey [p. 2432]The Biology of Music [pp. 2432-2433]Structures of the Mind and Universal Music [p. 2433]

Policy ForumResource Needs for HIV/AIDS [pp. 2434-2436]

Books et al.Review: Mutated into Oblivion [pp. 2437-2438]Review: Nota Bene: The Webs We Weave [p. 2438]

PerspectivesSignaling Specificity: A Complex Affair [pp. 2439-2440]Magnetic Mysteries [pp. 2440-2441]Haploids: Hapless or Happening? [pp. 2441-2443]Extending the Calibrated Radiocarbon Record [pp. 2443-2444]Marine Bugs and Carbon Flow [pp. 2444-2445]A Graveyard for Buoyant Slabs? [pp. 2445-2446]

ReviewGraded Materials for Resistance to Contact Deformation and Damage [pp. 2447-2451]

ResearchResearch ArticleExtremely Large Variations of Atmospheric C Concentration during the Last Glacial Period [pp. 2453-2458]

ReportsUltrafast Manipulation of Electron Spin Coherence [pp. 2458-2461]Superconductivity in 4 Angstrom Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes [pp. 2462-2465]Construction Principles of "Hyparenes": Families of Molecules with Planar Pentacoordinate Carbons [pp. 2465-2469]Predicting the Mesophases of Copolymer-Nanoparticle Composites [pp. 2469-2472]Diapiric Flow at Subduction Zones: A Recipe for Rapid Transport [pp. 2472-2475]Evidence for a Large-Scale Remnant of Subducted Lithosphere beneath Fiji [pp. 2475-2479]A Mite Species That Consists Entirely of Haploid Females [pp. 2479-2482]Gene Families from the Arabidopsis thaliana Pollen Coat Proteome [pp. 2482-2485]Nitric Oxide and the Control of Firefly Flashing [pp. 2486-2488]Femtomolar Sensitivity of Metalloregulatory Proteins Controlling Zinc Homeostasis [pp. 2488-2492]Contribution of Aerobic Photoheterotrophic Bacteria to the Carbon Cycle in the Ocean [pp. 2492-2495]Nitrogen Fixation by Symbiotic and Free-Living Spirochetes [pp. 2495-2498]Impulsive Choice Induced in Rats by Lesions of the Nucleus Accumbens Core [pp. 2499-2501]Conditional Restoration of Hippocampal Synaptic Potentiation in GluR-A-Deficient Mice [pp. 2501-2504]

AAAS News and Notes [pp. 2509-2512]Back Matter [pp. 2513-2540]

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The Biology of Music

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