The Evolution of Music - Milton Mermikides and Robin May

Gresham College Lectures

This is the first lecture from the Gresham Festival of Musical Ideas.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/musical-ideas-2025
Musical instruments have been found in the archaeological record from at least 40,000 years ago and despite the diversity of human civilization, we are yet to find a culture which lacks music. Other species also make ‘music’ – from a grasshopper’s chirp to a nightingale’s song – but is human music simply an extension of that evolutionary heritage? What can modern studies of genetics and anthropology tell us about the evolution of human musicality? Can neuroscience explain why music evokes such strong emotions? And what happens when the ‘biology of music’ goes wrong?
This lecture was recorded by Milton Mermikides and Robin May on 29th June 2025 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.
Robin is Gresham Professor of Physic. He is also Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham. Milton Mermikides is Gresham Professor of Music.He is Associate Professor in Music at the University of Surrey, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/evolution-music
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