Monday 28 November 2005
7.00pm-9.00pm
<a href="http://www.rigb.org/rimain/calendar/detail.jsp?&id=244" target="new">The Royal Institution</a>, 21 Albemarle Street, London,  W1S 4BS. Tel 0 20 7409 2992

Tickets £8, £5 members & Concessions

Play on: a journey into the mystery of song
With Prof Steven Mithen , Evan Parker , Prof David Rothenberg , David Toop

The propensity to make music is perhaps the most mysterious, wonderful and neglected feature of humankind and it is a skill we share with, among others, our feathered friends. But just how similar are Bach’s Fugues or the tunes of Lennon and McCartney to the call of a starling or the song of a lark? Why, when humans have language, are our emotions, mind and indeed body so stirred by music, and why do birds sing?
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The ‘music instinct’ is far more ancient than previously suspected, and neanderthals and birds may have been jamming before they were talking. But why do humans and birds converge on the same acoustic and aesthetic choices and why do babies respond to musical sound? Do the so-called musical sounds created by birds serve only a biological function or do they sing for the same reason humans do: because they can, and because they must? Together with legendary saxophonist Evan, Steve and David R will bring these ideas and songs to life and delve deep into some of the oldest music on earth. This event will be chaired by musician, writer and curator of sound, David Toop.