Music - Adaptation or Exaptation?

Music has been a prevalent part of society throughout history, from the works of Mozart in the 18th century to examples of bone flutes from 41,000 bce, it is undeniable that humans have always enjoyed music, and this has been taken advantage of throughout the entire history of humanity. However, it begs the question - why? There are multiple different theories as to why we as a species seem obsessed with rhythm and rhyme. Some claim it is a product of adaptation, and gave animals a considerable advantage, whereas others suggest it wasn't caused by natural selection, and is just a side effect of evolution, which is known as exaptation. One of these theories was composed by Charles Darwin, who suggested that the appeal of music was caused by female partners who would choose mates based on musical displays by males. Those who were successful, passed on their musical genes down to their offspring in a process known as sexual selection, which is a major part of evolution. A similar theme can be observed when compared to other animals, for example the red capped manakin, which performs a complex dance to attract a mate, male humpback whales, who produce the longest and some of the most complex songs in the animal kingdom, or the many songbirds that sing in order to attract a mate, or to communicate. It is clear that our obsession with music runs parallel to the behaviours of other animals, leading some to believe it is caused by adaptation. However, one argument for exaptation is that music emerged, because it helped develop verbal and social skills and came to be thanks to coincidence, as we learned that it helped children develop even faster, and not due to natural selection. This idea is backed up by the links between music, religion and spirituality, reinforcing the point that our enjoyment of music was a side effect of adaptation rather than an immediate cause. On the other hand, a hypothesis by Edward Hagen suggests that music evolved from animal territorial signs. This eventually adapted into a method of putting across one's social group, so alliances could be made between different tribes of animals, and a similar thing happened to humans. We see the same thing happen between other primates, such as in chimpanzees, which have different calls for different groups of chimps. One viewpoint that supports the idea of exaptation, is the concept of 'auditory cheesecake,' which was created by Steven Pinker and expressed in his book, 'How the mind works.' The theory argues in favour of exaptation, by making the comparison between music and cheesecake. This theory states, how in the instance of cheesecake, the body has evolved to have a preference for sugars and fat when eating, however had not specifically been designed to crave cheesecake and this did not play a role in the selection process, arguing that humans simply enjoyed music due to it resembling communication. This theory however, has been somewhat debunked, due to the fact that the body reacts differently to music than it does communication, but despite this, it still holds some credit, and due to its popularity, is definitely a viewpoint worth considering. Furthermore, a more wholesome idea supporting the idea of adaptation and natural selection, is the idea that early civilizations that took advantage of music simply performed better than one without. This was due to music being an effective form of communication and bringing together groups socially, leading to a more advanced commune, therefore they were more successful than other tribes. In conclusion, there are clearly many different theories as to why we as a species are fascinated by music and many have tried to tackle the question of whether music is an adaptation caused directly by evolution, or an indirect product of evolution, known as exaptation. Personally, after looking at multiple different sides of the argument, I believe that music is an immediate product of evolution, because despite the fact that it is not the typical adaptation you would imagine, the parallels that run between us and different animals are to overwhelming to be considered a coincidence and our love for music is not exclusive to just humans.