WHEN philosophers debate what it is that makes humans unique among animals, they often point to language. Other animals can communicate, of course. But despite the best efforts of biologists working with beasts as diverse as chimpanzees, dolphins and parrots, no other species has yet shown the subtleties of syntax that give human languages their power. There is, however, another sonic medium that might be thought uniquely human, and that is music. But birdsong, and the song of animals such as whales, has a limited repertoire and no other animal is known to have developed a musical instrument.
Music is strange stuff.
It is clearly different from language. People can, nevertheless, use it to communicate things especially their emotions. And when allied with speech in a song, it is one of the most powerful means of communication that humans have. If music is truly distinct from speech, then it ought to have a distinct processing mechanism in the brain one that keeps it separate from the interpretation of other sounds, including language. The evidence suggests that such a separate mechanism does, indeed, exist.