Whether you enjoy rock music, or pop,
or if classical or jazz takes your fancy,
we all love music.
But what if we had never invented music?
No, rhythms, no melodies. Nothing.
This is What If,
and here's what would happen
The first known musical instruments
made from swan and mammoth bones.
They were discovered in Germany.
And who knows how much earlier
we started using our voices .
to make sweet sounds
Fast forward to today,
and music has become a part of
our everyday lives.
Can you even imagine a world
where music had never existed?
Music is important to us,
and not just because it sounds good
and makes us feel upbeat emotions.
It's been suggested that music
was a sort of evolutionary step
in our development as a species.
Thousands of years ago,
people probably weren't singing
like Lady Gaga,
but the sounds they made
may have helped with communication
before the invention of language.
Even now,
music crosses borders and languages.
It truly is a global form of communication.
Music is so popular that
The start of monogamy
has been linked to music,
and it may even have been
the social glue that brought
early, pre-human societies together.
And that could have been
vital to our survival.
Okay, so now we know
why music came about,
but how beneficial is it?
Well, music does some great things for us.
And we spend a lot of time listening to it.
When you listen to your favorite song,
does it make you feel romantic,
happy, or motivated?
Well, music's effects don't stop there.
It can affect parts of our brains,
and studies have shown
some hidden benefits.
Take the frontal lobe,
which is used for decision-making,
thinking, and planning.
When we listen to music,
it can enhance these functions.
And music has some really helpful effects
on the hippocampus,
which regulates our emotions
and retrieves memories.
It's also the first part of the brain
which is affected by Alzheimer's.
If a person has Alzheimer's,
listening to music can increase
neurogenesis,
the production of new neurons.
This helps us retrieve memories
and make new ones.
Music can even affect us physically.
Listening to classical music
can decrease blood pressure
and heart rate.
With all these effects, and more,
it's like music is a drug for our brains.
Considering how
beneficial music is for us,
what if we had never had any music?
Could we have become a different
species altogether?
Well, if we never had music,
it's a good bet that
our societies would be different.
For one thing, our brains may not
have developed as highly as they are now.
And our bodies might not have
evolved to today's standards.
If you like exercising or going to the gym,
you'll know what I mean.
I bet you listen to your favorite
gym playlist,
which gets you motivated
and helps you push that
little bit harder when you work out.
So without music,
we'd probably be a lot lazier.
And, I wonder.
Would we still dance
if there were no music?
Dancing and music seem to go
hand in hand.
It would look pretty weird
if there were no music
and people were dancing, wouldn't it?
Those awkward parties would be
even more awkward if
someone couldn't turn on music,
so people could enjoy themselves
and dance.
Do you know what else is weird and awkward?
When you can't seem to think
of the right words to say.
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Music brings us together
and connects us.
From the dawn of humanity until now,
it's played an important role in our lives.
Music motivates us.
It helps us think better,
and it can even help us
cope with disease.
If you think about it,
music may be one of
the most important things that
makes humans what we are.
Alright, now that you've
got your senses going,
what would it be like
if you lost your sense of taste?
Well, that's a story