音乐缘何而起 经济学人杂志VIP专享VIP免费

Whymusic?音乐缘何而起？Biologistsareaddressingoneofhumanity’sstrangestattributes,itsall-singing,all-dancingculture生物学家正在对人类最怪异的特征——载歌载舞的文化——加以解释“IFMUSICbethefoodoflove,playon,givemeexcessofit.”Andifnot?Well,whatexactlyisitfor?Theproductionandconsumptionofmusicisabigpartoftheeconomy.Thefirstusetowhichcommercialrecording,intheformofEdison’sphonographs,wastobringmusictothelivingroomsandpicnictablesofthosewhocouldnotaffordtopaylivemusicians.Today,peoplearesosurroundedbyotherpeople’smusicthattheytakeitforgranted,butaslittleas100yearsagosingsongsathome,thechoirinthechurchandfiddlersinthepubwereallthatmostpeopleheard.“如果音乐是爱的食粮，奏下去，直到漫溢。”如果不是呢？究竟音乐是为了什么？音乐的生产和消费是经济的重要组成部分。以爱迪生的留声机形式首度出现的商业录音，就是为了将音乐带入那些请不起现场乐队的家庭，引入他们的客厅和野餐桌上。今天，人们已经被音乐层层包围，觉得不足为奇，但就在100年前，大部分人们听到的不过是家中的吟唱，教堂的唱诗和酒吧中的小提琴手。Otherappetites,too,havebeensatedeventoexcessbymodernbusiness.Foodfarbeyondthesimpleneedsofstomachs,andsex(oratleastimagesofit)farbeyondtheneedsofreproduction,bombardthemodernmanandwoman,andareeagerlyconsumed.Buttheseexcessesarebuiltonobviousappetites.WhatappetitedrivestheproliferationofmusictothepointwheretheaverageAmericanteenagerspends1½-2½hoursaday—aneighthofhiswakinglife—listeningtoit?其他欲望也和音乐一样，在现代商业的作用下甚至发展到闲赘。食物远非仅仅填饱肚子，性（至少是与性有关的画面）远非仅为繁衍，它们都像炮弹一样轰炸着现代人的头脑，还十分畅销。不过这些过度消费建立于显而易见的欲望之上。是什么样的需求推动着音乐的繁荣，让美国青少年每天平均花1½-2½小时——即清醒时间的八分之一——洗耳恭听呢？Well,thatfact—thathe,orshe,isateenager—supportsonehypothesisaboutthefunctionofmusic.Around40%ofthelyricsofpopularsongsspeakofromance,sexualrelationshipsandsexualbehaviour.TheShakespeareantheory,thatmusicisatleastoneofthefoodsoflove,hasastrongclaimtobetrue.Themoremellifluousthesinger,themoredexteroustheharpist,themorematesheattracts.受众是青少年这一事实，对音乐功能假说之一提供了支撑。约40%流行歌曲的作词都在讲述爱情，两性关系和性行为。莎翁曰，音乐至少为爱情食粮之一，很大程度上是正确的。歌手声音愈甜美，竖琴师弹奏越流畅，吸引的异性就越多。Asecondideathatiswidelytoutedisthatmusicbindsgroupsofpeopletogether.Theresultingsolidarity,itssupporterssuggest,mighthavehelpedbandsofearlyhumanstothriveattheexpenseofthosethatwerelessmusical.第二种广泛受到支持的说法是，音乐将人们联系到了一起。该理论的支持者认为，由此产生的团结可能帮助早期人群变得更加繁荣，音乐细胞不发达的群体则遭到淘汰。Bothoftheseideasarguethatmusicalabilityevolvedspecifically—thatitis,ifyoulike,avirtualorganaspreciselycraftedtoitspurposeastheheartorthespleen.Thethirdhypothesis,however,isthatmusicisacrossbetweenanaccidentandaninvention.Itisanaccidentbecauseitistheconsequenceofabilitiesthatevolvedforotherpurposes.Anditisaninventionbecause,havingthuscomeintoexistence,peoplehavebentittotheirwillandmadesomethingtheylikefromit.这两种观点都认为，音乐能力是特别发展起来的——也可以说是一个假想中完全为某种功能而产生的器官，类似心脏或脾脏。第三种假设却认为，音乐是偶然和创造的交集。说它是偶然，因为音乐是本为他用的能力产生的结果。说是创造，因为音乐自产生以来，人们就将它按照自己的意愿塑造，并从中得到所爱。Shelovesyou她爱你Shakespeare’sfamousquotewas,ofcour...