Live Wire

How music and courtship are linked

In lovers8217; songs, military marches and weddings 8212;every occasion where emotion needs to be evoked8212;music is an indispensable ingredient. Yet the ability to enjoy music has long puzzled biologists because it does nothing evident to help survival.

Darwin suggested that human ancestors, before acquiring the power of speech, 8216;8216;endeavoured to charm each other with musical notes and rhythm8217;8217;.

Darwin8217;s ideas have been extended by Dr Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of New Mexico. Miller notes their potency in pointing to the opportunities open to popular musicians for transmitting their genes to the next generation. Rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, for instance, had 8216;8216;sexual liaisons with hundreds of groupies, maintained relationships with at least two women, and fathered at least three children,8221; Miller writes.