A Secret Chord
When did we, as a species, first start to sing? Archaeologist Dr Brenna Hassett unearths the origins of human music, starting with the first ever instrument: the human voice.
When did we, as a species, first start to sing?
Archaeologist Dr Brenna Hassett takes us on a several-million-year-long journey to unearth how we came to be the species that makes music. It is the story of noise. Purposeful, beautiful noise. And the unbelievable talent we have for adapting the material world we live in to make instruments that make noise. From wood and reed, to hide and hair, via bone and stone and clay. But before all of this, the first ever instrument was surely the human voice. When did we learn to sing with it?
Written and read by Dr Brenna Hassett
Produced and directed by Becky Ripley
On radio
Broadcast
- Mon 13 Jul 2026 21:45麻豆社 Radio 3
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