The thing about human development is we still have fuctions from primate times that show in modern life. As "intelligent creatures" we place our own values on things that only have relevence to us as humans. We see a bass for example, other animals do not, they see what it is.. a piece of wood. In the development of learning and this includes music we have not had anywhere near the time to devlelop music as a value so we cannot lose it.
The saying "music calms the savage beast" is based on some long lost observation in time, but must have a relevence in fact somewhere along the way.
For us as players without the development of say the hand we have now, the music we play and listen to would not exist, that's a fact. Without brain development to support this new hand function as it developed millions and millions of years ago, again the hand would not develop into the one we have now. The brain would have to grow in size, new muscles, nerves and anatomical functions need to develop to support this simple new hand, because it is more complex than the one it replaces.
But not all primate or hominid life developed it, that's why the discovery of Lucy, who was australopithecines, the earliest of human ancestors to walk up-right with a better hand function than those before, would develop it further as the hands were now free from being used in supporting walking. This in turn would develop a new shoulder movement, which needs more new functions so a bigger brain as so on.
Again the brain is pivital in this as it has to control and use these functions as they develop, but what develops first the function or the brain? It is believed we had the brain capacity to comunicate, but not the vocal chords to make use of it, to form words, so maybe that is where song (which we call music) came from in our past.
To cut a very complicated subject short, learning is indeed genetic, we cannot stop ourselves from learning, it is in us to learn, you can take away the tools of learning, books, tools music, etc, but you cannot stop us from learning. The best way to learn is from experience and information in small or short pieces. This is why for most, long study does not work well, it needs to be broken down, to make the best use of not how we learn, but how we retain what we learn.
Everyone i'm sure has had an answer on the tip of their tongue, or knew an answer, but could not recall it till it was prompted at some point, that information was learned but not retained in a way that could be used when needed.
Just to propose the completely alternate view
As interesting as the evolutionary theory of musical development is, I believe in the intelligent design point of view, and I am sure that many on talkbass share this view.
I believe that music resonates a core inside of every human that is always seeking to return back to the original created state of glory that our earliest ancestors were endowed with. I believe that there was music in heaven before there was anything, and there will be music in heaven after all this is gone.
I think this is the true meaning of why we all love beauty. Beauty recalls the desire of our soul to return to heaven. Of course standards of art and beauty change, but I think these parts of our brains were endowed as a gift.
No offense meant to the proponents of the other view, but I felt obligated to point out the other theory.
