Did music (or songs with lyrics) evolve from poetry?

Question

or are they unrelated? If it did evlove, what time in history did it do so or become most popular?

Answer 1

Eeek. Songs with lyrics originated far earlier than Medieval Europe. Since the first standardized system of music notation began in the middle ages --around 1100 AD I think--with church plain chant ornamented with melisma (those up and down passages you hear in Gregorian chant), those are the earliest records we have of music notation with lyrics. But lots of examples exist of song lyrics, that might be simply poetry. In my opinion, sing-song rythms and repetative syllables (phoneme is the actual word) must have been the early elements of speech. So if early mothers lulling their babies to sleep were part of the originators of language, then music came before language. Thus poetry would have evolved from music. But that is my own personal theory...not fact.

Answer 2

They are both art forms. I suppose people just started talking lyrically and some guy with a musical instrument was near by strumming. Hence, the first song. Who knows, but it's an interesting thought and a good question.

Answer 3

I believe it stemmed from the Medieval period where songs were sung with biblical overtones in order to reach the people for their salvation. Does this not sound familier? People still sing songs with biblical messages - the gospel churches for eg.
Alot of music was used as a medium for getting biblical messages across, and so it went on from there.

Answer 4

Actually no, many historians believe that Music began very simply with a mother's lullabye, and then divided into so many catagories of music and poetry.

Answer 5

Basically, lyrics were the only means to spread information of currant events. Think of it as: CNN of the Old World.

Answer 6

Music probably came first. It can be done without words and probably was. But it's pre-history.