Which one originated first : Dance or Music?

Answer 1

This seems like a question that's impossible to answer with historical accuracy, but logically I'd assume that they either happened simultaneously (because people naturally move rhythmically to organized sound) or that music came first if you mean "dance" in a more organized sense (because music gives one something to dance to).

This could be merely my socialized bias (because in my past personal experience "dance" is always "supposed to be" motivated by music/organized sound), but it does seem that even if I dance without music, I still imagine music or rhythm while I dance.

My best guess is that the two would evolve simultaneously, or nearly simultaneously. It's hard to imagine having one without suggesting the other in some way. The human mind is very "associative". Even the simple act of producing music involves rhythmic action, which would suggest dance. Likewise the physical act of dancing would, at the least, create rhythmic sounds, that could loosely be called "music".

As an aside, all music is essentially rhythm. This is because "pitch" ("notes" or "melody") is actually made up of rhythmic pulses. When rhythmic pulses ("beats") are very close together, they become psychologically "blurred" together, and are perceived as "pitch".

For example, if you listen to a synthesizer that produces "clicks" of gradually increasing "frequency" (when the clicks get "faster" and "closer together"), you can actually hear the "rhythm" gradually transform into a "buzzing sound" and eventually into a recognizable "pitch".

Answer 2

Well, I don't have a source on this but I'll speculate that it was dance. Why? Because primitive man probably had to come up with some sort of signalling system like a kind of make-shift druming apparatus to warn his fellow tribesmen of impending danger or to maybe just let them know that it's time for dinner, etc.

From here, say maybe when they're all sitting around the campfire in the evening, they would start getting a beat going and this most likely would have led to dancing. From here, maybe they would have started expressing their emotions to the beat by chanting which perhaps gradually led into a more sophisticated type of vocalization or song.

Then, after they started to gather more materials and tinker with things, maybe they would have begun to make instruments to go along with these "vocals."

Answer 3

I think it depends on your definition of the two words. Since music can be defined as "the organization of silence and sound," I think it's safe to assume that music could've been happening long before anyone really put a name to it. I consider dance to be something that branched off of music, so I'd say music came first. Hope that helped :)

Answer 4

Music
Reason - When the man was born, the way he communicated with others was using symbols, later those symbols were translated and made sounds, so that is how the music was also born (this is what I personally feel).
And nowhere its mentioned that the ancient man danced to express his thoughts, so its Music.
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Answer 5

~Dance~
When people were still evolving, they couldn't talk yet therefore couldn't sing. They probably weren't very creative either which leaves out any other kind of music.
They must have stuck with their strengths which would have been jumping up and down and moving all around. Dancing!!

Answer 6

Both originated simultaneously in Nature and men first learn ed to duplicate from nature only.

Answer 7

music came first
whenthe people heard music they started dancing to its tunes

Answer 8

Thats like asking which came first the chicken or the egg.

Answer 9

NONE - a question like this emerged first to satify the humans

Answer 10

Dance, i guess, since in early times dances were use to please the kings, even just a simple dance.