The history of music from bone flutes to Beyoncé.

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The evolution of music over millennia is tied to human civilization.

For example, hunter-gatherers, who were very mobile, had to have small, light instruments to carry with them. Once we settled into bigger cities, larger instruments could be built.

Today, music is as accessible as running water. But if you were born in Beethoven's time, you would be lucky to hear two symphonies in your lifetime.

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About Michael Spitzer:
Michael Spitzer is the author of The Musical Human and professor of music at the University of Liverpool, where he leads the department’s work on classical music. A music theorist and musicologist, he is an authority on Beethoven, with interests in aesthetics and critical theory, cognitive metaphor, and music and affect. He organized the International Conferences on Music and Emotion and the International Conference on Analyzing Popular Music and currently chairs the editorial board of Music Analysis Journal.

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