By Ms. Kim, Music Performance Art Teacher.

It is said that modern people hear more of the sounds of computers in their daily lives than the sounds of real musical instruments. Will the computer threaten the reason for the existence of traditional instruments such as the piano? Will all instruments in the world disappear from the planet in the next few decades? What did musical instruments mean to humans? 

In 2008, German archaeologists found evidence that humans made musical instruments about 35,000 years ago. The remains of musical instruments were unearthed in the Hohle Fels cave in southwest Germany. 

Notes very close to the scales we hear today can be sounded with the “Bone Flute” of the Hohle Fels Cave. This instrument was not made by randomly making holes in random locations. This flute, 22 cm long and 2.2 cm in diameter, had to be drilled to fit the body of the flute. 

Why did our ancestors do the difficult work today? Wasn’t it because of what kind of profit was there in music with instruments? Scientists speculate that prehistoric music accompanied by this flute helped strengthen the sense of community among our ancestors. It is also speculated that the Homo sapiens species could have maintained a large social network thanks to the strengthened sense of community. 

Humans instinctively like to move, run, dance and talk, and instinctively like to sing and play musical instruments in this extension. That’s why musical instruments can survive. In contrast, computers present an important aspect of future music. It comes to us in a new meaning and as an opportunity to challenge. We will need both an instrument and a computer. 

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