Where does music come from?

This is a true story told by composer Bernie Krauss. 
To hear him tell the story in his own words click here.

Where does music come from? Who made the first music?

One time a composer called Bernie Krauss went to visit an elder of the Nez Perce tribe to gather songs and stories for a piece he was writing.

The Elder, Angus, said “you white people don’t know anything about music.”

Bernie was very confused because he went to music school, and music was his job. But he wanted to understand so he said “please show me what you mean”

The Elder took him out early in the morning to lake Wallowa in western Oregon, They came to the place where the stream entered the lake, and they sat shivering in the cold and waited. [pause]

Soon the wind came down the valley and a beautiful sound like an organ came swooping up from the valley. Bernie wondered where it was coming from, but when he walked closer to the creek he realized- it was the reeds! When the wind blew over the reeds it excited them into sound.

The elder took a reed and cut holes in it and began to play the reed flute he had just made.

The elder said “This is how we got our music and this is how you got yours.”

Music was already happening in nature even before there were humans, the sounds of nature taught us to make music.