- (laughs) Yeah, yeah.

- could you tell me, why do people like music?

(guitar music)

(laughs)

- I mean, it's kind of like,

I don't know, why do people like eating food?

Or why do people like puppies and sunshine?

- [Craig] That's YouTuber and musician extraordinaire,

Rob Scallon.

He does things like play Slayer on banjo,

(intense banjo music)

create real life delay,

(guitar music)

the largest pedalboard,

and he makes pretty, pretty music,

which is why I asked him,

"Why do you like music?"

- Well, I mean, what was your answer?

- I don't have it, I'm looking for the answer!

Rob's reaction was pretty common among the people I asked.

Why do people like music?

(laughs)

Answer me this simple question.

Why do people like music?

- Um, it's kind of a weird question.

(laughs)

- [Craig] Yes, it is.

Sam and Nate are members of the quintessential rock band,

Driftless Pony Club.

I also talked to two other members,

Matt and Craig.

I'm really nervous about this interview

because you are a member of

one of my all-time favorite bands.

I know.

So, "Why do people like music," is a weird question

because music seems so innate in us.

Not Nate in us, innate.

But what is music?

I think in one of my interviews, Craig said it best.

Allow me to quote the 20th century French-born composer,

Edgard Varese.

"What is music but organized noise?"

Thanks, Craig, but I already knew that,

I'm a big Varese-head.

That music just gets me moving.

(snaps fingers) (discordant music)

So the reason I'm asking this question is because

I find it interesting that organized noise

is something that we like.

Like most ridiculous questions I ask

that I don't expect to find an answer to,

I just kind of want to ask it to learn about stuff.

Reasons why people like music, one.

- Music is the most efficient way

to communicate emotion.

- [Craig] Like, why do you, personally, like music?

- I think because of the expression of it.

I'm expressing myself and communicating.

I think that applies whether you're making music

or listening to it.

- Can you figure out what it is that makes a song

a good song?

- I think a good song puts together a feeling

that you know what it is,

but you never actually, like, put your finger on it before.

It helps crystallize maybe something you know,

but you don't know how to express.

- Music probably arose before we actually could speak.

- Oh, you think so?

- Because you can see music in the animal kingdom

all over the place.

Birds sing, (birds chirping)

whales sing. (whale groaning)

- [Craig Voiceover] Because I like nothing more

than proving Matt wrong, I did a bit of research

and I came to a very satisfying answer to the question,

"Did music predate language?"

Answer,

(singing fanfare)

no one knows for sure.

There is a 50,000 year old Slovenian bone flute,

my nickname in high school,

made from an extinct bear

thought to be the world's oldest known instrument,

which means music probably predated that by a lot.

But, there's debate as to whether it's actually

an instrument at all, also,

we don't even know when language began, so...

On the other hand, language probably started

with a series of grunts, and hums, and whistles.

That's just a theory of mine, (grunting and whistling)

or an excuse to just use this B-roll.

And since music is organized noise,

then music came before language.

And actually, by that definition,

language is music.

We use notes to convey different ideas, am I right?

Am I right?

I'm right.

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♪ Can you feel ♪ (discordant piano playing)

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(playing ""Heart and Soul"")

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♪ Ray, a drop of golden sun ♪

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(discordant piano playing)

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(discordant piano playing)

So music, other than spoken language,

may be an older and simpler, yet more fundamental

form of language that's better at expressing emotions

than words can.

Or it just may communicate emotions quicker.

Like, have you ever heard of the devil's tritone?

(clears throat loudly)

(plays dissonant chord)

Lovely, isn't it? (plays dissonant chord)

It's called a tritone because it's two notes

that are three whole steps apart.

It communicates tension, something unresolved.

It wants you to play this chord.

(plays chord)

Or maybe...

(plays chords)

And then it sounds complete.

And you probably feel that tension, don't you?

Which leads to number two.

Two, it affects moods.

(foghorn blowing)

If you were listening to the devil's tritone all day,

I don't think I'd want to be around you.

Luckily, there are other chords.

- Like major seventh chords, oh my God.

I love them so much.

I could live in a major seventh chord

for the rest of my life.

- Why is that?

- A perfect major chord is like,

(plays major chord)

"Look at this beautiful sunset!"

Look at this, like, impossibly perfect thing.