My theory would be that the earliest form of "music" was rhythmic in nature. Drumbeats, handclapping, beating on a log, things that imitate the pulse, which could have either a soothing or stirring effect. The imitation of nature- the sounds of the world- birdcalls, wind, the elements, things that could be mimicked vocally-- occurred, thus adding tonality. All tones have naturally occuring overtones that please the ear and as the ability to discriminate sounds grew more refined, these began to be heard and related and organized into different modalities.
Look at the different tonally based languages, or the languages that use clicks and whistles; music is heavily tied up with language development. Humans work at organizing, at finding patterns, at coding. Rhythm itself is tied up with basic timing processes and there are theories that say it is part of survival in that it helps recognize and connect motor skills and other functions, e.g., interpreting the gait of an approaching predator.
Because the technology of measuring and studying the neurological effects of music and processes involved is very recent, research is still in its early days with brain scans and PET, etc.
Daniel Levitin who wrote "Your Brain on Music", says that
...when we hear music that we like, a vast network of brain regions involved in reward and pleasure start to fire. Neurons in the mesolimbic system, the nucleus accumbens and the hypothalamus begin an exquisite orchestration of neurchemical uptake and release, connecting to neural activity in the front lobe and the cerebellum. These same regions become active in response to other highly pleasurable activities-- such as winning a sum of money, eating chocolate, or having an orgasm-- mediating the release of dopamine and a host of other processes which have been shown recently to actually reduce physical pain. If our neurons could talk, they might well say “Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!”
In time we will find there are plenty of natural causes for the development of the appreciation of music as now know it. But this in no way excludes the role of God for the believer. It is more wonderful to me that people took this process and used it so magnificently in His name. I have a small print near my piano that says, "Music- the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing".
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