The world’s oldest known melody is over 3,400 years old and was discovered on a clay tablet in the ancient city of Ugarit.

Humans were making music long before recorded history. Archaeologists have found bone flutes, made from vulture and mammoth bones, that date back more than 40,000 years.

The word “music” comes from the Greek word mousikē, meaning “the art of the Muses.”

Babies can recognize melodies they heard in the womb. Studies show newborns react more strongly to songs their mothers listened to frequently during pregnancy.

The song “Happy Birthday to You” was originally written as a classroom greeting called “Good Morning to All.”

Music can trigger powerful memory recall because it activates multiple areas of the brain at once.

The modern musical staff of five lines evolved during the Middle Ages.

Listening to music can physically affect your heart rate. Faster tempos tend to increase it, while slower tempos can lower heart rate and blood pressure.

The longest officially released song ever recorded lasts over 138 hours.

Perfect pitch (the ability to identify or reproduce a note without a reference) is extremely rare.

The Beatles stopped touring in 1966 partly because their live sound systems couldn’t compete with screaming fans.

Ancient civilizations believed music had healing powers. In Greece, certain modes were thought to cure insomnia, calm anger, or inspire bravery.

The modern piano has 88 keys, but that number isn’t based on physics or mathematics.

The human voice is the oldest musical instrument.

Vinyl records were effectively wiped out by digital formats but made a massive comeback in the 21st century.

Music releases dopamine in the brain, the same chemical associated with pleasure and reward.

The first music videos weren’t created for TV. Early “soundies” in the 1940s played on visual jukeboxes in bars and restaurants.

In ancient China, music was tied directly to government stability. A belief existed that if music sounded chaotic, society itself was out of harmony.

The metronome was invented in the early 1800s to help musicians keep time.

Some animals create music-like sounds for communication and courtship.

The world’s most expensive musical instrument is a Stradivarius violin, valued at over $15 million.

The term “album” comes from photography. Early record collections were stored in book-like binders called albums, and the name stuck.

In the Middle Ages, the tritone interval was nicknamed “the devil in music.” It was considered so dissonant that it was avoided in religious compositions.

The first commercially successful rock and roll song is often debated, but “Rock Around the Clock” helped bring the genre into mainstream culture.

The first song broadcast on the radio was in 1906: a live violin performance of a Christmas hymn.