Abstract:   The origin of musicality has puzzled scientists and still puzzles. Since Darwin proposed that music must be a biological adaptation, more and more researchers come to study musicality from a biological perspective. This leads to the rise of an interdiscipline named biomusicology. Evolutionary musicology, as a branch of biomusicology, focuses on the genetic basis, cross-species characterisation and evolutionary significance of musicality. Although experiencing dramatic development over the last decades, most aspects of this field remain largely unknown. Here we propose a conceptual framework for addressing the origin of musicality. Firstly, musicality is to be deconstructed into minimal functional units. Then animal models are to be used to investigate the genetic bases. Finally the evolutionary route is to be reconstructed by systematically combining all the units.

Key words: biomusicology, musicality, evolutionary musicology