As crazy as it sounds, there was once a theory that Ancient Greek music might be connected to the musical traditions of East Asian countries since times unfathomed, before the dawn of the earliest civilisations. According to some authorities on the subject, there might have been a lost, primitive musical form extending across prehistoric Eurasia, and the earliest echoes of Ancient Greek music may be proof of this forgotten tradition from long lost eons. Let's find out if this theory holds up (spoiler alert: of course it doesn’t).

Keep in mind that I’m not a musicologist; all the information I provide here is only my synthethis of research made by authorities on the subject.

Sources:
The Rise of Music in the Ancient World : East and West, Curt Sachs

Ancient Greek Music, Martin L. West

Ancient Greek Music: A New Technical History, Steven Hagel

Microtonality in Ancient Greek Music, Michael Hewitt

The Ancient Greek music used at the beginning is the First Delphic Hymn to Apollo arranged by Petros Tabouris.

00:00 Intro

02:00 A lost pan-Eurasian music?

04:35 Why Ancient Greek and East Asian Music sound similar: pentatonic music.

09:25 In defense of the theory.

20:20 Why the defense doesn’t work.

35:30 Conclusion

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