The Origin of Music

Vemo and Olam discover music by listening to heartbeats while Zarli, Vemo's wife, sleeps. They both sneak in and listen to her heartbeat to see if women and men's heartbeats are the same. Zarli awakens and is concerned that perhaps they were doing something naughty. Vemo and Olam have a difficult time explaining that they are just inventing music, which is a variation on the rhythm of the human heart. As the two men begin to play"music" on skins and shells with goose bones, Zarli's body begins to move with the sounds. Zarli decides she likes music. Vemo and Olam do not reveal to Zarli that they find her "dancing" erotic, but we can see that they do.