Since the beginning
Many anthropologisrs believe that music has been used as a form of communication since before spoken languages were developed. In the early days of the evolution of humans, rhythm and tone were used to communicate. Rhythm in particular was important in many early civilizations, due to the fact that certain objects being hit could be heard from a long way away, and allowed long distance communication.
Today we still find that music connects us in a way that spoken languages cannot. Whether we understand the lyrics or not is immaterial, the rhythm, the melodies, and the harmonies, not to mention the harmonic overtones, moves us in ways that words alone can never do.
Many times I have found myself among a group of people who have no common language but music, and have been able to communicate with them, to share an experience we all understand, through our instruments and voices. This has also been the case with non musicians, an ability to play music is not required in order to understand and feel it's truth.
