How do animals interpret music and rhythm?

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by Andrew, Jul 27, 2016.

  1. Andrew

    Andrew AudioSEX Maestro Staff Member

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    Hello there,
    for many years now, I'm trying to figure out the way animals interpret different styles of music.
    There are several recorded instances on YouTube of dogs responding to acoustic guitar or piano, parrots memorizing lyrics, word for word, and apes strumming electric guitar.

    I have witnessed several instances on my own, horse called Madde was able to replicate the 2-bar rhythm I was humming. He didn't get the melody right, but the rhythm was spot on. Then a dog howling to my Duduk practice.
    All that finally brought me to this topic - what's your experience with animals on music? :winker:
    Did you make a piece for cats?
    Can you share your own findings on this topic?

    Thanks
     
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  3. thantrax

    thantrax Audiosexual

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    Don't blame me @Andrew but... I would like remember to you that the human being is an animal, even if we can use a PC. :) Every music producer do it's job for billions of animals. :trashing:

    Anyway... how a dog could tells you if it likes or not your music? Barking on r&b rythm?
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2016
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  4. Andrew

    Andrew AudioSEX Maestro Staff Member

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    True, however for some reason music created by human animals follows universal principles which makes it most recognizable by other human counterparts. Seeing that music is an universal language, other life forms should be able to decipher it, the question is - what could be their interpretation of it?
    With its body language and by trying to replicate some of the musical elements.
     
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  5. thantrax

    thantrax Audiosexual

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    I have no good answer. Sometimes I ask myself why the hell I like Joni Mitchell (God bless her) and, at the same time, Tricky (God bless his voice). :dunno:
     
  6. Kwissbeats

    Kwissbeats Audiosexual

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    [​IMG]

    This Is my dog Donnie,
    He actually shows some discomfort with Sibilance frequency's. other then that he seems to enjoy the music,
    He is free to join any time of the day an usually does.
    He also has tried Auto-tune himself, but just like me he knows where his talents are I guess :rofl:
     
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  7. Beth

    Beth Guest

    I don't know if it could hear 'music' as such but when I was little we had a parakeet who had really good rhythm and she would rock from side to side when any music was played. Didn't matter what speed or how complicated it was she was generally pretty much in time and on the beat. It was really cute and funny to watch :)
     
  8. Beth

    Beth Guest

    @Kwissbeats I love Donnie !
    Does he use his paws or his nose to move the faders ? :)
     
  9. 23322332

    23322332 Rock Star

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    Music is very important for all birds.
    Also most animals have better hearing than the humans - if you were mixing music for dogs, your equing would be way different, because they can hear stuff that we can't.
    I've seen a dog to shiver from dark ambient.
     
  10. Andrew

    Andrew AudioSEX Maestro Staff Member

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    Not entirely - animals have different (not always "better") hearing and perception abilities to humans.
    Silverbacks actually have "worse" hearing than humans.
    Just because dogs can hear 16 - 60000Hz doesn't mean they can interpret their auditory experience more correctly. Their brain might identify all those extra overtones as noise, or unimportant.

    That's what this thread is about - trying to guess or identify how are these experiences understood within the boundaries of observation and interspecies communication.
     
  11. Kwissbeats

    Kwissbeats Audiosexual

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    well if you look at the harmonic tuning topic and others, it's all about what our brain is expecting to hear in music
    and if our expectations are satisfied we are satisfied in some manner.

    Now I know nothing about dog brains, but I think it's quite possible to enjoy music without having a deeper understanding of music and without the higher frequency's.
     
  12. Andrew

    Andrew AudioSEX Maestro Staff Member

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    It's entirely possible - that's what makes music truly universal language.
    BUT
    An individual (of any species) has to reach certain degree of intelligence to comprehend musical ideas in their entirety.
    Many animals surely do have the intellect capacity to understand music as we know it.
     
  13. Olaf

    Olaf Platinum Record

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    Hmm..., you mean like Seal, Scorpions, Zebrahead, Gorillaz or the Eagles? I guess some of them can really keep the beat. Sometimes even Boys working at a Pet Shop do. :yes:
     
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  14. Zenarcist

    Zenarcist Audiosexual

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  15. Olaf

    Olaf Platinum Record

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    Well, sea lions (I thought it was a seal and couldn't find it anymore - that's why...) obviously are able to perceive different rhythms:



    So most likely some other animals can too.
     
  16. webhead

    webhead Audiosexual

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    Especially for wrens. They do perfect duets.
    [​IMG]
    The pic tells you all but if you still wanna read more about that: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1209867

    I have a tarantula. I can surely say that she doesn't like loud music just like other spiders :) But she likes rhythm. You know spiders are interested in vibrations. So when I click on a point in good order on the glass, she comes to there. I didn't do any test outside of her terrarium. Because of she's fast as light :) Here's an old pic of her.
     

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  17. realitybytez

    realitybytez Audiosexual

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  18. NYCGRIFF

    NYCGRIFF Audiosexual

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    I have two female kitties (Phoebe & Abby). So far (seven years with the both of 'em) they have shown us 'nada'. Absolutely zilch. No twerking, no shimmying, no "gettin' down" with James Brown when we popped in one of his tunes. Whether we play Jazz, Latin/Jazz, Pop, Rock, etc. (loud or soft). These two cats are the most 'un-hip' felines we've ever had. Too cool for their own good? <lol> One of the last pair of cats (now departed) showed signs of being in tune with Miles Davis. I'm serious. When his music was playing, Jasmin (the oldest) would come into the living room and plop right up on one of our laps; her tail twitching. This happened many, many times. She did not do that for any other artist. Miles was her main man. We have no hard, scientific evidence or explanations for this behavior, but it was uncanny. Believe me, we've spent long hours looking into Jasmin's affinity towards Miles' stuff, but so far, we've come up empty. In the end, maybe she knew that she was listening to one of the best (if not the best) trumpeter of the 'modern' era? Who in the hell knows...

    Jasmin_On_Bed0011.JPG
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2016
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  19. spacetime

    spacetime Platinum Record

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    i want to hear that autotuned bark
     
  20. rosko

    rosko Ultrasonic

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    Music is a form communication, animals do not have the ability to understand music in the way we do. Our brain are setup to understand harmony & melody in a certain way & we have a unique way of feeling emotion. Some animals can interpret pitches that we may classify as music ie birds melody rhythm, whales pitch. but there is no evidence that music has the same effect ie 'pleasure' or 'sadness' as it does us. It could be that they feel something beyond what we feel but all speculation. YouTube videos you see are most likely edited.
     
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  21. Andrew

    Andrew AudioSEX Maestro Staff Member

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    Understanding music takes more than having the right genes. It's a lot more about education and culture.
    See this thread:
    https://audiosex.pro/threads/dissonant-tones-sound-fine-to-people-not-raised-on-western-music.26201/

    There might be evidence, but not "recorded" or "generally recognized" one.
    But generally, animals do react to different styles of music differently.
     
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