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Animals seem to respond to music when it is played to them, but what do they hear?
Chris Daniel
Conwy, UK
We don’t know for certain what causes these responses. Many experiments have been done to investigate the mechanisms of the calming effect of music in animals, but conclusions have been difficult to reach. While some studies have shown that music produces stronger effects than non-musical sounds, they don’t explain the reason for the responses or what aspects of the music enrich or modulate behaviour, as random sounds or white noise also have a beneficial effect in some animals.
One hypothesis is that within captive settings, the music masks more stressful ambient sounds such as human activity, ventilation systems, etc. However, it may also provide sensory stimulation by increasing the complexity of the auditory environment, which may not otherwise be as rich and varied as it is in the wild. It may be that acoustic features in music that cause emotional arousal overlap with those contained in animals’ vocalisations and other naturally meaningful sounds.
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Cats seem indifferent to most music but do respond to pieces written for them with tempos similar to that of purring
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Experimenters have tried to determine if animals perceive music in the way that humans do by breaking it down into melody, rhythm and spectral features such as amplitude, frequency and dynamic range. However, this doesn’t reveal anything about animals’ preference for particular sound features.
Animals have a variety of rhythmic elements in their natural behaviour and some animals, such as parrots and a certain captive Californian sea lion, are able to move to a beat when certain music is played to them. One study found that playing slow music (under 100 beats per minute) to dairy cows increased milk yield by 3 per cent. In another, kennelled dogs responded to a variety of music, but soft rock had the most relaxing effect. Cats, on the other hand, seem indifferent to most human music, but do respond to pieces written specially for them that have a tempo similar to that of a purring or suckling sound while feeding.
Robert Checchio
Dunellen, New Jersey, US
The American rock band the Beach Boys already gave us the answer to this question with their 1966 album, Pet Sounds.
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