Humanity invented music thousands of years ago. Scientists are sure that the idea of humming various melodies came to the minds of the first settlers of Africa. Since then, music has accompanied us everywhere - many people set invigorating songs on their alarm clocks, that is, our every day begins with music. But did you know that there are plenty of fans of various genres of music in the animal world as well? Cows love classical music, parrots really like sunny reggae, but sharks are ardent fans of heavy metal. All this, at least, is evidenced by scientific research that has been and is still being carried out by groups of scientists from various parts of our planet. I propose to look at the results of several of these studies and find out - what animals could you throw a party with?
Still from the film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"
Interesting fact: The Great Russian Encyclopedia defines the word “music” as “the art of sounds organized primarily by pitch and time.”
Music for cows
If you've ever been to a "fun fact" group, you've probably read that listening to classical music helps cows produce more milk. This became known after a study conducted by scientists from the University of Leicester (England) in 2001. Over the course of 9 weeks, the authors of the scientific work played music at different tempos on the farm. It turns out that calm songs like Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony" and REM's "Everybody Hurts" help cows produce 0.73 liters more milk every day.
Conclusion: cows love songs by REM, Beethoven symphonies, and Simon & Garfunkel. But they don’t like the bands Jamiroquai and Wonderstuff
Species music: cat music
Many applied animal behavior scientists have also started playing cat sounds to suggest cats... ' species-appropriate music' . Species-appropriate music is a genre based on a cat's natural vocalizations paired with music of the same frequency range. The purpose of this study was to use music as a form of auditory enrichment for the non-human ear, and research has shown that it was successful.[2].
In this kingdom, music therapy for animals We also found that there are some classical musicians like Felix Pando who offer special “Classical Music for Dogs and Cats” (which can be downloaded online).
For more information, you may also be interested in knowing what sounds to avoid when it comes to our precious cats. Find out in our article, what sounds do cats hate?
Music for cats
If you play your favorite music at full volume, your cat won't care. You might think that calm melodies and hard rock have no effect on them at all - they just want to eat tasty food and sleep soundly. However, scientists from the University of Lisbon (Portugal) once found that cats do respond to music. They conducted an experiment with 12 cats who were preparing for sterilization. The scientists played them calm music like “Adagio For Strings” by Samuel Barber and the hellish “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. The calm composition calmed the animals, but when listening to the pioneers of heavy metal, they experienced stress.
Conclusion: cats try to seem indifferent to music, but they may well like the works of the American composer Samuel Barber and the songs of the singer Natalie Imbruglia
How do cats react to music?
The correct answer, apparently, is this: some cats do not show the slightest interest in it, friends do not like music categorically, and others enjoy it . In any case, the available literature on cats says nothing about this.
The French writer Théophile Gautier, for example, observed that his cat always listens attentively to the singers he accompanies on the piano. However, when high notes were played, the cat showed displeasure. They probably reminded her too clearly of the sounds that her relatives make in moments of suffering. When the female singer played “A” in the upper octave, the cat jumped up and made a movement with its paw, as if trying to cover the singer’s mouth. She must have had some special associations with this note, because Gautier conducted various experiments trying to fool the cat, but she always reacted with her “critical” paw whenever this particular note was played.
An even more rabid musical “critic” was one of the cats owned by the Frenchman Pierquin de Gemblau. His animal reacted to a certain sequence of notes by falling to the floor and writhing in terrible convulsions . The second cat, also present, reacted in a completely different way: he jumped onto the instrument and listened to the same music with the greatest interest.
Composer Henri Sauguer was amazed to find his cat Cody going into ecstasy when Debussy's works were played on the piano. He rolled - with obvious pleasure - on the carpet, jumped on the piano and on the pianist's lap, and began to lick the hands that produced these magical sounds. When the pianist stopped playing, the cat jumped to the floor, but as soon as the performance resumed, the cat immediately returned and began to lick his hands again.
In the 1930s, two doctors, Morin and Bakhrech, discovered to their surprise that the note "E" in the fourth octave caused young cats to defecate and adult cats to show signs of sexual arousal. It has also been observed that extremely high notes cause anxiety in many cats.
What conclusions can be drawn from these very interesting observations? Why should cats react at all to such a complex phenomenon as human music? The answer, apparently, must be sought in the sphere of special signals, common to those found in the cat’s “language” and which are created due to a certain selection of notes or individual notes. The meow made by kittens in distress is a sound of a certain pitch, and if the musical note matches the pitch of this sound, it causes anxiety in the adult animals. This explains why Gaultier's cat tried to "shut up" the singer when she played certain notes. At that moment, the cat must have believed that the singer was a kitten in trouble, and, no doubt, tried to help to the best of her ability. For the same reason, apparently, the cat Soge believed that his owner needed help, and rushed to lick the hands from which sounds were coming out, in order to calm him down, just like a mother cat rushes to lick her kitten when she thinks that something is bothering him.
The spasms and sexual arousal of other cats is probably nothing more than an erotic reaction to sounds that resemble the screams made by their female friends during courtship. And the fear that occurs at very high musical notes is most likely just panic, a natural reaction to what seems to the cat to be a cry of pain.
In other words, the “musicality” of cats is another myth among many that these animals have acquired. They react - and each cat differently - only to individual sounds from many and do this in accordance with their own system of instincts. Some musical notes stimulate parental feelings, others cause sexual arousal, and others calm and give a feeling of security. Yes, cats mistakenly perceive our emotional messages, but do we, in turn, always respond adequately to their behavior?
Source: H. Nepomnyashchiy. "What's on the cat's mind?"
Music for dogs
Dogs, on the other hand, react to music more openly, but in general their tastes are almost the same as cats. In 2011, researchers from the US state of Colorado studied the reactions of 117 dogs to different musical compositions. When calm music sounded from the speakers, the animals relaxed and even fell asleep. And when heavy metal was turned on, the dogs clearly experienced great anxiety - their bodies even trembled slightly. Unfortunately, the researchers did not share the names of the included tracks, but dogs' love of calm music has been proven.
Conclusion: Dogs prefer melodic music, so we can assume that they will also enjoy Beethoven's symphonies. It may also be that they like ambient music.
What kind of music do pets like?
A person likes music that falls within his acoustic and vocal range. The tempo of the music is usually close to the rhythm of the human heart. Melodies with a pitch that is too high or, conversely, low, sound unpleasant to the ear, and melodies that are too slow or fast are not perceived.
Some of the music perceived by humans is incomprehensible to animals, since they have different ranges and heart rhythms. However, animals respond to melodies that are close to their “rhythms” and hearing.
What music should I play for my cat?
A 2016 study found that classical music calms cats, but they do not respond to heavy metal and pop music.
At the beginning of the year, music streaming platform Spotify introduced the ability to create a “Pet Playlist.” The user is asked to highlight the characteristics and character traits of the pet (for example, how active or friendly it is), and then the system’s algorithm will create a playlist adapted to the pet’s individuality.
Scientists at Louisiana State University have expanded our understanding of cats' musical preferences by studying songs that were written specifically for them. The authors measured stress readings in twenty pets who listened to a variety of music during two-week visits to the veterinarian. The best results were shown by the tracks of the “cat composer” David Teie.
What kind of music should I play for my dog?
Finding the right music for your dog is much more difficult, as breeds differ dramatically in size, perceived range and heart rate. According to animal music expert Charles Snowden, the range of perceived frequencies in large dogs (for example, Labradors) is close to that of humans. This means that large dogs are more receptive to regular music than small ones.
A 2012 study led by psychologist Deborah Wells found that dogs can differentiate between different genres of music. The animals behaved more relaxed and peaceful when listening to classical music, and more excited in response to heavy metal.
Do pets watch videos?
Yes, some cats and dogs love to watch TV too. There is a whole TV channel for dogs, painted in colors that are “understandable” to their vision. Previously, we talked about how dogs perceive what is happening on the screen.
You can find specialized videos for cats on Youtube. The “furry” audience prefers to watch birds and fish.
Source
Music for parrots
You've probably come across a video of parrots shaking their heads to energetic music. The fact that they have an ear for music is not surprising - these creatures can even repeat human words! In 2012, researchers from the University of Lincoln (UK) decided to identify the musical sounds of gray parrots. As it turned out, these feathered smart guys are not at all averse to dancing and even singing along to various rock bands and reggae music. They also like classical music - the birds enthusiastically preened their feathers to it.
Conclusion: parrots may like the songs of the rock group U2, as well as reggae - the UB40 team makes good music. But for some reason, electronic music without words provokes stress in parrots
Music for sharks
What really surprised scientists were sharks. While filming a documentary, the Discovery Channel wanted to attract the attention of a white shark nicknamed Joan of Shark. Since these predatory fish perceive low-frequency sounds best, it was decided to apply it to the sound of heavy death-metal music. The film crew never reached the desired white shark, but two smaller individuals swam to the sounds of electric guitars. Scientists have repeatedly proven the interest of sharks in heavy metal, so sharks are the real “bad guys” of the underwater world.
Conclusion: sharks would love to go to concerts of bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and Carcass. They are also not averse to listening to AC/DC
If you are interested in science and technology news, subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen. There you will find materials that were not published on the site!
In general, music is a vast topic about which hundreds of materials can be written. I recently wrote an article in which I outlined what scientists currently know about music. The topics of why all people listen to different music and what musical tastes generally are from a scientific point of view were touched upon. I also provided a link to a service that contains songs from almost all musical genres existing today.
Research and extensive experience
...private owners and shelters confirm the fact that classic calm compositions are often very well received by cats. Some melodies can alleviate stress in a cat, calm him down and help him relax. Cats can even fall asleep to music, just like people, the main thing is to choose the right composition.
David Teja's major musical-cat experiment
Many owners have noticed their cats' interest in specific compositions, but only musician and composer David Tehy began to study cats' perception of different melodies and their reactions to the playback of various tracks.
The goal of Thain's long experiments was to find melodies that would have a relaxing and calming effect on cats and cats. At the same time, the composer created special melodies, which he then played for the cats from the local anti-cafe where they lived.
In 2008, the first two special compositions were tested, the impact of which was assessed as part of research in the journal Applied Science in Animal Behavior. True, initially Thane was not looking for melodies only to calm cats; he was also interested in the leisure of furry purrs, who could be additionally entertained with music while the owner was away from home.
The author experimented for a long time
...with compositions and came to the conclusion that cats respond best to a combination of the sounds of purring, meowing kittens and string melodies. The focus group of animals reacted with interest to the final mix composition, showing keen interest in the speakers of the player.
This is how Thane managed to create a track to entertain cats. Bloggers and ordinary social network users were invited to distribute the composition, who were offered access to the track for subsequent feedback on the cat’s reaction to it.
Now the project lives its own life online. Cat lovers are still recording videos of their pets' reactions to David Thain's creation as part of the Music for Cats project.
General observations on the reaction of cats and kittens to “human” music
In addition to the above-mentioned project, many scientists have monitored the reaction of cats to the sounds of music. A search for soothing music for cats led scientists to the conclusion that cats most like melodies featuring guitar, cello and violin. These three tools interest cats more than others and have a calming effect.
Another interesting fact is that calm children's songs have a very beneficial effect on the psyche of cats. Yes, cats don't understand words, but they love the tempo and the soothing chants. In general, cats relax to the same music as people, but cats enjoy the presence of “selected” stringed instruments doubly.
IMPORTANT: relaxing music for cats should not only be melodic, but also play quite quietly. Loud sounds frighten cats, reducing the calming effect of the composition to zero.
A beneficial effect was also identified in those compositions in which the sounds of nature, in particular the forest, and stringed instruments were mixed.
