Did you know that there’s a science called zoomusicology?
It’s the study of the musical aspects in sound or communication produced and received by animals. Your mind probably races to thoughts of morning birds chirping by your window, and this is a fair assumption because birds tend to mimic relatively similar patterns and rhythms to the musical composition of humans.
However, other studies show that more animals, including aquatic creatures and amphibians, respond and create their fine-tuned sense of music. Here are some of our favorite animals that create their own orchestras:
Tamarins. In 2009, researchers conducted the most well known study in animal behavior and music. The researchers composed two songs for cotton-topped tamarins with vocalizations that were three octaves higher than humans and beats twice as fast as the average human heart rate. One of the songs was set to a fast tempo, which was made to mimic excited monkey tones. The fast tempo visibly agitated the animals, but when the song had a slower tempo (mimicking happier tones), the monkeys were calmer and more sociable.
The slow “tamarin ballad” helped make a grand discovery in zoomusicology, suggesting that animals respond positively to music that mimics their heart rates and vocal ranges. This explained why animals rarely respond to music composed by humans. Our compositions don’t match the animals’ heart rate and vocal range.
Cats. Using the scientific conclusion from the tamarin experiment, the same researchers created a company called Music for Cats. After tinkering with the scale, they discovered that felines prefer a higher frequency range to match their vocalizations and a speedier tempo to parallel their resting heart rate, which is faster than humans. You can purchase their cat songs from $1 to $2 online.
Whales. Jelle Atema, a biology professor at Boston University who studied prehistoric flutes, says that whales actually spend an enormous amount of time and energy creating music. They use similar rhythms, phrase lengths, pitches and song structure to human musical composition. Similarly to humans, all whales instinctively adjust their songs to compensate for background noise pollution. This is like when we turn the volume up on a stereo or singers get louder because they can hear other noises. However, only humpback and the subspecies of blue whales can create a specific “whale song,” which is primarily used to aid choosing a partner during mating season.
Dolphins. Similar to whale frequencies, dolphins have their own set of clicks, groans, squeaks and grunts to speak to each other. As one of the most intelligent creatures in the animal world, dolphins have created individual “voices,” known as signature whistles, so it’s not exactly music, but more like a choir. When a pod (a group of a dozen or so dolphins) is making their whistles, it sounds like an oceanic orchestra due to the constant rising and falling pitches.
Fun fact: Humans can imitate these sounds by quickly then slowly releasing the neck of a blown-up balloon.
Frogs. Surprisingly, frogs can do much more than croak in the depths of night. Male frogs, much like dolphins and whales, have a set of distinct calls, which help them stand out during mating season. In order to attract the females, the male frogs sing in an unorganized (and admittedly, annoying) chorus. The size and strength of each frog or toad and the outside temperature determines the pitch, strength and carry of its “song.”
From the treetops of the rainforest to the deep waters of the ocean, the animal kingdom offers us its own orchestral arrangements for us to learn from and enjoy. To learn more about music and how it affects life all around us, support the Frederick Symphony Orchestra’s commitment to providing educational art programs throughout the Frederick Community.