Animals and Music: The “Universal Language”Animals and Music: The “Universal Language”

 Music can be considered a “universal language” of sorts because it is able to pervade language.  Surprisingly enough, evidence of music for humans has been found dating as far back 57,000 years ago when early Stone Age humans used flutes made of bone (Mapes, 2001).  However, according to the article, “Do Animals Have an Innate Sense of Music?,” humans may not be the only ones with the ability perceive music.  Some researchers believe that forms animal communication, with its rhythmic sounds and patterns, demonstrate an innate knowledge of music in animals such as birds and whales in addition to humans.  For example, whales use many of the same constructs of human music, when they communicate using their “whale songs.”  Whales songs have been found to have “rhythms, phrase lengths, and song structure”, which demonstrates their ability to instinctually “compose” their own form of music (Mapes, 2001).  The article also discusses the innate ability of birds to create melodies with “rhythmic patterns and pitches that are in tune with human music” and some are even able to “add a percussion instrument” to their bird songs (Mapes, 2001).  The major difference between bird and human music lies in their ability to create new melodies.  It is believed that while birds are able to recognize and understand their own songs, they are unable to create original and unique songs like humans do (Kenneally, 2003).

While some scientists believe that the sounds made by animals are strictly used as a biological function, biomusicologists argue otherwise.  Mapes discusses how it is difficult to tell whether or not animals perceive music in the same way that humans do: “Because animals’ cognitive abilities have not been fully understood, their creations can only be filtered through human ears and emotions” (Mapes, 2001).  Since music is an “anthropological concept”, humans have their own opinions on whether sounds are considered musical or just sounds (Mapes, 2001).   In other words, a sound that is considered aesthetically pleasing to humans may be completely different than a sound that is considered aesthetically pleasing to another species.  In Kenneally’s article, “Songs of Ourselves” the article states: “In the same way our scales derive from human utterances, a cat's idea of a good tune would derive from yowls and meows” (2003).  Nevertheless, the fact that animals are able to make sense of their own complex sounds shows that they have the cognitive ability at least to recognize patterns in pitch and rhythm. 

In the end, the perception of music in other animals is very unclear, just as it is hard to tell whether or not animals perceive their own form of speech. After all, there is no way for humans to know for certain.  Even so, it is evident that even if animals are unable to recognize the musicality of their communication, it can still be considered a form of music nonetheless. 

Posted by: Katherine Travis

References:

Mapes, J. (2001, January 5). Do animals have an innate sense of music? National Geographic. Retrieved on December 1, 2011, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/01/0105biomusic.html.

Kenneally, C. (2003, November 9). Songs of ourselves. The Boston Globe.  Retrieved on  December 1, 2011, from http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2003/11/09/songs_of_ourselves/.

by Katherine Travis