Gives 'Pet Sounds' a whole new meaning

Wired Science has a great article on a species-specific music test, a collaboration between a composer and a scientist. They found that the monkeys they tested the music on aren't that interested in most human music, but when the musician created music that shared pitch, tone, and quality with the monkeys' own communications, they responded:

Monkey music, on the other hand, had a significant and predictable effect on behavior. After listening to the fear-based track, the animals became anxious and upset, as indicated by increased activity and nervous behaviors like urination and scent marking. After hearing the calm music, the monkeys became more relaxed and social.

via www.wired.com

This makes sense to me, but I also wonder about the potential for cross-species communication through music. I played both the 'happy' and the 'fearful' monkey music and much preferred the soothing quality of the former to the dissonant angst of the latter. My husband plays guitar, and we often observe our cat responding to the music he plays. She is calm and expresses pleasure in particular songs and will seek him out when he's playing in the backyard, as if she enjoys the serenade. The Wired article includes a link to a company producing music specifically for cats. I enjoyed all three cat compositions myself! 

Thanks to Mike Levine for sharing this article.

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