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[QSD]

... and if so what do you think they make of it?



I was watching this video and it basically just begs the question.

I'd be particularly interested to hear any stories about pets and the like.

Please discuss

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Yes, but what they enjoy is different than our own music from what I've gathered.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Yes for sure. whenever I play my piano my cat lays on his back and is clearly enjoying it

 

[INC]

Its just frequencies, some will always resonant, some won't.

 

[SaturnSaturn]

Yes, everything in the universe is energy and frequency so of course animals understand music, on a deeper level then we can experience it.

 

[DESTROYA]

 

[QSD]

Yes, but what they enjoy is different than our own music from what I've gathered.

tell me what you have gathered!

Yes for sure. whenever I play my piano my cat lays on his back and is clearly enjoying it

the scientist/skeptic in me asks: yeah but what if you just sit there and don't play? would the cat not do the same? how can you be sure he's "enjoying it"?

also, smaller animals live "faster" lives, so would the music appear to them 'slow' or pitched down in some way?

Its just frequencies, some will always resonant, some won't.

frequencies AND rhythm!

Yes, everything in the universe is energy and frequency so of course animals understand music, on a deeper level then we can experience it.

why do you think they understand it on a deeper level?

it's a funny video but parrots will do this head banging thing even when there's no music I think... maybe they have awesome tunes playing in their heads at random times?

 

[Pejo]

Hope not, I sing to my dog all the time and replace as many words as I feel necessary with his name. he mostly just looks at me for a moment and then sighs and puts his head back down.

 

[Airola]

it's a funny video but parrots will do this head banging thing even when there's no music I think... maybe they have awesome tunes playing in their heads at random times?

What if they can hear the music by just hearing the actual radiowaves. The thing they are banging their heads to is the one that you end up hearing on your radio far away from them.

 

[QSD]

Hope not, I sing to my dog all the time and replace as many words as I feel necessary with his name. he mostly just looks at me for a moment and then sighs and puts his head back down.

What's his name? (just to complete the picture for me)

What if they can hear the music by just hearing the actual radiowaves. The thing they are banging their heads to is the one that you end up hearing on your radio far away from them.

So I'm pretty sure birds are still too big to hear anything like radio waves. But maybe flies can hear them...? I bet "normal" music would just be a bunch of nondescript low rumbling to them

 

[INC]

This is also how dubstep was started

 

[EviLore]

Dogs can.

 

[Pejo]

What's his name? (just to complete the picture for me)



So I'm pretty sure birds are still too big to hear anything like radio waves. But maybe flies can hear them...? I bet "normal" music would just be a bunch of nondescript low rumbling to them

Doug. It's great because it's a single syllable and has a hard sound at the beginning and end. Sometimes I'll just mix it in like "Take me down to the paradise city where the Doug is green and the girls are pretty, Oh won't you please take me hoooome" Other times I'll replace entire verses with it like doing Axel F using only his name.

And no, it's not a reference to UP. I had him before that movie.

 

[QSD]

This is also how dubstep was started

I was thinking yeah that's pretty amusing, a bird that can imitate other birds, and then the bird just started imitating camera's, car alarms and friggin' chainsaws That's some next level beatboxing shit right there. The level of detail is seriously impressive.

Dogs can.

Awwww... Is that you playing?

Doug. It's great because it's a single syllable and has a hard sound at the beginning and end. Sometimes I'll just mix it in like "Take me down to the paradise city where the Doug is green and the girls are pretty, Oh won't you please take me hoooome" Other times I'll replace entire verses with it like doing Axel F using only his name.

do a rendition of beethoven's 5th!

Anyway, so the consensus here is: yes indeed they do... So yeah I wonder what animals would make of different styles of music? Dubstep has been mentioned, so I wonder if animals get the same sort of "heavy" valence from it that we do. Like do animals understand the 'aggressive' nature of metal music? Or are the emotional valences that we attribute to music purely a human 'invention'?

Also, more pressingly, do animals understand the evil nature of Phil Collins? And is that why they attack him mercilessly whenever he leaves the house?

 

[elektrokats]

Bigger question. Do you think Animals can have musical preferences? Like do you think they like certain parts in songs? I wonder if there is a perfect musical masterpiece out there for an elephant or a cat?

I know cats tend to respond better to higher pitch tones. I wonder if this has ever been tested before.

 

[QSD]

Bigger question. Do you think Animals can have musical preferences? Like do you think they like certain parts in songs? I wonder if there is a perfect musical masterpiece out there for an elephant or a cat?

I know cats tend to respond better to higher pitch tones. I wonder if this has ever been tested before.

Yeah that's what I was getting at as well... I'd imagine that the perfect music for elephants would almost have to be horn music. Maybe they should go for a jazz ensemble over there in the elephant reserve. But who knows, maybe that's not how it works at all and maybe elephants, sick of the sound of trumpeting, would flock to a completely different sound, just for the novelty value.

A friend of mine used to own this weird CD called "music for cats"...

 

[Davey Cakes]

I sometimes play "music for cats" playlists on Spotify when my cat is around. Makes for a relaxing atmosphere.

 

[QSD]

I sometimes play "music for cats" playlists on Spotify when my cat is around. Makes for a relaxing atmosphere.

So what kind of music is in those playlists?

Also, TIL that apparently cows like jazz:

 

[highrider]

Most of the time when I’m composing songs on my phone Anna will sit on my work table and watch, she seems to enjoy it.

 

[Davey Cakes]

So what kind of music is in those playlists?

Ambient or classical, with maybe a sprinkle of lounge.

I've also played jazz for my cats.

 

[IDKFA]

I'm pretty sure I saw in the Netflix show Explained (music episode) that animals cannot hear or identity all aspects or our music, such as tempo, beat etc.

 

[M1chl]

Yes, even non-pets understand music

 

[borborygmus]

I had a small bird for 20 years or so (a sparrow, extremely intelligent species), and she got visibly annoyed by Flock of Seagulls, but loved Accept. Fast as a Shark made her face light up and she'd become playful.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Getting “lost” in the music can be for anyone and anything.

 

[QSD]

Ambient or classical, with maybe a sprinkle of lounge.

I've also played jazz for my cats.

Hmm, so yeah I get the part where it's just instrumental music. But is there any reason to assume cats wouldn't like music with more excitement? Or has this more or less been established through experience?

Yes, even non-pets understand music

It's actually pretty amazing how they will gather and just stand there at a polite distance like they know exactly how to enjoy a 'performance'. No need for security, no stage diving, no c(r)ow(d) surfing etc.

I had a small bird for 20 years or so (a sparrow, extremely intelligent species), and she got visibly annoyed by Flock of Seagulls, but loved Accept. Fast as a Shark made her face light up and she'd become playful.

Interesting to hear that there seemed to be definite preferences. And yeah LOL everyone knows seagulls are the worst, so it figures

Getting “lost” in the music can be for anyone and anything.

You sayin' even rocks like to rock?

 

[lock2k]

Yeah, but do they djent?

 

[MastAndo]

Definitely.

 

[AJUMP23]

Rockin Robin tells you all you need to know.

 

[Rentahamster]

Hamsters understand death metal and K-pop.

 

[bender]

Dogs can.

Green Day puts me to sleep too, you magnificent retriever.

 

[QSD]

Definitely.

Interesting, it seems that cats are widely employed in that part of the world as rhythmical aides. Nice (cat-assisted) drumming btw.

Hamsters understand death metal and K-pop.

I recently heard from a colleague that hamsters are actually all-round pretty grimdark... don't they eat their own young? Perhaps these sacrifices to the dark one earn them a certain "insight".

 

[Mr Hyde]

 

[INC]

 

[MetalAlien]

Dogs can.

 

[teezzy]

My dog told me the new Deftones album is in her top 3 right behind White Pony and Around the Fur.

 

[Boss Mog]

Definitely.

That cat is edited in.