Scientists create music that helps monkeys chill out
September 3rd 2009 06:39
Signature Tune
Music inspired by the soothing calls of contented monkeys relaxes the animals when it is played back to them, researchers have discovered.
Researchers composed "monkey melodies" to investigate whether non-human primates are capable of responding to music with the same emotions as people.
They found that while monkeys were left cold by human music, they reacted emotionally to tunes that incorporated features commonly heard in monkey calls, such as rising and falling tones.
Tamarin monkeys lounged around and ate more when they heard music inspired by the calming sounds the animals make when they are safe, the study found.
Music based on more fearful monkey calls made the animals agitated and anxious when it was played in their enclosure.
The study, published today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, will help psychologists understand the evolutionary roots of music and its effect on the brain, the authors said.
"The emotional components of music and animal calls might be very similar, and from an evolutionary perspective, we are finding that the note patterns, dissonance and timing are important for communicating affective states in both animals and people," said Chuck Snowdon, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
From: Guardian .co.UK
link to the article and some audio clips, a fascinating study which reminds me of what my father used to sing "if we come from monkeys where's our tails dad?
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