The Steel Guitar Forum

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=264974

As I mentioned in the above tab, music is based on arithmetical relationships between sound vibration rates, and the notes actually continue to have the same relationships well outside our frequency range of hearing.

The same notes that we hear are heard by all living creatures, and there is evidence to suggest that even plants can feel vibrations and can maybe sense the difference between frequencies. Many creatures can hear notes well above and/or below our hearing limits.

Is music hot-wired into us at conception, and, if so, since we creatures have all evolved from the same primeval cells, do all creatures have a sense of music?

Alan, define "sense of music." This all sounds more like anthropomorphizing to me.

"Are We the Only Species to Hear Music"?

I don't think so.
I'd seriously doubt that my dogs are thinking in music theory terms and trying to analyze how certain pieces are played, but I can sure tell when they like a song or not.

One of them is a pedal steel fan, the other one...not so much. She leaves the room when I play.
Of course she may be a more honest critic than the other one.


Rick

Decide for yourselves:

http://youtu.be/0bt9xBuGWgw

http://youtu.be/qTl1asCDOgs

Decide for yourselves:

http://youtu.be/0bt9xBuGWgw

http://youtu.be/qTl1asCDOgs

No kidding. Also, animal calls have all the characteristics of music: rhythm, pitch, and so on. They even have repeating patterns like music does(verse, bridge, chorus).

I wouldn't be surprised if people have theorized that animal calls and music are one and the same and that's why we naturally are drawn to it. The real question underlying this thread might be at which point in the development of different forms of life did this musical tendency arise and how. Obviously, it's about communication and how it becomes so ingrained that the desire persists even when no other individuals are around. As opposed to a cricket chirp, which is more like Morse Code, a more musical form of communication is much more efficient at delivering information.

"Are We the Only Species to Hear Music"?

Of course not, but without the benefit of speech, what music means to other species is still a mystery that us homo sapiens can only speculate about..

Jim Cohen wrote:Decide for yourselves:

http://youtu.be/0bt9xBuGWgw

http://youtu.be/qTl1asCDOgs

The first bird has better taste in music, IMO, and both birds have a better sense of rhythm than some people I know.


Rick

My fav.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTQD7imxd8o

That cows vid is awesome, I couldn't help but sing to myself…Just a closer walk with beef.
Sorry cows.

The cow video is sublime. They have better taste than every Justin Bieber fan!

They have better taste right next to the mashed potatoes..

That music only works for cows.

Calves prefer distorted guitars, loud drums, laser light-shows, and pyrotechnics.

Not only can other species hear music, but some can play it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjsu3SGAdLs

Imagine a simple tune like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, in three-part harmony. Record it then put it up two octaves. You can still hear it as a tune, but put it up another four octaves and it's probably completely beyond your spectrum of hearing, but the song still exists and still fulfils all the relationships of harmony, etc. Some animals and insects will be able to hear it.

Again, do the same thing but lower it until it's below our spectrum of hearing and the same thing happens. The song still exists and follows all the rules of harmony, but to us it is completely silent. But some animals; whales, for instance; will probably still hear it, and maybe some plants will, too.

If we could only hear the sounds which are beyond our spectrum of hearing there are probably all sorts of wonderful sounds that other creatures can hear. Maybe that's why some animals can hear earthquakes before they reach the surface.

Franklin wrote:My fav.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTQD7imxd8o

That's funny !!

my favourite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAdvqQzO1PY

Depending on how deeply you want to get into it, here's a little 'light bedtime reading' for you: http://cognet.mit.edu/library/books/vie ... 0262232065.

I only know about it because, as it happens, my wife wrote one of the chapters and worked, at one time or another, with several of the other authors.

P.S. I make no claim to be able to understand the scientific jargon but will be happy to ask her to translate it into the language of us commoners if anyone's interested.

Thanks for that link, Chris. That book is very interesting.

If we could only hear the sounds which are beyond our spectrum of hearing there are probably all sorts of wonderful sounds that other creatures can hear.

May I suggest accepting the limitations of our current hearing? I don't want to hear the sound of my vegetables screaming as I eat them..

I'm sure cows hear music. Soft classical music sooths them.

The first bird has better taste in music, IMO, and both birds have a better sense of rhythm than some people I know.

http://www.people.com/article/otters-pl ... d%3D482628
Here's a clip of otters playing the keyboard. They should try them with a steel guitar next. Of course, without opposing thumbs they might have to have a special tone bar made for them...

Whenever my gf's cats started getting too....familiar.... a nice loud tri-tone on the archtop would send them scurrying.

On the other hand, if they were property respectful and keeping their distance, they seemed to enjoy some of my more accomplished chord-melody offerings.

What is that George Strait song about...."Even my girlfriend thinks I like her cat..." or something like that?!