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Origins | Are We Unique? | Nature and Nurture
What makes a sound music? Many animal sounds can stir the emotions of human listeners—but so can trains and rainfall. Music involves both the aesthetic response to sound and the intent to elicit these responses. Humans use music to express emotions, inspire emotions in others and create shared feelings among groups. Animal "songs" more likely just announce a territorial claim or a readiness to mate. Still, who can say for sure what a bird experiences when it sings?
WHAT ANIMALS CAN DO
Many animal calls and songs resemble music. But is it really music when a cricket chirps, or just instinctive behavior with no artistic intent? Most such sounds are genetically programmed, with no true creativity or self-expression behind them. But some animal songs are not built in—they are learned and modified after birth. We still don't know the exact function of all the songs that animals produce.
WHAT HUMANS CAN DO
Besides expressing emotions, music has important social functions. Music can help bond the members of a group through common experience or instill an event or ritual with meaning or emotion. Multiple human musicians, all playing different parts, can create a single piece of music linked by a rhythmic beat. We use tones on defined scales, which may be united by harmony. Humans play a variety of musical instruments and pair music with other art forms such as dance. Other species do some of these things, but combining them all is unique to humans.
Born to Croak
In many frog species, males gather at night and sing in choruses to attract females. The frogs are not expressing something invented or learned; within each species each frog's call is very similar, largely predetermined before birth by its genes.
Seductive Singers
Birds often sing to attract mates. In places where females preferred lengthy songs, male songs evolved to become longer, as birds with longer songs had more offspring and passed on that trait.
A Bird That Drums
Humans play a wide variety of instruments, while animals generally create sounds with their bodies alone. But there are exceptions. The palm cockatoo, for instance, is known to beat hollow logs with sticks to make loud drumming sounds.
Creating Art
For humans, music is more than just spontaneous expression. Humans can think of a piece of music as having an existence distinct from the maker.
Animals In Action
Many animal calls are instinctive. Some animals songs, however, are not innate, but are invented and constantly altered, and some can be extremely complex. The humpback whales, for instance, organize notes into phrases, phrases into themes, themes into songs, and songs into song cycles.
