Science | Animal Advocacy

Do Animals Like Music?

Find out their favorite type (based on the available research).

How well do you know your pet?

I thought I knew my cocker spaniel until I saw her play for the first time with a friend’s dog. I’ve always seen her barking at strangers, showing her teeth to other female dogs, or simply ignoring any male suitors.

When I saw her goofing around with her first real friend I was baffled. Is that really my Margarita over there? It was as if I had seen her for the first time. I couldn’t recognize her behaving like that ever before.

I guess many of you have had some unexpected discoveries with your pets, and as the internet shows us over and over again, we’re amazed to see odd or awkward behaviors from our long-loved companions.

So what happens when we turn on the music?

Dairy cows

Music influences milk production in dairy cows.

When they listen to slow-paced music, they’re able to give between 3% and 12% more milk than on regular days.

They like listening to classical music (e.g. Beethoven’s Pastorale Symphony), country (e.g. Baby, Now That I’ve Found You by Alison Krauss), and slow folk-rock music (e.g. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel).

Interestingly, cows are more willing to approach the milking system when they hear these songs. They’re drawn to these machines thanks to music and that makes the whole process much easier for farmers.

They don’t have to drag them in and waste time placing them to be milked.

Cows are fond of music that will help them relax, just like humans are.

Primates

Seeing all those species looking like us, captive in those enclosed spaces is heart-wrenching.

Anyone who has been to a zoo has seen them completely apathetic or hyperactive.

Now we’ve all felt what confinement can do to a living being but that was temporal. Imagine how stressful it can be being like that for life!

Music can make their challenging lives a little easier.

One study found that when monkeys were given the choice to turn on and off the radio, they would listen to it frequently. In a 20-week experiment, monkeys kept the radio turned on half of the time.

The ability to have some control over their environment helps them cope better with life in captivity. Thus, changing their sound ambiance can increase their well-being.

Another study found that when primates were able to turn the “top 40” radio on and off, they would show unusual behaviors less frequently and display fewer signs of endless pacing inside their cages.

Moreover, when the radio is on, baboons experience a decrease in their heart rate, suggesting a calming effect that can lead to increased well-being.

Music can also have a masking effect. Primates can become less sensitive to noises from other animal rooms, the ventilation system, and the caretaking staff.

So what type of music do primates like?

• Monkeys are fond of older pop music (like Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, or Madonna) and light jazz.
• Baboons like listening to music from the mid-1950s, the so-called “oldies”.
• Chimpanzees prefer easy-listening and slow-tempo vocal music (e.g. Enya, Doris Day) and slow-tempo opera (interestingly, they enjoy pieces by Pavarotti).

Dogs

Dogs can hear sounds that are way above our range (up to 45kHz!) but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy human music.

Some years ago, a group of researchers tested different types of music with dogs housed in a rescue shelter. Fifty dogs listened to classical music, heavy metal, and pop music for 4 hours a day while the experimenters recorded their behavior.

They found that dogs react most favorably to classical music. The canines spend more time resting and less time barking than with any other genre.

Unless you want to listen to their barking nonstop, don’t put them heavy metal!

The right auditory stimulation not only improves their welfare but also sheds a more positive light when visitors come looking to adopt. They might have a better perception of the whole environment and increase their desire to take one of those cutie-pies.

Have you tried playing classical music to your dog? You might be positively surprised with the outcome.

Rabbits

Few studies have been carried out with bunnies and the evidence remains largely anecdotal.

However, one study focused on measuring their stress levels after listening to music by analyzing the cortisol levels in their feces. Since rabbits don't enjoy being handled, researchers could avoid their discomfort through this process.

They were exposed to a soothing CD (Pet Melodies Rabbit Edition) on low volume for 6 months, 9 hours a day, then another 6 months without any sound stimulation, and their fecal cortisol levels were compared.

The results show that their stress levels significantly decreased for those 6 months compared to before and after their music stimulation period.

The auditory enriched environment had a clear benefit for them so why not try a low-cost and easy-to-use tool to increase their well-being?

Cats

For this species, scientists did something different.

We are very human-centric when it comes to music (and many other things of course). We tend to think that what suits us must also apply to other species, but we are so different.

We’ve evolved with different communication systems and different auditory ranges, but we keep forcing our listening experience onto others.

Therefore, researchers created non-human music: Music tailored specifically for the cat’s frequency range and their natural communication rhythm.

Here’s an example of what that would look like:

The musical pieces are of a higher pitch (1.3 kHz), about two octaves higher than the human music. They also have sound features consistent with cat vocalizations like purring, sliding frequencies, suckling pulses, and other features that come naturally to their species.

A piece like Cozmo’s Air uses a pulse of 1380 beats per minute, consistent with a cat's purring gesture, and sliding frequencies like you hear in 0:11–0:12 or 0:31–0:33 for instance.

The results show that cats prefer music composed for cats rather than for humans. They are more prone to elicit some of the following approach behaviors, indicative of higher musical preference:

Directing their head towards the speaker

Moving towards the speaker

Sniffing and/or rubbing against the speaker

Purring

This is one of the first studies testing music that was designed for a specific species.

It’s a promising beginning and it should be an encouragement for producing more non-human music compositions.

Final thoughts

Sound adds a special layer of awe to life.

All human civilizations have expressed themselves through music, and it’s part of our core as a species. And even if we haven’t found musical compositions in other species, it doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy listening to complex sound patterns.

Most of the research has focused on trying to see if animals are fond of human music and many species enjoy it. Even if they can’t tell us, we see it in their behavior: they bark less, walk towards the music source, yield more milk, decrease the stereotypical pacing in their cages, and so on.

Music has proven to be a simple and inexpensive way to enrich an animal’s environment.

It’s a different way to interact with them and it contributes to their well-being.

The time has come to start adjusting the music to their features. Create music that takes their frequency range, vocal communication, and other sound features into consideration.

Let’s now try to connect with them by speaking their language through music.

Music is a powerful tool if we know how to use it.

Are you curious about the world of sound and music? Learn how music can enhance a plant’s growth, the way sound changes our sense of taste, understand the music industry, and much more! Join my newsletter to embark on this journey of sound awareness.

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