animals making moosic.

Animals Making Moosic is still on vacation, but this delightful...

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:41:00 -0400

Animals Making Moosic is still on vacation, but this delightful video might get your heart fluttering once more for our cute, furry and musically gifted friends.

AMM returns in full swing this November. But for now, enjoy!

Animals Making Moosic is going on HOLIDAYS! So, you won’t...

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:55:00 -0400

Animals Making Moosic is going on HOLIDAYS! So, you won’t be hearing from this blog for a couple of months.

To get us into holiday mood, here is a silly techno-remix of animals pretending to play instruments.

Au Revoir (for a little while)!

Human/Animal Music Timeline

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:47:54 -0400

Human/Animal Music Timeline

Not so impressed.

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:26:54 -0400

Not so impressed.

And people say we monkey around

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:22:00 -0400

MONKEYS MAKIN’ MUSIC

Similar to my previous post on cat music and a feline’s response to the music created by its own species - this time round, we’ll be looking at monkeys.

Monkeys couldn’t care less about human music as it does not affect them emotionally or alter their behaviour in any way, shape or form. Musician David Teie and psychologist Charles Snowdon wanted to explore this further and thus began to create music composed by the structure and pitch of Tamarin monkey calls. They realised that the ‘species-specific’ music composed significantly impacts the behaviour and emotions of Tamarin monkeys; observed by both Teie and Snowdon.

While composing the songs, Teie imitated monkey calls with his cello then electronically boosted up the sounds three octaves higher to reach a pitch that matched the monkeys’ voices. When played back to the monkeys, their reactions were observed as below.

Fearful Monkey Music - Click here to listen

“Monkeys reacted to this by increasing their movement. They moved faster through their environment. And they also showed increase in a whole variety of behaviours we have associated with anxiety.” - Charles Snowdon

Happy Monkey Music - Click here to listen

“This is a rhythm that approaches the resting heart rate of a tamarin and had this calming effect on them even though the pum-pum-pum in the background was maybe a bit faster than we would expect as humans for this music.” - David Teie

This post gives cred to NPR and Wired Mag.

DJ KITTY There are no words to describe this. It just is what it...

Mon, 30 May 2011 03:58:00 -0400

DJ KITTY

There are no words to describe this. It just is what it is.

THE THAI ELEPHANT ORCHESTRA N.B. Elephants were not harmed...

Mon, 23 May 2011 08:51:00 -0400

THE THAI ELEPHANT ORCHESTRA

N.B. Elephants were not harmed during the recording of this video or the training process. This blog does not support any kind of animal abuse.

What happens when you place large percussion instruments in front of an elephant herd? An elephant orchestra, of course!

Elephant conservationist and Thai Elephant Orchestra conductor Richard Lair has worked with as many as 16 elephants at a time to build musical awareness within their herd. Click here to watch a performance of the Thai Elephant Orchestra. Improvisation is at the heart of their performance. If you watch/listen carefully you will see that they are thinking musically, in terms of rhythm, timing and structure - and they are also following command!

This heavyweight orchestra has already released three CDs through Mulatta Records, their most recent - Water Music (2011). They’ve got much more of an indie-vibe than most hipster bands - so give them a spin!

How does it work? A human conductor cues the elephants when to enter and when to stop. The musical decisions between these cues are up to each individual elephant. The elephants do not begin to play spontaneously, unless one of their friends is already playing. Often, the elephant will continue long after the conductor has asked them to stop.

Fuck Yeah!

Mon, 23 May 2011 07:15:46 -0400

Fuck Yeah!

WOLFGANG KITTY MOZART This adorable Kitty can’t seem to...

Tue, 03 May 2011 05:37:00 -0400

WOLFGANG KITTY MOZART

This adorable Kitty can’t seem to get enough of the piano, completely enthralled by the sounds it is producing!

He has obviously made the connection between the pressing of the keys and the sounds heard, and continues to play for hours on end.

So musically aware!

musicforcats.com

Mon, 02 May 2011 07:30:00 -0400

Ever thought of purchasing music for your favourite feline?

Well now you can, with musicforcats.com. A website that is built especially for YOUR cat’s enjoyment of music.

A little bit creepy? Perhaps.

Musician and Composer, David Teie has composed a number of these ‘tracks’. Imitations of feline vocal communication (purrs, meows, screeches) and sounds of their environment are musically bound to create songs that would potentially appeal to domestic cats and affect their behaviour and their emotions.

He has even created GENRES for said cat songs:

Kitty Ditties - For the fierce, sassy kinds (click here for a sample)
Cat Ballads - For the more mature, romantic types (click here for a sample)
Feline Airs - For the depressed cats (click here for a sample)

Jokes aside, there has been much research and science put into this project, which he likes to call ‘species-specific music’. He has also similarly experimented with monkey sounds/music (to be discussed in a future post).

After recognising the differences amongst mammalian interpretations and absorption of sound, through his experimentation with animals and music, he carefully constructs sounds that latch onto ‘species-specific’ aural interests. His studies show that animals are more likely to respond to music of their own kind, rather than human music. He has conducted this research working alongside psychologist Charles T. Snowdon.

To end this blog post, I shall leave you with a quote taken from the website:

“A hundred years from now people will have to be taught that music was once available only to humans.”

Get your FREE CAT TRACK NOW!*

www.musicforcats.com

*Sorry, they’re $1.99

ANIMALS REACTING TO MUSIC Although I’d love to say that...

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:42:00 -0400

ANIMALS REACTING TO MUSIC

Although I’d love to say that the above video is a true representation of the dog’s reaction to Spanish music, it unfortunately is not.

Entertaining nonetheless!

There are however some stories of the ways in which animals have reacted to music. Listed below are some examples gathered from The Guardian’s ‘Notes and Queries’ section.

Music Makes the Milk Flow:
Apparently, it is common for dairy farmers to have loudspeakers installed in their milking parlours. This is done so that they can play some relaxing music to the cows during the milking process. Songs from musicians such as Simon and Garfunkel or Beethoven helps to relax the cows, allowing their milk to flow more freely. To read about this further, check out BBC’s article Sweet Music for Milking.

Hipster Horse:
An owner noticed his horse respond enthusiastically to drum and bass music. The owner notes that the horse went insane whilst listening to the Dutch-trio Noisia, by running around in circles and neighing on the offbeat.

Jazz Cat:
Another owner noticed her pet cat to respond to jazz. The cat used to do ‘head-over-heels’ whilst purring very loudly when her owner played jazz records.

Don’t Yodel At Me:
A very unhappy pup is not a fan Slim Whitman and his yodelling, and expresses this by howling every time she hears any of his songs.

Own Experience:
Every single time I play the piano at home, my pet dog jumps on the couch next to the piano to sit calmly and listen. She gazes at the piano adoringly. Once I’ve finished playing, she leaves the room.

For the full list of these stories, head along to The Guardian’s website.

Aussie Humpbacks Trending Tracks

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:07:00 -0400

Radiohead may be setting trends in the human world of music, but when it comes to the ocean, tis the WHALES!

Australian Humpback whales, to be exact.

According to ABC News, researchers have noticed that Australian Humpback whales are setting musical trends in the South Pacific. The whale songs produced by those in Australian waters have trended amongst pods across a 6,000 kilometre stretch of water. Humpback whales in the French Polynesia have now taken a liking to the songs, imitating them as though it were their own repertoire.

Even though it has been proven that each whale song is usually quite distinct (for mating purposes), it is predicted that Humpback whales willingly picked up the ‘Aussie’ songs while sharing migration routes. PhD candidate, Ellen Garland likens this ‘cultural change’ amongst whales, to the changes in popular music and fashion trends of the human world.

To read the full news article from ABC News, click here.

To watch whales making music with humans, check out this Optus Commercial I found a while back.

FACT: Whale songs have previously been likened to Classical pieces, including Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. HOW? Well, the whale song is actually one of the most complexly structured songs of non-human animals. It uses theme and variation, rhyme-like structures, thematic material and a generous use of repetition! It is through these same elements that Mozart, along with many other Classical composers, has structured his own compositions.
Humpback whales are also known to be the only species whose song develops in such a uniform and systematic manner.

This post gives cred to Researchers: (Doolittle, 2007) (Payne, 2001) and ABC News.

PIANO POOCH What is going on in this little guy’s...

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:43:00 -0400

PIANO POOCH

What is going on in this little guy’s head?

Could he possibly be registering the sounds and patching them up in his head to combine them with his own voice?

He’s even got the piano-player-sway happening. Move over Ray Charles!

Some avant-garde music right there.

THE LYREBIRD - SOUND IMITATIONS Everybody loves a little bit of...

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 07:21:00 -0400

THE LYREBIRD - SOUND IMITATIONS

Everybody loves a little bit of David Attenborough.

If it weren’t for Attenborough’s involvement in the recording of this video, the sounds produced by the lyrebird would probably be questioned, let alone believed. The lyrebird’s song is a pastiche of a number of sounds dispersed in its environment - including both artificial and natural sounds - all produced through mimicry.

HOW, you may ask?

Well, the lyrebird’s syrinx (bird-equivalent to vocal chords) is one of the most complexly-muscled of the songbirds. This is what allows the bird to create such unique vocal repertoire. They can mimic other bird calls, the sounds of other animals, human noises, machinery, musical instruments and so much more. Channel Seven News were also impressed with the lyrebird’s capabilities. Click here to watch their news story on the lyrebird.

Musically speaking, the lyrebird’s creativity is astounding. Its creative mind not only registers the sounds heard, but rearranges these motifs to reproduce them in their own call, through appropriation and imitation.

TRUE STORY: Park-ranger, Neville Fenton, recorded a lyrebird’s song in 1969 around New England National Park, NSW. It was noted that the song resembled a flute-like melody. After researching into the area, Fenton discovered that in the 1930s, a flute player once lived on the farm adjoining the park and used to play tunes near his pet lyrebird. The lyrebird, having adopted the tunes into its own repertoire preserved this memory, releasing them till the day it was recorded. As lyrebirds can carry two tunes at the same time, Norman Robinson filtered out one of the tunes to reveal that the other represented two popular tunes in the 1930s: The Kneel Row and Mosquito’s Dance.

Thinking twice about zoomusicology yet?

This post gives cred to Researcher: (Reilly, 1968) and Musicologist: (Rothenberg, 1968)

Fact #1 Animal Psychology

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:33:00 -0400

It is assumed that the sounds produced by animals have a purely ‘biological’ or ‘functional’ purpose, leading people to believe that animals do not have the mental capacity to creatively produce music for pleasure. To a certain degree, this is true!

However, as the years have rolled by, so too have peoples’ way of thinking. Thanks to scientists like George Romanes and psychologists like Ibn al-Haytham, research into animal psychology has revealed that animals in fact share more of our mental capabilities and emotional depth than previously thought. The idea of zoomusicology brings together this idea of animal psychology with musicology.

An 11th Century Arabic psychologist, Ibn al-Haytham looked into the effects of music on animals. He discovered that a Camel’s pace could be hastened or retarded with the use of music - and he took the same experiment to other animals including; horses, birds and reptiles. I tried to find a YouTube clip showing the impact music has on the camel walk - but all I could find was this. To find out more about his ideas and thoughts - read Treatise on the Influence of Melodies on the Souls of Animals.

Something to think about.

What do you think?

This post gives cred to Researcher: (Doolittle 2007)

THE INTERNET ANIMAL ORCHESTRA I thought I’d start with something...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:52:00 -0400

THE INTERNET ANIMAL ORCHESTRA

I thought I’d start with something a little ridiculous.

Thanks to the guys at rathergood.com, animal sounds have been collected, edited, rearranged and auto-tuned to create this masterpiece.

And of course, artists need their credits. The entire list of animals (artists) involved in the making of this clip is available here.

Plus, who doesn’t love a little bit of auto-tune?

Welcome to Animals Making Moosic!

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:28:00 -0400

Welcome!

Animals Making Moosic is a blog purely dedicated to our furry, scaley, rugged friends who are exiled from the music world.

Zoomusicology is one of the most underrated musicologies in the world. Up until today, music has been regarded as a purely ‘human’ activity. Who says animals can’t make music?

Stay updated and keep checking to see the most fascinating, and at times, the most ridiculous musical discoveries within the animal kingdom.