Animal BioAcoustics

BioAcoustics is the study of sounds made by living things. In Animal BioAcoustics, researchers record and study the sounds of different animals.

Scientists have found that music is processed in the older, deep part of the brain, the parts we share with our animal ancestors. "Music is not mere entertainment, but a profound bond between all living things." Patricia Gray, a concert pianist and biomusic study group director at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

It is completely normal in the animal world and in humans to have profound reactions to certain sounds. A good example is the sound of a scream or the high pitched violins in the horror movie Psycho. It has also been said that Japanese Ninja learned and used a special battle cry that help disarm their enemies.

Studying Song Birds

While there are only a few species of animal that make "music" as we understand it, the similarities are amazing.

Some songbirds sing from repertoires of hundreds of songs which use the same rhythms and note combinations as modern composers. For example, the canyon wren also uses a 12-tone scale. The hermit thrush, on the other hand, sings in a five tone penta scale which is common in Asian music.