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http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1956144
Monkeys prefer metal over classical, researchers say
Mary Vallis, National Post
Published: Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Monkeys are not fans of classical music, but find heavy metal songs by Metallica and Tool soothing, according to new research.
In an effort to understand whether monkeys respond to music, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin played songs for cotton-top tamarins and studied their responses.
Two university professors in the United States sought to find out whether monkeys would appreciate 30-second clips of music specially created for them more than popular music created for human listeners. Previous studies have found that monkeys prefer silence to any human music with a tempo, including German techno songs and Russian lullabies.
David Teie, a cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra, composed the monkey versions of songs after spending time with tamarins and analyzing the musical structure of their calls. He produced the tracks, which mimic the monkey calls, with the help an Andrew Castagneri cello crafted in 1738. Mr. Teie added artificial harmonics and sped up the playback eight times faster than the original recordings. Charles Snowdon, a professor of psychology, at the University of Wisconsin, then played the music for seven pairs of monkeys who had never heard music before, hiding the speaker behind a curtain so they could not see it.
The human versions of songs used in the experiment included 30-second clips from Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Metallica's Of Wolf and Man and Tool's The Grudge. Researchers studied their responses for five minutes after each song played.
"We found that the monkeys responded much more to music written for them and were basically indifferent to human music," Prof. Snowdon said from Madison, Wis., yesterday.
But in this case, heavy metal was the exception to the rule. While Metallica and Tool were used as examples of music humans find arousing, the monkeys found the crunchy guitar chords calming. Eating, grooming, and engaging were indications the monkeys were relaxed.
"We just don't quite know what to make of it," Prof. Snowdon said. "These are usually very active animals. Their activity was greatly reduced when they heard the Metallica and the Tool music. It could be that it was just so startling that they stopped and couldn't do anything else."
When the primates heard the monkey versions of both songs, on the other hand, they reacted as the researchers predicted they would. The monkeys urinated, shook their heads and stretched, indicating an increased state of arousal.
The results suggests music is species-specific. It may be used to communicate an emotional state and try to induce that same emotional state in the listener, Prof. Snowdon said.
The results are published in the journal Biology Letters.
Monkeys prefer metal over classical, researchers say
Mary Vallis, National Post
Published: Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Monkeys are not fans of classical music, but find heavy metal songs by Metallica and Tool soothing, according to new research.
In an effort to understand whether monkeys respond to music, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin played songs for cotton-top tamarins and studied their responses.
Two university professors in the United States sought to find out whether monkeys would appreciate 30-second clips of music specially created for them more than popular music created for human listeners. Previous studies have found that monkeys prefer silence to any human music with a tempo, including German techno songs and Russian lullabies.
David Teie, a cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra, composed the monkey versions of songs after spending time with tamarins and analyzing the musical structure of their calls. He produced the tracks, which mimic the monkey calls, with the help an Andrew Castagneri cello crafted in 1738. Mr. Teie added artificial harmonics and sped up the playback eight times faster than the original recordings. Charles Snowdon, a professor of psychology, at the University of Wisconsin, then played the music for seven pairs of monkeys who had never heard music before, hiding the speaker behind a curtain so they could not see it.
The human versions of songs used in the experiment included 30-second clips from Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Metallica's Of Wolf and Man and Tool's The Grudge. Researchers studied their responses for five minutes after each song played.
"We found that the monkeys responded much more to music written for them and were basically indifferent to human music," Prof. Snowdon said from Madison, Wis., yesterday.
But in this case, heavy metal was the exception to the rule. While Metallica and Tool were used as examples of music humans find arousing, the monkeys found the crunchy guitar chords calming. Eating, grooming, and engaging were indications the monkeys were relaxed.
"We just don't quite know what to make of it," Prof. Snowdon said. "These are usually very active animals. Their activity was greatly reduced when they heard the Metallica and the Tool music. It could be that it was just so startling that they stopped and couldn't do anything else."
When the primates heard the monkey versions of both songs, on the other hand, they reacted as the researchers predicted they would. The monkeys urinated, shook their heads and stretched, indicating an increased state of arousal.
The results suggests music is species-specific. It may be used to communicate an emotional state and try to induce that same emotional state in the listener, Prof. Snowdon said.
The results are published in the journal Biology Letters.
