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Music has played a part in everyone's life, and it is safe to say that music has more or less impacted us in a certain way. However, we are not the only beneficiary of music. In fact, animals are also emotionally affected by music and sounds, and this is why your pets should listen to music!
Since a decade ago, there have been multiple pieces of research conducted to find out if there is a relationship between animals and music, and the results have been very interesting. Although there are certain animals that have no interest or reaction to human music, researchers have found ways to know more about the animal and music relationship.
In 2001, Dr Adrian North from the University of Leicester carried out a study with his colleague Liam MacKenzie, to research on the claim from farmers that their cows produce more milk when listening to music. This might sound funny, but you will be surprised. The results were actually positive! When slow music was played at the dairy farm, the cows actually produced 3 percent more milk than usual!
Although more researches have been conducted after this to learn more about the relationship between human music and animals, the results haven't been significant.
However, this changed in 2009 when Charles T. Snowdon, an animal psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, collaborated with David Teie, a cellist and composer from the University of Maryland, to conduct a research on tamarin monkeys to find out if the tamarins can be affected by music that is specific to their acoustic vocalisation.
By incorporating the different types of acoustical vocalisations of the tamarin monkeys into a piece of music, they were able to get astonishing results. The tamarins were given a few pieces of music to listen to. When they listened to the music piece that included the tamarin's excited vocalisations and fast tempo, the monkeys were very affected and started to become agitated. When they listened to a music piece that incorporated happy tamarin vocalisation and slower tempos, the tamarin monkeys calmed down and even become abnormally sociable.
There was also research conducted in 2012 by some researchers from Colorado State University to find out more about how music and affect animals. 117 kennelled dogs are monitored to find out if different types of music affect them differently. When the dogs were given classical music to listen to, they became calmer and slept more than usual, indicating lower stress levels. When heavy metal music was played, however, the dogs started to get more agitated and nervous.
From all these researches, it is pretty obvious that animals can be affected by music greatly, and this is why your pets should listen to music! Most researches have concluded that slow and calming music tends to make the animals more relaxed, so if your dog has always been easily agitated or nervous when you are not at home, try playing some classical music. Chances are that you will probably see lesser torn papers or socks when you come back home from a tiring day of work. Also, after a day of hard work, you might be in the mood to relax and play the piano. Go ahead! It is not just beneficial for you, but also for your pets too!
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References:
1. Youtube Channel: PianoSongDownload
2. Youtube Channel: HDpiano
3. Youtube Channel: pianoREADER
Wen Feng is a passionate music aficionado. He is constantly on the search for new music to listen to, with a particular interest in classical music. Piano pieces have always been a great companion and kept him calm throughout his school and work life.