Ancient origin of song

by Lisa Cardy

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NEXT�time you're out in your garden listen closely to the birds singing, is it a tune you recognise When whales, birds and humans all sing they do so in a very similar way, researchers from the evolving field of biomusicology claim.

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The similarities are so marked researchers have suggested that the three types of animal may share a musical ancestor at some stage in their evolutionary history. The study also suggests that music has a more ancient origin than language.

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The business of 'natural music' is booming. You can buy whale songs and sounds of rainforests on CD. But are these soothing sounds truly music Or, as others claim, are they simply biological functions of the animals that create them

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A recent article in Science suggests that not only are natural sounds such as whale and bird songs music, but that their songs may be part of a 'universal music' intuitive to many other animals, not just humans.

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The writers point out that bird songs follow the rhythmic patterns and pitches found in human music. Not only do birds create vocal sound, they sometimes add a 'percussion instrument' sound to their songs. Great composers have even copied birds' musical expertises. Mozart rewrote a passage from the last movement of his Piano Concerto in G Major to match the song of his pet starling.

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Whales also use many of the musical patterns found in human music, including similar rhythms, phrase lengths and song structure and length. These similarities, the researchers claim, prove that these marine mammals are natural composers.

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The claims have their sceptics though. Some scientists argue that so-called musical sounds created by animals serve only a biological function. Because animals' cognitive abilities have not been fully understood it's not possible to say that animals experience music the way that we do.