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Level 3 Reading
I’ve got rhythm
Do animals respond to music? Modern science has evidence over the centuries
that they can, and is finding that certain animals are quite good at rhythm and
melody.
Adapted from an article by Rym Ghazal
“The National” newspaper
Thursday October 22nd 2009
A Much has been written about the influence of music on humans. In particular,
it is noted that music affects heart rate and breathing, as well as its ability to
change moods and produce certain hormones in the body. While most people
consider that music is a uniquely human creation, growing evidence indicates
that the mysterious powers of music can affect the animal world as much as the
human one.
B This impact of music on animals has been shown by various intellectuals
starting with Arab polymaths in the 11th and 12th centuries, followed by
researchers using science in the 19th century and by those using the Backstreet
Boys in the 21st. More recent research shows that animals are highly responsive
to rhythm and melody and that they can often create their own.
C Interest in this subject has now come to university laboratories in the field of
“music science” which studies the role of music and communication. As a topic
of evolutionary development, it has become a popular study. In order to
understand how communication developed, scientists have tried to find clues
through the role of music in the animal world. In “The Origins of Music”, a study
published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000, there is a
chapter “Vocal Communication in Animals”, which studies the communication
sounds in the behavior of birds, whales and primates. A central distinction
between the role of music and the animal compared to the human world.
Basically, for animals music is an external stimulus, while for humans it is much
more than that: it is something which can be appreciated and enjoyed.
Scientists at the University of Michigan have similarly shown the differences
between human and animal communication. Human language is “voluntary,
learned and symbolic”, while animals’ sounds appear to be “reflexive” and
Unit 6
Angela Kent
Level 3 Reading
genetically determined”. However, they agree that primate vocalizations are
more voluntary than they previously thought.
D Understanding the role of music in the animal world has not increased very
much since Ibn al Haytham, who was a Muslim-Persian polymath of the 11th
century. He was the first to write a scientific document about this subject. His
contemporary, Al Ghazali, another Muslim-Persian scholar, believed that music
had a practical as well as an artistic purpose. This philosopher believed the role
and appreciation for music was a characteristic that certain animals shared with
humans. In “The Alchemy of Happiness”, Al Ghazali wrote that “camels are
sometimes so affected by the Arab songs of their drivers that they will run rapidly,
with heavy burdens, till they fall down in a state of exhaustion”. Although these
may seem accurate observations, they are not scientifically acceptable in the
modern world.
E One of the most famous examples of animal response to music happened
shortly before the end of the Cold War. American newspapers in 1985 wrote
about Russian submarines and boats which used music to rescue 3,000 white
beluga whales that were trapped in an area near the Bering Sea. Although the
Russians had cleared away the ice to let them escape, the whales stayed
probably because they were frightened and confused. A Russian boat captain
decided to play very loud classical music from the ship. When the whales heard
this, in particular the music of Beethoven, “they were as happy as children,
jumping, spreading out all over the ice field” it was reported. When the music
stopped, the whales followed its sound through the narrow channel to the sea
and were saved.
F The YouTube age has its own musical animals that have become subjects of
scientific study as well as internet celebrities. A cockatoo (a type of parrot)
named Snowball was tested to see if this species of bird had a sense of rhythm
and melody. Dr Aniruddh Patel, a researcher at the Neurosciences Institute in
San Diego, California, visited Snowball and played the song “Everybody” by the
Backstreet Boys at different tempos. He found some surprising results “When the
tempo of a song is increased or decreased … Snowball adjusts his movements
and stays synchronized with the music” Dr Patel wrote in a 2008 paper.
G However, according to Dr Oliver Sacks, the author of “Musicophilia”, it
remains unclear what is going on inside the animal’s brain when listening to
music. He explained that: “it is not clear if the animals are responding to clues
from the humans around them. It is easy to think that the animals are, on some
level, enjoying the music and responding to it in a rhythmic way”.
Unit 6
Angela Kent
Level 3 Reading
1) Main Idea
Circle the letter of the best main idea of this article:
a)
b)
c)
d)
The influence of music on people
Interesting reports on camels, whales and other animals.
Evidence of animals’ response to music over the centuries
The history of animals, music and communication
2) Matching headings and paragraphs
Match the letters of the paragraphs to these topics
_____
1) Historical overview of research on animals and music
_____
2) One modern example of a study with a single animal.
_____
3) Recent studies on the role of music and communication
_____
4) The mystery of the animal brain
3) Match the people or institutes with what they did/believed/reported:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology = MIT
University of Michigan
= UM
Ibn Al Haytham
= AH
Al Ghazali
= AG
the Russian ship captain
=R
Dr Aniruddh Patel
= DAP
Dr Oliver Sacks
= DOS
1) ____ Animals may be influenced by the people in their environment
when they hear music
2) ____ A study was done which included at least 3 species of animals
3) ____These animals reacted in a playful, excited way to music
4) ____This scientist produced the earliest known study of animals
affected by music
Unit 6
Angela Kent
Level 3 Reading
Pronoun Reference
Paragraph A
one
_____________________
Paragraph B
those
______________________
Paragraph B
they ______________________
Paragraph D
His
______________________
Paragraph E
them
_____________________
Paragraph G
it
_____________________
Dictionary Definitions
Look at the underlined words in the text and choose the correct definition for that
word in context:
Paragraph C
field
a) (n) an area of grass, land etc for growing food or keeping animals
b) (n) an area of human activity or knowledge eg the field of physics
c) (n) a place out of the laboratory or classroom where practical data is
collected
Paragraph C
chapter
a) (n) a branch of a society or club eg the Al Ain chapter of the History Club
b) (n) a period in somebody’s life or history eg In the final chapter of his
career as a pilot
c) (n) part of a book, study or project eg Chapter 3 is about his travels
Paragraph C
sound
a) (adj) free from damage, injury; in good condition
b) (n) anything that can be heard; noise
c) (v) to measure how deep something is eg the sea, a well
Unit 6
Angela Kent
Level 3 Reading
Answers to “I’ve got rhythm”
1) Main Idea
Circle the letter of the best main idea of this article:
a)
b)
c)
d)
The influence of music on people
Interesting reports on camels, whales and other animals.
Evidence of animals’ response to music over the centuries
The history of animals, music and communication
2) Matching headings and paragraphs
Match the letters of the paragraphs to these topics
__B___
1) Historical overview of research on animals and music
__F___
2) One modern example of a study with a single animal.
__C__
3) Recent studies on the role of music and communication
__G_
4) The mystery of the animal brain
3) Match the people or institutes with what they did/believed/reported:
1) _DOS__ Animals may be influenced by the people in their environment
when they hear music
2) _MIT___
animals
3) _R_
A study was done which included at least 3 species of
These animals reacted in a playful, excited way to music
4) _IAH_ This scientist produced the earliest known study of animals
affected by music
Unit 6
Angela Kent
Level 3 Reading
Pronoun Reference
Paragraph A
one
_____world___________
Paragraph B
those
_____researchers______
Paragraph B
they
______animals_________
Paragraph D
His
_____Ibn Al Haytham____
Paragraph E
them
___(white beluga) whales_
Paragraph G
it
___music____________
Dictionary Definitions
field
b
chapter
c
sound
b
Unit 6
Angela Kent