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Animals' response to music
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Subject: Animals' response to music From: Marion Date: 28 Jun 99 - 02:12 PM The whale article got me thinking - just what do animals think of our music? My parents' cat is indifferent to the piano and acoustic guitar but looks with horror on the pennywhistle and leaves the room if I take out my fiddle. But someone once told me that when she plays pennywhistle her cat would jump into her lap and try to nuzzle the end of the whistle. I wonder if there are dogs that respond to particular lullabies, or birds that imitate melodies in their own song? Survey question: how do the animals in your life react to your music? |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Bert Date: 28 Jun 99 - 02:46 PM One cat just ignores it another promptly leaves the room The dog mostly ignores it but sometimes gives me a puzzled look. Used to have dog that howled. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Mudjack Date: 28 Jun 99 - 04:33 PM Our yellow lab Maggie does appreciate my practice sessions, she'll come near me and flop and promptly take a nap. (is that complimentry?) Sometimes to give the Mrs. a break so she can read or watch TV, I'll take my practice outside on the sundeck. Last year we had a heard of cattle and to my surprize, they seem to be paying attention and did'nt stampede the place. Wild birds seem to come in close for a closer peek and listen. Now people are a different story...... Mudjack |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Bri Date: 28 Jun 99 - 06:09 PM My dog really likes "Candle on the Water" from Pete's Dragon...she actually looks up from whatever she is doing and listens...unless she's eating of course:o) But she's afraid of my guitar. My cat...he doesn't care in the least. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: katlaughing Date: 28 Jun 99 - 06:38 PM Cats and dog love most music I play or listen to. My cockatiel, C-More, is really partial to Irish and Native American flute music, as is the zebra finch. Mudjack: why do you think cowboys sang to the cattle so much?***BIG GRIN*** I've definitely noticed certain pieces seem to calm them more than others; and others which really get some of them into a very frisky mood! I've an article I could post here, called Psychic Pets and Music, if anyone is interested. katlaughing |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Banjer Date: 28 Jun 99 - 06:51 PM My two dogs do seem to relax when I pick up my banjo. I don't know if it's "Oh good, he's playing the banjo for us" or "Quick let's see if we can get to sleep before that infernal caterwalling starts". But they usually never get up and leave, except for the one time a friend of mine brought his bagpipes to the house. First wail out of them and they ran over each other leaving the room. Woulda left the house if they'd found an open door! I have noticed that during thunderstorms which they both dislike intensely and start quivering, if I take up a harmonica and play it does go a long way towards soothing the both of them. As for the cat leaving the room when the fiddle comes out, that's probably just a show of respect for her ancestors that gave their all so YOU could play the fiddle. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: campfire Date: 28 Jun 99 - 06:54 PM I used to have a parakeet that would "sing along" (in his own way), but only if I was fingerpicking - never did a thing for strumming. Several of the cats that have graced my life have seemed to come running to listen to me play my guitar. Then someone pointed out that what they really were enjoying was curling up in my furry-lined guitar case, while the guitar was out of it. None of the dogs have seemed to give a hoot one way or the other, although they are an ever-adoring audience. campfire |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Barbara Date: 28 Jun 99 - 07:23 PM Had a friend with a concertina and a cat named MacCavity; whenever she started playing concertina MacCavity would pace and yowl, and sometimes he'd come and claw her leg and arm. Not sure if he objected, was singing and playing along, or if he heard it as a proposition and was responding in kind. Blessings, Barbara |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Jo Taylor Date: 28 Jun 99 - 08:23 PM Cats get very offended at higher end of whistly things, one tries to sit on my head & knock it out of my mouth. Dog (aged yellow labrador) is rather deaf so doesn't mind at all, another dog we had would sing beautifully to clarinet accompaniment (howl??). The geese love flute music, waddle over and sit at my feet with their heads on one side staring with one beady eye. The goat remains indifferent... Jo |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: gargoyle Date: 28 Jun 99 - 09:31 PM PitBull - 3 years old
Saddels up parallel to the piano
Nose BUTTS Forcefully at right hand left continues, moves & BUTTS right continues, moves & BUTTS
Some declare him a music critic
Throw the ball till the tongue hangs back Then one can play Ballin' the Jack
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Ted from Australia Date: 28 Jun 99 - 09:51 PM When my friend (acomplished fiddle player) plays oue cat used to curl up on his lap and "knit"( cat people will know about that) When my wife (beginner) merely made a move to get out her fiddle he would leave the room at a rate of knots (sailor talk) I think he did more damage to her resolve to learn than any other factor. (she gave up in the end and took up mandolin (to which the cat did not object)
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Ted from Australia Date: 28 Jun 99 - 09:54 PM Oh I forgot to say that the cat (now deceased) was called Muddy, so I guess that (coincidently)made him a Mudcat. Regards, Ted |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: katlaughing Date: 29 Jun 99 - 12:23 AM Ted, my friend in New England calls it "making biscuits". I like the knitting bit, too. Wow! Maybe he was the first real, live Muddy-Mudcat?! katlaughing |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: SeanM Date: 29 Jun 99 - 03:11 AM We have a cockatiel in house that adores pennywhistles. Whenever I rehearse, he joins in to the best of his ability... always makes it fun when I'm just noodling along and he starts throwing dissonance in. M |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Steve Parkes Date: 29 Jun 99 - 03:29 AM I had a dog years ago named Lassie, a mini border collie. I discovered that if I sang "Will ye go Lassie go", she'd behave for all the world like an embarassed adolescent! She'd fidget about with a silly grin (I kid you not!) on her face, wag her tail, shake her ears, and generally go all soppy; if she'd blushed it wouldn't have surprised me! Thanks for bringing back that memory, Marion, Steve |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Philippa Date: 29 Jun 99 - 08:41 AM I met a couple of dogs who sang along to my fiddling |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: hank Date: 29 Jun 99 - 09:04 AM My cat likes it when I bring the mandolin upstairs and sit on the rug. To her having me sit on the living room rug is heaven, and it doesn't matter what I'm doing. Well, sometimes it matters, when she wants to be petted, but normally just having me on the rug is enough. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: WyoWoman Date: 29 Jun 99 - 10:35 AM I had a cockatiel I taught to whistle "Louie, Louie," the first part of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," and the Lone Ranger part of the "William Tell" overture. He liked to shower with me and would do them all, with his own birdie riffs, in a medley as he showered exuberantly. I didn't know birds could be so full of personality and show such unabashed joy. My dogs sing along with the blues harp. The cat leaves the room the second I even reach for my guitar. My dogs don't like it but they stick around 'cause, well, they're dogs. But I"ve taken to leaving the guitar on the sofa, which keeps the dogs off the furniture in my absence. kc |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: MMario Date: 29 Jun 99 - 11:32 AM We have two cats, two horses and a dog, who all exhibit various likes and dislikes dependent on the tune....I test original music out on them, and if I find something all five of them like, then I try it out on the humans around the place...(I do a lot of practicing in the barn) MMario |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Mudjack Date: 29 Jun 99 - 02:15 PM This is my second contribution to this thread, but I just have to tell all a true story. When I first took an interest in trying to do music ,I got an electronic keyboard that had all the rhythms and drums etc. Our Siamese cat "Beau"(Bo) would often leave the room when I tried to play anything on it. About 3 or 4 mos. later I went to turn it on and it made the worst sounds anyone ever heard without me touching it. I then unplugged it. picked it up and heard this sloshing noise. Mmm....Stuck my nose to it and discovered Beau had obnoxiously pissed into it.I never left it uncovered since.Yeah, Beau lived to a ripe old age, I just never could appreciate his music taste. It was obviously better than mine. Like Jo Taylor says,cats have sensitivity to high pitches and electronic frequencies pester the piss out them. Mudjack |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Peter T. Date: 29 Jun 99 - 05:41 PM What a great thread. It makes you want to go and buy a farm, and get big easy chairs, and have big dogs and cats and everything. Being allergic to virtually all animals (except fish, and they do nothing for me, except whales, and it would be cruel to stuff one into one of those house aquaria) makes it impossible for me, but I can dream! What a great thread. Yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Bob Landry Date: 29 Jun 99 - 06:59 PM I think my son's hamster is deaf. The poor little critter had to suffer through endless hours of listening to a teenager trying to learn to play his electric guitar (at full volume when I wasn't at home.) Yesterday I transported 3 cats by car from Calgary to Edmonton, a three-hour trip. The two-year-old was miserable and howled most of the way .... until I tuned the radio to a teeny-bopper station which played the likes of the Backstreet Boys and Manson. Did it lull the cat to sleep? ... or was it simply the last straw in a series of terrifying experience and noises that made the cat catatonic? I'll never know. Bob |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Art Thieme Date: 30 Jun 99 - 12:38 PM Alas, good people, our cockroaches seem totally indifferent to any music at all. All they respond to is when we turn on the light after coming home late. Then you can watch the wallpaper change over and over and over. I thought it was a new kind of screen saver. Art Thieme (Thanks to artist and songwriter, HARRY WALLER. See his grand song "Cockroaches On Parade". I seem to think it's in the database.) |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Bert Date: 30 Jun 99 - 12:50 PM Legend has it that THE OLD SOW SONG from the West Country of England was sung to pigs at farrowing time. The sound effects were intended to make the sow feel at home and among friends while she was popping out them little piglets.
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Art Thieme Date: 30 Jun 99 - 12:51 PM I've, on many occasions, had an entire gym filled with 500 kids/students turn into a huge cage of gerbils during one of my presentations of folksongs. (The teachers never noticed as they were all taking the assembly time to mark papers. Either that or they were in the lounge downing Twinkies.) The music would, generally, quiet the gerbils down very nicely. They even sang along on Bill Stains' "All Gods Children Got A Place In The Choir". Sometimes the kids wouldn't quiet down at all and I'd need to pass around bottles of Scotch so the little darlings could sedate themselves. After that (and if they didn't snore) the show would go quite well... Art (again) |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Margo Date: 30 Jun 99 - 03:21 PM As I understand it, cows give more milk to Mozart. Someone did an experiment and found it to be true. Margarita |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Bert Date: 30 Jun 99 - 04:27 PM They also use loud rock music to scare birds away from orchards. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Fadac Date: 30 Jun 99 - 04:39 PM Ok, 2nd time. 1st didn't make it. Somebody played music for a corn crop. (maze) They reported that it did better on classical music over rock and roll. Well do know that corn has ears, but taste? -Fadac |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Bert Date: 30 Jun 99 - 04:41 PM a maizing |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: mountain tyme Date: 30 Jun 99 - 06:39 PM I leave a portable radio under a five gallon plastic bucket resonator in my garden to repel critters and birds. Works pretty well if I remember to change the batteries. At evening gloaming I set with my banjo and attract bats. (it is very quiet here) Blue herrons which always take flight at my sight will come from over a half mile away and set down between ten and fifteen feet away to listen to the banjo. When I stop playing only for a moment they fly away. When I begin again they will return. They don't seem to be partial to any beat/speed or choice of tune. Rag Time Annie (especially the third part) is a good place to start though if you want to try Herron & Bat calling. Cheers! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Banjer Date: 01 Jul 99 - 05:52 AM I've never used banjo playing to attract anything, but I do believe that settin out front and playing the banjo about twice a month goes a long way to keep the chiggers, moles, ants, and other critters out of the yard! (At least MY banjo playing does!) |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Banjer Date: 01 Jul 99 - 05:54 AM I'll have to take back part of that last statement. I DID one time play the banjo and attract something!! It was a pair of old boots flying towards me at a high rate of speed! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Mari-Kat Date: 01 Jul 99 - 09:30 AM I was once a pretty fair fiddler, but my half Siamese half some unknown white cat objected none-the-less by biting my ankle. He thought better of my pedal harp -employing it as a fine perch, climbing upon me with the most velvet of paws to get to the crown, the better to view the world as I played. He made the error (only once) of attempting to climb the sound board to the same purpose, leaving 4 desperate claw marks as he helplessly slid down, simultaneously surviving that and my towering wrath at the scratches! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Mari-Kat Date: 01 Jul 99 - 09:37 AM Then there was our dog muttkin, Chu-Cullen. We enjoyed his company on all occasions, and taught him to sing along as we played the piano. He wasn't one to be stingy with his favors, and paid the same compliment to any unsuspecting soul visiting us who tried over the keys! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: bob schwarer Date: 01 Jul 99 - 02:45 PM My wife's African Grey whistles the theme fro "Bridge on the River Kwai"(Col. Bogey March). Fun to watch her hop to attention whenever it is on TV. also sings "Jingle Bells" in season. Especially likes a Harvey Reed piece which I don't know the name of. Dances to it. I know the album title so I guess I'd better get it. My White Fronted Amazon is a critic. Tried to take a chunk out of me once when I sang to him. He's probably right. I've been sneaking a little more to him gradually. Bob S. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Steve Parkes Date: 02 Jul 99 - 03:17 AM Jus be grateful the Grey doesn't sing the words! Steve |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: MAG (inactive) Date: 02 Jul 99 - 03:11 PM My beloved long-gone kitties Witchie-Poo and Shadow never minded my guitar, but took great exception to singing practice, which is what I do most and best. My current kitties alas are cats of very little brain; they don't seem to mind. My most recent ex has a collie who would always howl along. I couldn't tell if he was joining in or complaining. --MA |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Llanfair Date: 02 Jul 99 - 06:59 PM Our two dogs and three cats are totally indifferent to music. Tess, the collie cross just resents not being the centre of attention (we are in a constant state of conflict about who is top dog in our pack) Benson, the Crumbhound, the only one in the world, pedigree, has just spent the last half hour on my knee. He is Labrador-sized, firmly at the bottom of the pecking order, and terrified of thunderstorms!!!! Bron. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Art Thieme Date: 03 Jul 99 - 11:53 AM Fadac, I'd be willing to bet that when they played music to the corn, it was music to his ears. Art |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Banjer Date: 03 Jul 99 - 02:40 PM Oh Art! I didn't even know you were not feeling well again! I DO hope you get better soon! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Date: 05 Jul 99 - 11:20 AM Katlaughing, I'd like to see the article you mentioned, if only to find out what a psychic pet is and where I can get one. Marion |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Marion Date: 29 Oct 99 - 03:49 PM Refreshing this thread, because I miss it... |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 29 Oct 99 - 10:13 PM Rasputin The Cat (of Honoured Memory) hated the concertina. He might have been in the next street, but if I so much as played a few notes on it, he would show up, put his front paws on my knee and look at me until I stopped. Never did learn to play the blasted thing. The current generation have different tastes; Emer The Cat ignores everything except the harmonium (she likes to curl up in instrument cases, especially the plush-lined type) while Oscar The Cat objects to all live music, particularly fiddle. I wondered at first whether it was just my technique that he didn't care for, but he's heard far better players than I and still showed a clean pair of heels. Just pretending to open the case gets rid of him. I suspect that the harmonics of -especially- free-reeds and bowed instruments interfere with their small furry brains. They aren't in the least disturbed by recordings. Malcolm |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Kathy Date: 29 Oct 99 - 10:33 PM |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: sophocleese Date: 30 Oct 99 - 12:55 AM I used to have a cat that would come running whenever my husband-to-be played the bagpipes. All other cats disappeared at the first tentative blow. Fluffbutt however seemed to hear in the bagpipes the sounds of distress and would rush to offer comfort. It says a lot for her affection, but little (or maybe lots), for her musical taste. I should add that my husband can play the bagpipes quite well. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: katlaughing Date: 30 Oct 99 - 01:08 AM When I had the piano, my Miss Lovee always would come over and sit on the bench, rubbing up against me. She made it pretty obvious that she LIKED it. The violin was another matter. She is a very sensitive snowshoe Siamese. When I play it, she runs around, crazy-like, as though she has lost ALL of her marbles, darting here and there in a wild-eyed imitation of a marauding hun or something. Malcolm, I think you're right about the harmonics, although none of the other cats I've had seem to have a problem with it. My cats love it when I put on a tape or cd, they blink their eyes at me in sweet contentment and I ask them if they like the "mewwz-ique", at which they manage to look even more contented. Wish I had that ability! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Sourdough Date: 30 Oct 99 - 01:27 AM Fadac and Art: Concerning singing to a field of corn: What do you think about trying Pop music? Sourdough |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: mountain tyme Date: 30 Oct 99 - 04:56 AM Forgot to say...my banjo (especially when playing twin with another) does seem to attract drunks from miles around...some of them act in ways that makes this post particularly pertinent to this thread. Sophocleese mentioned above an instrument? I had not heard played "live" before this summer. After listening carefully to the tones and drones I was thankfull to realize it was not odourous. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Little Neophyte Date: 30 Oct 99 - 07:38 AM Sophocleese your bagpipe story reminds me of an incident that happened to a friend of mine who also plays the bagpipes. A few years back my friend Pat was playing in Central Park NY when a big german shepherd dog appeared near by, no owner in sight. At the time there were few people around so it was basically my friend and this big dog. The dog started circling slowly around Pat which made him very frightened fearing he was going to be attacked at any moment. The only thing that kept Pat calm was to continue playing his bagpipes. After a few minutes the dog stopped circling, sat down directly in front of Pat and began to howl along with the music. Wonderful thread Marion, very happy you pulled it down from the attic Little Neo |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: DonMeixner Date: 30 Oct 99 - 08:48 AM Our old and saddly departed Golden Retriever named Schooner was a truly a wonder of a dog. He was deaf to most entreaties but was in the kitchen at the fall of a souffle. He could hear a marshmallow being eaten to yards away and some how was able to deduce where you might be planning to go and fall asleep in the doorway between you and your destination. After a hand inury when I coudn't play anything with strings I took up the harmonica again. The sound of the reeds would make Schooner whimper and cringe. Being the considerate soul I'd move away from him to a diferent room. Schooner would get up and follow and lay down at my feet and whimper some more. As the fingers got better my ambitions got larger. A button Accordion. Schooner followed the same routine. Only louder. I image he was pleased when I was to play strings again. Don |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: katlaughing Date: 30 Oct 99 - 09:36 AM Sourdough! Nice to see you, again! Missed you here! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Phil Taylor Date: 31 Oct 99 - 08:52 AM Two deerhounds - Strathie and Ruin - don't care for music much. They wake up (deerhounds spend most of the time either sleeping or running at 50 mph) and look mournful (another thing that deerhounds are very good at) then come and poke the musician with a cold nose. Four cats mostly ignore music, apart from one who always responds to whistling (with the lips, that is). When I whistle, she runs over, jumps on my lap and stands up, rubbing her cheeks against my face. I don't know whether this means "I love you maestro" or "for God's sake shut up that awfull racket", but it's kind of cute. Phil Taylor |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: lamarca Date: 31 Oct 99 - 11:23 PM I have an 18 year old, tiny Siamese cat who has been a life-long music critic. I don't play an instrument, but she seems to regard my singing as cries of distress. When my husband and I rehearse, she'll sometimes stand on my lap and "Maaaaah" into my face piteously. She doesn't like my husband's singing either, and has, on one or two occasions, jumped in his lap and bit his (steel) guitar strings while he was trying to play. If we show no indication of stopping our horrible noises, she curls up on the sofa and looks miserable until we're done. We hosted a singing workshop taught by Jerry Epstein at our home several years ago, and Val didn't fuss about anyone else's singing; just mine... (our human friends seem to like our voices just fine, so maybe she's just pickier. I actually think it's part of her general jealousy of any activity that ISN'T paying 100% attention to the World's Cutest Kitty Cat.) |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: June Burton Date: 01 Nov 99 - 04:41 AM I've heard that there is a strong similarity between the ways different cultures call their cattle to water. My Dad always called "Soooo-Cow" (sounds like "Sue"). Also when moving cows from one field to another, we'd call "hie-on little calvies", "hie" is an archaic word for "go" that we never used in other situations. Whenever I sang in the presence of cattle, they stopped dead and looked at me for as long as I would sing. Stopped even chewing their cud. Guess they thought I was crazy. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: _gargoyle Date: 01 Nov 99 - 06:06 AM Mockingbirds like to sing accompanyment, expecially in the Spring. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: James in Cape Breton Date: 01 Nov 99 - 10:34 AM The dog appears indifferent. The cat, however, ... When number one daughter was still young enough to be sung to at bedtime, the cat wasted no time joining & would purr along. I think her favourite (the cat's that is) was "Georgia on my mind". (#1 Daughter's favourite was "Somewhere over the rainbow." |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Marion Date: 10 Feb 01 - 12:15 AM I am refreshing this because there is a current thread on dogs' taste in music. And because I like it. And because I still don't know what a psychic pet is. Marion |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Ebbie Date: 10 Feb 01 - 05:03 PM When my daughter turned 7, I bought her a harmonica. One day in the woods she and I stopped to rest and she hauled out the harmonica and began blowing. Back down the trail from a bush we had just passed, a doe stuck out her head. Ebbie |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Phil Cooper Date: 10 Feb 01 - 05:14 PM My first cat, Hendrix, disliked the bowed psaltery. He also once leapt from the ground to my forearm as I played the tin whistle (he did give fair warning by meowing several times and rolling on the floor before hand). My significant others' cats also didn't like the psaltery. I took that as a hint and didn't practice it around them. The cats do like the guitar, the lower register stuff the best. One really likes tunes played in CGCGCD tuning. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: hesperis Date: 10 Feb 01 - 07:16 PM Great thread! Sweetie was scared at first when I used to practice French Horn, but I took her out of her cage, showed her the horn, let her crawl all over it, and then played it very, very softly, and after that she liked it. And she really liked trying to climb it. Sometimes when I'd play it she'd come to the front of the cage and ask to come out. One time I was singing along to a CD, and I started playing with her. She was crawling on my shoulder, having fun. Well, when I stopped singing for a second, and the sound was still going, she got the most puzzled and scared look on her face! It was so funny! I held her up to the cd player so that she could see where the sound was coming from, and then she wasn't scared anymore. Sweetie also plays keyboard by walking over the keys and pressing down on selected ones. If the hamsters are asleep, they stay asleep, unless I'm too loud. If they're awake, Sweetie wants to play, and Selkie just wants to run in her ball. Selkie hasn't gotten into music yet at all. She hasn't heard me sing much, and she thinks it's weird... Tolerable, but weird. She doesn't like it when LH plays guitar here, though his singing is tolerable to her also! I put Selkie on the keyboard and she just tried to see if the wire music stand was edible. Walked right over the keys without pressing any of them down in the process, too. Maybe she'd prefer accordion? ~*sirepseh*~ |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Hotspur Date: 10 Feb 01 - 10:04 PM All I know is, my cat will hunker down and sleep if i sing "Hush Little Baby", but goes psycho if i try to play any recorder, pennywhistle, ocarina, etc. I think he's commenting on my musicianship. Or lack thereof. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Blind desert Pete Date: 11 Feb 01 - 05:40 PM Fezmo, a 22! year old siamese,would wake from her 20 hr per day nap and come into the living room to listen to the old time tunes. Then she would get into the lap of a banjo or mando player and put her head against the instrument. we suspected these were the only sounds she could hear. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: wes.w Date: 12 Feb 01 - 08:12 AM Over the past 30 years, I've found that my cats and dogs can tell the difference between anglo and duet concertina. They don't object to the duet, but most have hated the anglo. Anything with a similar method, like melodeon or harmonica seems to annoy them. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: English Jon Date: 12 Feb 01 - 08:26 AM Corrrr. I have to put up wiv all sorts of shitty ole fings. Corrr. That bleedin' 'ninglish Concertina. Corrr wheeze wheeeze honk farrrrt. Donlikethatatalll. nooo. Corrr, then theres that hurdygurdy. Thas alright 'till he starts playing the dog. Corrr. I hate dogs.... Melodeon'z alright...Corrr, Jonz fiddle though...skweeky ole git. Fink if i've got to listen to all that ole folkee crappo then the guitar is problee the best of the bunch, although it would be nice if it woznt in such a stupid tewning. corrrrrr. An he does play thunk thunk thunk. Tinkle tinkle is much better reallyyyyyy. corrr. noizee ole sod. I'll gettim. corr. wherez my cafoo? English Jon's Cat |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler Date: 12 Feb 01 - 08:36 AM When I sing, mice throw themselves onto the traps! [(c) Les Dawson] RtS |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: SINSULL Date: 12 Feb 01 - 08:49 AM I sing "Homey Is My Darlin" (Charlie is My Darlin')to Homey the cat when he is upset (being neurotic he is upset a lot). It soothes him and he gloats in the direction of the cats "See. She loves me more!" The others have songs too. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: hesperis Date: 12 Feb 01 - 01:18 PM English Jon - LOL! SINS - That is so cute! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Mrrzy Date: 12 Feb 01 - 01:23 PM Anyone can do a blicky to the Elephant Music thread, not quite the same idea? |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: MMario Date: 12 Feb 01 - 01:35 PM blickie to the harmonica playing elephants |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: SINSULL Date: 12 Feb 01 - 01:50 PM Cute! Hell! It's that or deal with his bulimia. He is a difficult cat. Huge 25+ lbs.and a big baby. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Naemanson Date: 12 Feb 01 - 02:25 PM The White Cat spends most of her time pretending an active disinterest in anything I do. However when I sit down to play the guitar if she isn't napping upstairs she will come and rub herslf around my feet and meow loudly. If I continue to ignore her she will leap up on to my shoulders, walk out and sit on my right elbow to watch my right hand pick. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: RichM Date: 12 Feb 01 - 02:38 PM Not strictly music, but dance is related, isn't it?
Near Ottawa, Canada where I live, my wife and I stopped one summer evening in a national park. We walked into a large clearing and suddenly met a doe and 2 half grown fawns. In a moment of inspiration, I remembered someone's advice about wild animals: Do something unexpected! I began singing and dancing in crazy circles like a bunny on speed---and it worked. The deer stopped, and then began to walk back towards me! They stared until I couldn't dance anymore. When I stopped, they stood still for a minute and then slowly walked away, looking back over their shoulders, until the doe shooed her fawns into the bush away from us. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Shuffer Date: 13 Feb 01 - 07:26 AM I have a Jack Russel that loves Melodeon. Sits by the case until I play and then howls to all the tunes. Only does it to live music though, completely ignores recordings with Melodeons playing on them. In fact he did this so much we named our band after him. "The Howling Jack Russel Ceilidh Band" |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Elise Date: 14 Feb 01 - 02:56 AM |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Elise Date: 14 Feb 01 - 02:58 AM My kitty hates my percussion instruments. She hides when the zils come out, and gives me dirty looks when I play my dumbek. She does love to be sung to, especially if the word kitty is in the song. She knows it's for her. Her favorite is Kitty's a-gone to Hilo. Yes, the cat likes sea chanteys. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,petr Date: 14 Feb 01 - 02:32 PM Charlie Parker once played his sax to a cow in a field during a trip. (hed heard about the milk production theory) I dont know what the cow thought of it. |
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Subject: Lyrics All Gods Creatures From: Kerstin Date: 03 Nov 01 - 01:09 PM Hi there I have found this lovely song, but as usual I have problems with the text Can anyone help me? Thank you from a gray and rainy Sweden. Kerstin |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 03 Nov 01 - 01:28 PM Kerstin, greetings from sun-drenched Phoenix
Three different and wonderful songs come to mind
Can you post a tiny bit of verse or notation?
Your humble servant, |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Bat Goddess Date: 03 Nov 01 - 07:26 PM Or Bill Staines's song "All God's Creatures Got a Place in the Choir"? Bat Goddess |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Anon in Northwood Date: 03 Nov 01 - 07:41 PM Isn't that "critters?" |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Jeri Date: 03 Nov 01 - 08:28 PM I vote for Gargoyle's first selection, but I agree more information would be helpful. For some reason, I wouldn't describe A Place in the Choir as 'lovely', but that may just be me... |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Mudlark Date: 03 Nov 01 - 10:08 PM I have 3 corgis...the first sound of a latch being undone on my guitar case has them converging on me from whereevr they were, waiting expectantly until I start playing...then they all settle around me and stay til I'm done. My dulcimere does not illicit this interest, and my efforts at the harmonica were given up years ago as just getting it out of the drawer causes Emily to bark nonstop. I play often on my front porch, with a yard full of ancient elms...and it is no coincidence, I think, as it happens every time, that within a few minutes playing I'm competing with voluminous birdsong, especially in the summer. Makes me smile, every time..... |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,Rana Date: 03 Nov 01 - 10:28 PM Laika (seeing eye yellow lab) always seems to have a good time at the Cloud in Toronto - see this "article" Rana |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Chip2447 Date: 04 Nov 01 - 04:09 AM Feather, the inherited parakeet dances to the warner brothers cartoon song, the only tune I've ever seen dance to, that is when she's not wolf whistling at me to get my attention. Chip2447 |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Bearheart Date: 04 Nov 01 - 08:21 PM The deer in our woods like drumming. Of our six cats, most are indifferent, but Cougar (white and fuzzy) and Rainbow (the tabby) and Romeo (Black and white and fuzzy) all come and sit in my lap when I play the harp, and Cougar tries to help. But if I whistle, she bats me in the face till I stop (those high frequencies). Both cats and dogs (we have two presently)aren't driven away by it. But it doesn't seem like they respond too much aside from the above mentioned; Of course there's almost always canned music playing if someone isn't making it. Maybe they are just too accustomed to it. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: JenEllen Date: 05 Nov 01 - 12:38 PM The wildlife here is sort of getting used to musical intrusion. The deer peek out of the trees at the spring and gaze at the house with that blank deer look that leads me to belive my playing is just short of the noise made by an oncoming truck.... The younger cat dearly loves the piano, and will snooze on top when I play. She's quite fond of Chopin and will purr along. The older cat is as patient as a cat can be with my learning guitar. He will jump up to wherever I am sitting and rub along the neck of the guitar (hell for keeping in tune) then he'll lay and listen. It's funny, but if I work on one piece for something he determines is too long a time, he'll start to swat my notebook and turn the pages. (enough of this...isn't there anything else in here??) The dog, he really is more of a bodhisattva than a dog, is a musical nut. He'll lay, crossing his front paws and watching the proceedings before being lulled to sleep. What he likes best is to 'help'. Typical syncophantic dog behaviour, I know, but it is so damn cute, I can't help but encourage him. His most recent favourite is to sing back-up. Truly hilarious, he does a rather fine job with 'Proud Mary', complete with cartwheels. I'm thinking of taking it on the road...*g*
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: GUEST,ciarili Date: 21 Mar 02 - 01:44 AM I have an adorable grey pussycat who has two african dwarf frogs (yeah, I feed them!). Singing seems to have no effect whatsoever on any of them, but when my friend comes over with his octave mandolin and I break out the harmonium, the frogs just go nuts! They might have been placidly floating in the water balanced on a toe, or lying on the bottom, but they flit rapidly between the surface and the bottom for a while when we first start playing. An African grey parrot once played an intriguing game with me. He wouldn't say or sing anything until I left the room (he was shy). But as my friend and I were about to leave the her boyfriend's house, Dirtybird whistled a few notes. Just for a lark (har!) I whistled them back. Then he whistled some different ones, which I whistled back. He kept going, and would change the pattern each time. I finally messed up on the 7th or 8th series of notes, which he repeated! so that I could get them right, after which he went on to another new series! It was one of the neatest things I've ever experienced, and I was sure sorry to leave! My cousin's son looked at me with that deer-in-the-headlights expression when I sang him songs in gaelic. His father speaks Spanish to him, and my cousin only knows English, so he wasn't sure what was coming out of my mouth, but you'll never see a baby concentrate harder....Happily, I was present at the birth of the newest one, and the first thing I did was sing him a Scottish lullaby as he cooked in the warmer - almost the first sounds he heard outside the womb, and certainly the first music! ciarili |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: katlaughing Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:23 PM Great stories, ciarili! Thanks for reviving this thread and for sharing with us. And, welcome to the Mudcat! kat |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: JennieG Date: 21 Mar 02 - 07:51 PM My son is a jazz drummer and our cats head for the hills when he starts playing - the drums don't bother them too much, it's the cymbals they don't like. Belle doesn't like my guitar either - just seeing me get out the case is enough to send her outside! The other 2 don't mind it so much. They will even stick around while I play. Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: nager Date: 21 Mar 02 - 11:10 PM My (late) dog used to lie down and listen intently whenever I sang and played the guitar and then thump her tail up and down on the floor vigorously at the end of each song... I liked to think it was applause... my wife says the dog was expressing joy that the song had finished!! |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Hrothgar Date: 22 Mar 02 - 02:35 AM Oh, sorry! I thought this was about gigs in pubs. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull Date: 22 Mar 02 - 03:21 AM my hamster likes Bob Dlyan. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Jim Krause Date: 22 Mar 02 - 02:00 PM We have a cat of unknown breed. Once in a while, the Missus will start humming a song, maybe even sing a verse or two. The cat hops onto her lap, does the kneeding action with her paws purring all the while. I get out my guitar and sing a song or two, and the cat ignores me. I get out my fife and the cat goes to hide somewhere. Same with my fiddling. I don't get no respect. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Kim C Date: 22 Mar 02 - 02:32 PM How did I miss this the first time around!!!! We had a formerly-stray cat named Buddy who LOVED the pennywhistle, even as lousy as I played it. He'd come running and jump up in your lap, and proceed to rub his face against your face, and the whistle. You could also just whistle, and he'd do the same. Thumper, our other cat, hates the pennywhistle, and would cry when I started to play. When our old dog Zenith was a puppy, she barked at the guitar the first time Mister got it out. She got used to it. Then we got an accordion, and she barked at that too. We had a budgie that liked my singing and would sing along with me. The girls I used to sing with didn't want to come practice at my house because the self-proclaimed "leader" of the trio thought Cactus was a distraction. Cactus was also extremely fond of Michael Martin Murphey's first Cowboy Songs album. Nowadays, we just have Zenith, Thumper, and Belle (our other dog.) They are pretty indifferent to our playing, but they don't all leave the room at once. :-) |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: bob schwarer Date: 23 Mar 02 - 01:26 PM My wife's African Grey will dance to certain music and ignore what she doesn't like. She'll whistle the tune from "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (Colonel Bogey March). My White Fronted Amazon ignores everything except he raises hell when the TV is shut off. If he gets covered while the TV is on he'll go down on the floor of his house to watch. Bob S. |
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Subject: RE: Animals' response to music From: Hollowfox Date: 23 Mar 02 - 04:22 PM from Mark Twain's autobiography, referring to three kittens he knew during a summer visit to Dublin, New Hampshire in 1906: "Hardly any ats are affected by music, but these are; when I sing they go reverently away, showing how deeply they feel it." and from earlier in the paragraph: "When I read German aloud they weep...i shows what pathos there is in the German tongue." |
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