As revealed by a new study conducted withwhite-headed marmosetOcotton head tamarinsThese animals respond emotionally to certain songs, especially if they are the ones they “sing” themselves.
The psychology professor at the American University of Wisconsin-Madison, Charles Snowdon, has reached this conclusion thanks to the help of a very special DJ: the cellist and musician from the University of Maryland,David Yours. According to the publicationBiology LettersUsing some of the sounds that Snowdon had recorded to these animals in South America, and studying the duration, speed and gravity that these apes use depending on their mood, Teie composed 30-second “mixes” trying to provoke a reaction in monkeys.
Specifically, Teie created two types of music, one to suggest unease or fear and the other to create positive feelings of security and happiness. After five minutes of listening to the first melody, the primates showed signs of anxiety and agitation. With the second, on the other hand, they showed a more relaxed attitude: they moved less and ate more.
? From an evolutionary concept perspective, we found that the pattern ofmusicality, dissonance and timeis important for thecommunicationof affective states both in these animals and in humans, “says Snowdon.
The study also reveals that apesdo not react to human musicwith one exception: theheavy metal from the group Metallica, which curiously gave them a feeling ofCalm down.
