Animals Can Perceive Music and Dance Into the Beat, Based on Latest Study

The study by Andrea Ravignani and his colleagues, published by The Royal Society, has added more evidence to Charles Darwin's speculation that all animals, beyond just humans, may share the ability to perceive melody and rhythm. The study's results show that the white-handed gibbon, a type of small ape, can synchronize to a beat through dancing and singing.

The scientists also found that male and female gibbons can sync up when singing simultaneously, and the rhythmic patterns produced by individuals have a strong presence of temporal regularity. This study supports the idea that the building blocks of human musical and rhythmic abilities can be found in other species, as Darwin predicted. It also highlights that gibbons sing to bond as a couple and to mark their territory, as reported by New Scientist.

White-handed gibbons, also known as lar gibbons, are small apes native to Southeast Asia. They are known for their distinctive white-colored hands and feet, as well as their long, slender arms and fingers adapted for swinging and brachiation (moving through the trees using their arms). They are arboreal animals and live in rainforests and other tropical forests. They are typically found in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Synchronize with the Beat

White-handed gibbons are diurnal, meaning that they are active during the day, and are known to be very vocal animals, often singing complex songs that can be heard for miles. They are usually found in small family groups consisting of a monogamous pair and their offspring. They are also known for their acrobatic abilities and can swing and climb through trees at high speeds.

Unfortunately, they are endangered due to habitat destruction and hunting. The study by Andrea Ravignani and his colleagues adds to the growing body of evidence supporting Charles Darwin's idea that all animals, not just humans, can perceive melody and rhythm.

The researchers focused only on the white-handed gibbon and found that they can synchronize to a beat through dancing and singing. The study was conducted by recording gibbons in a reserve in Thailand and zoos in Italy and analyzing the rhythmic patterns produced by individual gibbons. The researchers discovered that the gibbons had a strong presence of temporal regularity in their rhythms, meaning that the beats were consistent and predictable, similar to the ticking of a clock or the beating of a metronome.

(Photo: Honolulu Zoo)
The White-handed gibbon, like the gorilla, chimpanzee, or orangutan, is an ape, not a monkey. The chief characteristics distinguishing apes from monkeys are the absence of a tail, their more or less upright posture, and the high development of their brain.

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Singing With Meaning

Additionally, the study found that male and female gibbons could sync up when singing together and that their songs overlapped more often than by chance. This indicates that the gibbons were actively trying to match their rhythms and melodies with each other, suggesting that they are capable of rhythmic coordination not found in other non-human primates.

The researchers also believed that gibbons sing for entertainment, bonding as a couple, and mark their territory. This suggests that the ability to synchronize with a beat and sing may have evolved as a means of social communication and may have played a role in the evolution of human music.

Overall, this study provides further evidence that other animals beyond humans can perceive melody and rhythm and have the capacity to synchronize to a beat through singing, which supports Darwin's hypothesis and helps us to understand the evolution of music.

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