If you notice that your cat responds to different music, you’re not going crazy. Professional musician David Teie, developed and outlined the first comprehensive theory to explain the cognitive processes involved in our appreciation of music. Working with Charles T. Snowdon at the University of Wisconsin, they studied the affect of David’s species-specific music on cotton-topped tamarin monkeys, resulting in the first controlled study that demonstrated significant and appropriate responses to music from any species other than human.
Now David has created music for cats, which his site explains as follows:
| Our music is based on feline vocal communication and environmental sounds that pique the interest of cats; it is written in a musical language that is uniquely designed to appeal to the domestic cat. All of the music is recorded on traditional instruments and the human voice. No actual cat, mouse, or bird calls are used (although it may sound like it). The songs are written in three different styles – each song style is designed to convey and evoke a particular mood:
Kitty Ditties: Playful and quick, these incorporate stylizations of some of the animal calls that are of great interest to cats. A little like sonic catnip, Ditties are meant to arouse interest and curiosity. When ultrasonic playback devices become available (sometime in the near future, we hope) these songs should be even more appealing. Cat Ballads: Just as the pedal drum provides the hearbeat in human music, the swish, swish of these ballads provides the sound of suckling in feline music. The Cat Ballad should be restful and pleasing for your kitty (perhaps for you too). Feline Airs: The purr is to cats what the moan is to humans. It can express pleasure or pain, but most importantly, it draws sympathetic emotions from the listener. The timing and cyclic rhythms of purrs are remarkably consistent among all breeds of domestic cats – the Feline Air is based on the pulses of the purr. |
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