Some animals sing (birds, whales) and plenty of animals make sounds together at roughly the same time (wolves howling, prairie dogs yelling at threats). Are there animals that harmonize? Or animals that make sound that’s rhythmically coordinated, like has a time signature?

Guess I’m asking about more finely coordinated sounds. It’s something that’s pretty neat about human music.

  • Kethal@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I don’t know that it’s technically harmonization, but sometimes when wolves howl at the same time, they will each choose a different pitch. Presumably it’s so the group sounds like it has as many individuals as possible.

  • NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Deer are talking to each other with slight clicks from their hooves.

    I don’t know, but I guess that it has a certain rhythm, otherwise I could not imagine how it carries much information.

  • 56!@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    I believe birds have a very different perspective of harmonisation. What they sing might sound harmonised to them, but not to us (and vice versa).

    • LesserAbe@lemmy.worldOP
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      3 months ago

      Lol well birds are never going to make it big in the industry with that attitude (also I don’t think it really counts as harmonization if the notes don’t line up either. More like counterpoint or something)

      • NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        With different hearing ranges for different species, their harmonies are probably different. It’s like watching one of those videos of what a cat hears vs what you hear vs what a dog hears. The ratios between the notes in the full range may be different, so what is pleasant may be different.

        Even for humans there are different tunings starting at different base frequencies. So like, maybe you need bird ears to hear the perfect harmonies they produce. Tho, most of the animal kingdom when vocalizing are just screaming “Fuck me!”

  • KittenBiscuits@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    If it’s rained in the late afternoon then stops by nighttime, the frogs in the marshland across the street seem to synchronize their songs and get very very loud.

    I’ve heard katydids do the same thing at night after very hot days.