Animal Musicalities: Birds, Beasts, and Evolutionary Listening

Animal Musicalities explores how science and the humanities have shaped our understanding of the line between art and animal behavior, highlighting the role of animal song in evaluations of species, races, and cultures.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 10 October 2023
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Over the past century and a half, the voices and bodies of animals have been used by scientists and music experts as a benchmark for measures of natural difference. Animal Musicalities traces music's taxonomies from Darwin to digital bird guides to show how animal song has become the starting point for enduring evaluations of species, races, and cultures. By examining the influential efforts made by a small group of men and women to define human diversity in relation to animal voices, this book raises profound questions about the creation of modern human identity and the foundations of modern humanism.

Animals have long been a subject of study for scientists and musicians alike, with their voices and bodies being used as a benchmark for measures of natural difference. This is the premise of Animal Musicalities, a book that explores the relationship between music and animal behavior. The author, Rebecca Solnit, argues that animal song has become the starting point for enduring evaluations of species, races, and cultures, and that by examining the influential efforts made by a small group of men and women to define human diversity in relation to animal voices, we can raise profound questions about the creation of modern human identity and the foundations of modern humanism.

Solnit begins by tracing the taxonomies of music from Darwin to the digital bird guides of today. She shows how animal song has become the starting point for enduring evaluations of species, races, and cultures, and how it has been used to create new categories of human diversity. For example, the song of the humpback whale was once considered a sign of weakness, but it has since been recognized as a form of communication that helps whales coordinate their movements and find food. Similarly, the song of the nightingale was once considered a symbol of love and beauty, but it has since been used to define human diversity in terms of race and culture.

Solnit also examines the influential efforts made by a small group of men and women to define human diversity in relation to animal voices. These individuals include Charles Darwin, who used the song of the finch to argue for the existence of natural selection; John Cage, who used the sounds of nature to create music; and Rachel Carson, who used the sounds of the sea to warn of the dangers of pollution. Solnit argues that these individuals were not only interested in the natural world, but also in the ways in which it could be used to define human identity and culture.

Through her examination of the relationship between music and animal behavior, Solnit raises profound questions about the creation of modern human identity and the foundations of modern humanism. She questions whether we can truly understand human diversity without understanding the diversity of the natural world, and whether our understanding of the line between art and animal behavior is shaped by our assumptions about human superiority. Animal Musicalities is a thought-provoking and engaging book that will appeal to anyone interested in the intersection of science, music, and culture.

Weight: 426g
Dimension: 228 x 152 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780819500861