Chimpanzees move to the beat, say scientists

Chimpanzees have a sense of rhythm and like to move to the beat, according to a new study.

Scientists have found that listening to music prompts the primates to perform rhythmic movements such as swaying, hand-clapping and foot-tapping.

The researchers say that understanding more about the predisposition of these great apes to music could shed light on how humans came to appreciate melodies.

Dr Yuko Hattori and professor Masaki Tomonaga, of Kyoto University in Japan, studied seven chimpanzees who were exposed to six two-minute piano compositions for six days.

They found that while the music was being played, the chimps swayed their bodies and bobbed their heads and, sometimes, went as far as clapping their hands and tapping their feet.

The team also found that male chimpanzees were more likely to respond to the tunes by being more vocal and swaying rhythmically for longer durations compared with their female counterparts.

In their paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Pnas), the researchers noted: “Given that humans do not have such a sex difference in musical ability, higher sensitivity to sound in male chimpanzees may have been acquired after chimpanzees diverged from the common ancestor shared with humans.

“This may also be associated with their patriarchal society, where male chimpanzees often collaborate to protect their territory and group members.”

According to the authors, the findings point to a foundation for dancing in a common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans.