These Tunes Are Music To Your Cats' Furry Ears
When you leave the house, do you ever turn on some music to keep your cat company?
What kind do you choose? Tom Jones crooning "What's New Pussycat?" A ballad by Cat Stevens? Perhaps Al Stewart's "The Year of the Cat"?
Nonsense. Cats don't to want to hear humans singing about them, says composer and University of Maryland music professor David Teie.
Researchers at U.Md. and the University of Wisconsin have teamed up with Teie to make music that was more feline friendly.
Turns out Felis catus might be more likely to respond to "Spook's Ditty," a track with lilting layers of high-pitched harp notes, played at 23 per second — the rate of a cat's purr, Teie says.
The harp is accompanied by birdlike chirps — but they're not meant to fool the cat.
"No cat's going to think, 'There's a bird,' any more than we would hear a violin and think that's a human voice," Teie says. No. "This is designed to kind of perk cats up."
Mind you, not every cat will consider Teie's music a kind of acoustic catnip.
"They have their personalities," he says. "Some of them are so touching. I get moved by hearing about how they come and cuddle and listen to the speaker."
Teie dreams of developing an app with different "purr instruments" to choose from.
"And so when the cat comes to your lap, you'd play one of these purrs for your cat as a kind of communication, so that it's not just a one-way communication," he says. "You can actually reach out and communicate with your kitty."
You and your favorite cat can listen to the music at the audio link above. Or sample other cat ballads and feline airs at Teie's web site, MusicforCats.com.
Share your results at Facebook.com/NPRWeekend.
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Transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Honestly now, do you ever leave music on for your cat?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT")
TOM JONES: (Singing) What's new pussycat?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M TOO SEXY")
RIGHT SAID FRED: (Singing) I'm too sexy for my cat.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YEAR OF THE CAT")
AL STEWART: (Singing) The year of the cat.
SIMON: Well, according to a composer from the University of Maryland and a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin, cats don't want to hear a bunch of humans singing about them. They preferred this kind of music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COZMO'S AIR")
SIMON: David Teie is the composer behind this piece of music and joins us in our studios. Thanks so much for being with us.
DAVID TEIE: Thanks for having me on.
SIMON: We'd like to hear a little more of your music and let's suggest - listeners might want to bring their cat close. And if he or she registers a reaction, why don't you let me know on Twitter or on Facebook. Your composition, "Spook's Ditty."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPOOK'S DITTY")
SIMON: Now for some reason, Mr. Teie, I hear that music and I want to lick myself.
(LAUGHTER)
TEIE: You got a little cat in you then.
SIMON: (Laughter) I guess so.
TEIE: Which is OK. Well, there, an explanation for the layers - the harp line. They're going - also going by about 23 notes per second, which is the rate of the purr. And so - music that sounded like birds is actually me going (makes humming sound). And I should point out that, you know, I didn't use any actual animal sounds or cat sounds in these recordings.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPOOK'S DITTY")
TEIE: Cats have very sensitive and accurate hearing and no cat's going to think there's a bird...
SIMON: Oh, OK.
TEIE: ...Any more than we would think we hear a violin and think that's a human voice but...
SIMON: Inside the speaker.
TEIE: Right. And this is designed to kind of perk cats up.
SIMON: We hope to hear from our listeners on Twitter and Facebook, but what reaction have you gotten from cats? And don't tell me they're writing it on your website (laughter).
TEIE: Oh, the cats themselves aren't
SIMON: OK, yes.
TEIE: I get all - I mean, the cats that do respond - mind you not every cat responds, they have their personalities. Some of them are so touching that actually I get moved by hearing about how they come and cuddle and listen to the speaker. One of the things I'd like to do is to say have an app where you can choose, say, five different purr instruments, and so when the cat comes to your lap, you play one of these purrs for your cat. It's a kind of communication so that it's not just a one-way communication. It's - you can actually reach out and communicate with your kitty.
SIMON: David Teie, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Music. And you can hear more cat tracks on his website, musicforcats.com. Good luck to you, sir.
TEIE: Thanks very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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