Surely you have heard of people playing classical music to their plants. Some say that the plants enjoy classical music and that the soothing tones help the plants develop faster. That might be the case if the plants had any way of hearing or perceiving music the way mammals or other species of animals do. They do not, but they can feel music, or rather, sound pressure waves.

Animals, on the other hand, are able to hear music, perceive it and react to it, some in a very similar way as humans do. Does music affect plants or animals? Yes, it does, in various ways and intensity.

The Effect of Music on Plants

Plants are said to like classical music, played for them almost non-stop. Many vineyards turn to classical music if they want their plants to grow faster. This, however, does not mean that the plants actually like music.

Many of the reported cases with plants, especially beneficial ones, could not be repeated, and that is why many scientists dispute the claims that plants benefit from certain genres of music.

On the other hand, it has been shown that plants can lose some of their leaves or even outright die if exposed to specific genres of music. Non-stop playing of loud music such as rock or heavy metal ends up with most plants dying or developing much slower. The pressure from the sound waves of rock music and heavy metal is much bigger than that of classical music, so logically, the plants get bombarded with movement, much like they would in a gale. Similar effects have been noted in animals, though these can be repeated, but with varying results.

The Effect of Music on Animals

Some of us consider music a distinctly human thing. If that were true, then elephants, dogs, cats, and other animals would not join in when humans sing. Some animals have a very strong reaction to rock and other forms of loud and aggressive music, by themselves becoming aggressive.

A good example would be dogs in a kennel, being aggressive and barking louder and more frequently when listening to aggressive music. On the other hand, being exposed to calming, classical music, ends up with the dogs falling asleep quicker, barking less frequently and with less intensity.

Cows produce more milk when listening to music which is slower than one hundred beats per minute. Horses can synchronize their walking to match the beat of music they are listening to.

Animals, like humans, show some affinity to different types of music, which is something to be aware of when playing your favorite concert really loud in front of your pets.

Whether plants are affected by music is still a matter of debate, though many scientists shrug it off, others devote their lives to studying plants and music. Animals, on the other hand, show clear reactions to music, which vary by type, and by the animal itself.

Music is amazing and can definitely influence other beings around us, in a smaller or larger way.