Why do we like music? Is it related to speech? Is it entirely social? The only animals I know of that enjoy it as much as us are birds. (most mammals, even chimps and dogs, ignore music)
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Edited by Ttasmmv: 1/12/2014 2:35:41 PMI'd think it's because we understand abstractions. A painting is an abstraction of our sight that animals would not appreciate, because it takes a human mind to interpret the 2D strokes of colour as a familiar 3D image of significance. One must be able to understand the abstraction before appreciating it. Music is an abstraction of human emotion. We recognize that, and that recognition allows us to appreciate it. Why we prefer certain musical patterns over others I don't know. Perhaps music theory can shed a light on the subject? Animals that use song to communicate, such as birds, may respond to our music, but I don't know if they enjoy it.