Melodic and harmonic chromatic interval processing by pigeons (Columba livia).

Abstract

Music is a ubiquitous feature of human behavior. Yet the origins of human musicality remain poorly understood. One attractive approach has investigated the distribution and components of musicality among nonhuman animals. Here I tested four highly trained pigeons in three experiments for their capacity to discriminate the intervals of the chromatic scale. Using an auditory go/no-go same/different task, the pigeons discriminated intervals spanning different numbers of semitones on each trial as synthesized with two musical instruments (cello and organ). Experiment 1 examined this discrimination using a successive melodic context, while Experiment 2 used a simultaneous harmonic context. Experiment 3 tested pure tones in both contexts. The pigeons were sensitive to the distance among the pitch intervals, but examination of specific diagnostic intervals revealed little evidence for any contribution of human-like musical consonance (perfect fifth and octave) and dissonance (tritone and major seventh) to the discrimination. Although more accomplished in the auditory modality than widely assumed, the current state of the evidence suggests pigeons, while sensitive to the pitched nature of sound, lack essential capacities needed for music perception. The evolutionary implications for the comparative psychology of music are considered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).