Yes folks – there is an  Animal Music Symposium happening. Does that make you laugh or cry? Its going down in June in Austria, based on the following premise:

The Animal Music Symposium intends to approach the various aspects of musical animal-machine interaction from an interdisciplinary perspective. Internationally renowned experts from the fields of animal cognition, computer science, contemporary arts and cultural studies will discuss the musical capabilities of animals and present the latest scientific, cultural and ethical findings in this field. This symposium and the related exhibition at Salzamt are part of the ongoing artistic-research project metamusic initiated by alien productions, which is dedicated to the design of musical instruments for grey parrots, a species known for its outstanding cognitive and communicative abilities.

Its possible to meow at cats and bark at dogs to illicit a response and have a conversation. Some animals speak in songs, such as birds and whales. Maybe you’ll make the next Keyboard cat . When was the last time you were able to play a song together with the animals or improvise some new sounds? Most of the time, they are just trying to get us to shut up.

The soundscape in the Celeste Boursier-Mougenot exhibition are sublime. But the birds in the From Here to Ear exhibit, activate sounds, but don’t seem to be intentionally striking chords. Can we really call this jamming?

Whales respond to the clarinet jams of David Rothenberg. Whales speak in songs with big sweeps and chirps in tone. This is big-time jam with a monster animal!

Please share any stories or videos you have of jamming with animals. Do you think they are trying to make music or just have a conversation with you?