Do Snakes Like Music?

For centuries, many people have believed that snakes enjoy music and dance to it. But is this actually true?

Snakes don’t enjoy music like people do. They can sense some low-frequency vibrations, but this is usually about survival, not about having fun. The idea that snakes enjoy and even dance to music is just a myth based on a misunderstanding of their behavior.

If you play music near a snake and notice no reaction, it’s completely normal.

Understanding How Snakes Hear

Snakes don’t have ears like we do. They don’t have the outer part of the ear that you can see, and they don’t have eardrums.

But snakes can still “hear” in a way: they can feel vibrations.

Snakes have inner ears with special structures inside, that can sense low-frequency sounds that travel through the ground or their bodies.

When something makes a noise that shakes the ground, they can feel it through their jawbones and skull, which then send the information to the inside of their “ear.

That said, snakes can’t hear all the sounds we can.

Typically, humans can hear from around 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz.

Snakes on the other hand, are sensitive to a frequency range between 50 Hz and 1,000 Hz and are usually most sensitive in the 200 Hz to 300 Hz range.

This means snakes are mostly sensitive to low-frequency vibrations and sounds.

Their sensitivity to low-frequency vibrations helps them sense danger like predators walking near them, or finding small animals like mice moving nearby. It also helps them find mates during the breeding season.

Can Snakes Actually Hear Music?

Since snakes are mainly sensitive to low-frequency vibrations, they might not enjoy music at pitches that we humans enjoy.

Most popular music has frequencies that are higher than snakes can hear well.

For example, a typical pop song might have male vocals in the 100-300 Hz range and female vocals in the 200-400 Hz range, with instruments playing at much higher frequencies.

Snakes can hear some of the low sounds in music, but the parts of music that we enjoy, like melodies, would be lost on them. The music would not make any sense to them.

What Type of Music Might Snakes Like?

If snakes liked any music (there is no scientific evidence that they do), it would probably be low-vibration instruments, like bass or drums, that they can actually feel.

Some researchers suggest that loud noises can stress out snakes.

For example, heavy metal music, with its strong guitars, loud drums, and high volume, might scare them.

The shaking from the music, especially from bass guitars and drums, could feel like a threat.

Any very loud music could make them stressed because the shaking can feel like a predator or other danger is coming.

If you have a pet snake, your music might be hurting it without you knowing.

On the opposite end, soft, quiet music might make snakes calmer.

Some snake owners say that playing gentle classical music makes their snakes relax, especially after stressful situations. Music that isn’t too loud or shaky could be better.

However, scientific studies supporting these claims are very limited, so it should be taken with a grain of salt.

Snakes Do Not Actually Dance to Snake Charmers’ Music

When you watch a snake being charmed, it looks like it’s dancing to the music.

But science does not agree.

The snake is not really dancing to the music. Instead, It is reacting to the movement of the flute and the movement of the body of the charmer.

Snakes naturally tend to follow moving things, particularly if they believe that these are dangerous.

The snake sways so that it can maintain its focus on what it thinks is a threat, ready to pounce if necessary.

It also feels vibrations from the flute, from the charmer, and even from the people watching.

These vibrations alert the snake and make it react, but it’s not the same as enjoying music.

In an experiment, scientists played music for snakes in a lab, but the snakes didn’t dance like they do during a snake charmer performance.

This proves that what the snake sees and feels is more important than what it hears.

Snakes “Enjoying” Music Would Make No Evolutionary Sense

It makes evolutionary sense that snakes don’t really care about music, and here’s why.

They evolved differently from other animals a long, long time ago. Their senses developed to help them survive in their own environment.

Snakes mostly hunt by sight and smell. They use their tongues to “taste” the air and some can even sense heat to find warm-blooded animals in the dark.

These skills are much more important for snakes’ survival than them enjoying music.

In short, the ability to enjoy music would be of no use to snakes in the wild.

It would be a pointless ability, from an evolutionary perspective.

Conclusion

Snakes don’t like or enjoy music like humans do. They can detect certain sounds, but they react to them only for survival purposes and not for pleasure.

Then the next time you see a snake charmer, appreciate it as a cool show of art and animal behavior.

The snakes are not really dancing to the music, but it is still cool to watch.

Featured image credit: Pravin Kawale (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Sources:

Peter H. Hartline; Physiological Basis for Detection of Sound and Vibration in Snakes. J Exp Biol 1 April 1971; 54 (2): 349–371. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.54.2.349

Zdenek CN, Staples T, Hay C, Bourke LN, Candusso D. Sound garden: How snakes respond to airborne and groundborne sounds. PLoS One. 2023 Feb 14;18(2):e0281285. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281285.

Kaoru Ashihara; Hearing thresholds for pure tones above 16kHz. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 September 2007; 122 (3): EL52–EL57. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2761883