Is human movement to music an innate behavior?

Answer 1

I believe it is innate. Having watched so many babies grow and react to music by nodding, turning in circles or bouncing without any adult human provocation is strong evidence.

Babies are also soothed by music. I'm not sure why we react to rhythm and music, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a learned reaction.

Answer 2

Human Innate Behavior

Answer 3

Fascinating question - interestingly no other animal responds
to rhythm the way a human does, including the upper primates.
They just can't keep a beat.

Last time I saw anything on this (Discovery channel, BTW),
nobody had any idea why.

There are lots of theories about why humans react the way
they do to predictable beats, but no proof - some people
think it has to do with the heart rate accelerating to some
multiple of the beat - but why that wouldn't be true of other
animals, who knows!

That being said, animals do frequently respond to music,
but not usually the rhythm. Dogs will howl, for instance, given
long drawn out notes.

Answer 4

Aren't all the dancing animals in kids cartoons lately so funny?
Personally, dancing must be done, and imagine all those crowds of people who just sit there in front of a concert doing absolutely nothing. They are simply tourturing their own minds! How ridiculous. I say bring the hippies out and show them how to dance! Teach the church folk how to dance, because thats their only drawback, is that they all wait for something to seem appropriate and for someone else to lead the crowd, but they all will dance if the music was good enough.

Answer 5

Perhaps we keep the beat because we are taught that it is important to do so, like some sort of mark of intelligence. Animals never understand that keeping 4/4 time has any meaning in their world, but we are aware of music and its complexities even before birth when mothers put headphones to their bellies. In my opinion, we focus on tonality and tempo for two reasons: like other animals we know it pretty, but we also are told to make more and prolong the experience beyond this particular session of music. We must learn it for later, so that we might produce it for ourselves or others.

Answer 6

I believe so. I am a movement teacher.
every culture has it.
it's harder to argue that creating music is innate, imho.

check out
gabrielle roth, 5 rhythms & sweat your prayers
vinn marti, soul motion
beth rigby, global dance
dunya, dance meditation
there are many many more
search
trance dance & yoga dance

Answer 7

No. Lets not forget that not all humans "move" from music. Physical or psychological changes that occur through music, only do so after thinking.

Answer 8

It seems all babies/toddlers do it. Even those whose parents, like my wife and I, can't dance at all (or forgot how?).

So I'd say yes. Later as self-consciousness develops, most kids who aren't encouraged in that behavior learn to not move like that. And that's too bad.