h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can't of the top of my head think of another species of animal the makes music. Birds sing but that is communication.

Generically, they recorded 'House of the Rising Sun'. Does that count?

There seems to be a degree, both from insect and animals, of sounds (so as to not bias by word choice), in the form of music to court their partner - without there being any specific communication intended.

Do you have to be able to take enjoyment in it yourself, in its own right, for it to be music?

That's a great question. The definition of music? Not sure. I think it's the making of sound with no purpose but to be listened to.

Music surely derived from rhythms. These occur in the natural world, and are then copied by animals for all sorts of reasons - to attract mates, to mark territory, etc. The point at which you would describe their development as 'music' is moot. We only see it from the viewpoint of our own species, for one thing.

But isn't trying to attract a mate a form of communication?

I hate the word "communication". It was one of the buzzwords of the Nineties & Noughties, when we were all told to do more of it at work. Its scope is too wide to have useful meaning.