Spontaneous Rhythmic and Tool‐Assisted Drumming Across Variable Tempo and Technique in a Captive Chimpanzee

Rhythmic drumming on percussive instruments is a common element of music across human cultures. Chimpanzees drum on the buttress roots of trees and on man-made objects, and often combine their drumming with long-distance pant-hoot vocalizations. Previous studies have suggested that chimpanzees select drumming substrates for their acoustic properties and that chimpanzee drumming shares core elements of human musicality (e.g., non-random timing, isochronous, metronome-like rhythm, and de-contextualized production in captivity). But to what extent can chimpanzees flexibly control their drumming rhythm across percussive media and techniques? Here, we report on a long-lasting drumming session by a captive chimpanzee named Toon, which was performed across multiple pant-hoot displays. Toon employed diverse action forms, including drumstick-on-drum tool-composite use. We find flexible (isochronous) rhythm production across drumming implements, techniques, and tempi. Further, we describe tool-composite transport and reuse, selectivity of percussive acoustic properties associated with different vocal elements, and variable use of the facial expression “play face” associated with faster and less variable rhythms, potentially indicating intrinsic enjoyment of such rhythms. Together, these findings provide evidence for key elements of human musicality in Toon's drumming, supporting the hypothesis of shared evolutionary roots of human and chimpanzee drumming.