Elephants are wonderful animals. It’s amazing watching them interact with their environment and those in and around it.
What makes elephants so fun to observe is that they are so smart. They have the largest brain of any land animal and have three times as many neurons as humans. They are fascinating creatures!
With that said, it’s easy to understand how they can do many of the things that we can. But sometimes their size gets in the way. Still, elephants have an exceptional memory and can even understand ‘human,’ according to researchers at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK.
These are just some of the amazingly unique qualities that elephants possess. Still, with all of those qualities weaved into their DNA, one might wonder, how would they react to music? Would you believe that it would be the same way that we do?
There are countless videos out there showing just how much music affects elephants and many of them show that they react similarly to how we do.
For example, this elephant falls asleep when hearing a lullaby. Another shows two elephants “singing” along to a pianist as he plays “Greensleeves.”
If you have watched videos of elephants reacting to music in the past, you might have seen some videos by pianist Paul Barton.
Barton is a pianist who has built a reputation for being both a talented musician and for playing music for elephants. He lives in Thailand where there are tons of them.
Specifically, he plays piano for the elephants at Elephant’s World.
Elephant’s World is an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. The sanctuary focuses on providing care for old, sick, injured, abused, and handicapped elephants that come from logging and the streets. They give them a much-needed home.
Playing for animals shows us that music has a profound effect on them as well. The effect the music has on elephants isn’t lost on him either. In an interview with Coconuts, he shared some insight.
“Almost all elephants react to music in a visible way. There’s a sudden movement when the music begins.”
Barton doesn’t sit in a room and play his piano through an open window. He takes it with him practically wherever there are elephants.
He even takes his piano into the jungle to bring them joy.
But Barton has brought us joy also. He shares the videos of him playing to the elephants to his YouTube page where he has over 300,000 subscribers. It’s safe to say he’s a hit in both worlds!
In a video from 2012, Barton plays Joplin’s, “The Entertainer” on a small, green piano outdoors. He’s accompanied by two elephants. But only Peter the Elephant attempts to play the piano with him. It’s a sight to see!
First, Peter lands his heavy trunk on his back and then on his neck. “Ow!” he yells. You can’t help but feel some of his pain. Those trunks look heavy!
But Barton isn’t deterred. He continues to play on his piano. It isn’t long before Peter understands that hitting the keys will create the sound. He then begins playing the piano with him!
Peter hits Barton a few more times but clearly, it’s all in good fun. Well, at least for the elephant. As the video continues, it looks like Peter is the one attempting to show Barton how to play.
One YouTube user summed it up perfectly.
“The elephant acts like the most frustrated piano teacher ever.”
This is one funny video! Peter just might have dreams of being a pianist himself one day.
You can see the full video below!
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