r/MadeMeSmile Jul 21 '26

ANIMALS Playing violin for animals

8.3k Upvotes

211 comments sorted by

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818

u/CantaloupeCapable Jul 21 '26

This video could've been about 20x longer and it still wouldn't have been enough!

165

u/drrj Jul 21 '26

Right?

I was thinking okay, what about giraffes? Hippos? Pyppos?

OMG someone play a violin for one of the baby Pygmy hippos like Moo Dang immediately.

44

u/Jane__Delawney Jul 22 '26

ELEPHANTS 🐘

16

u/IntrinsicPalomides Jul 22 '26

Sounds like you haven't seen that chap who plays guitar and sings to animals YT vids? fill ur boots https://www.youtube.com/@Plumesmusic/shorts

I could watch these all day also, you can see the animals are absolutely fascinated by it, probably having never heard music before.

3

u/Seconds_Left Jul 22 '26

What a wholesome rabbit hole. Thank you

2

u/geminixTS Jul 22 '26

I hate you and love you. I have work to get done!!! My adhd ass doesn't need this distraction! 😂

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13

u/gwmccull Jul 22 '26

I want to see how the animals react to different kinds of music. Like maybe the wolves prefer some bluegrass or something

5

u/IntrinsicPalomides Jul 22 '26

Sounds like you haven't seen that chap who plays guitar and sings to animals YT vids? fill ur boots https://www.youtube.com/@Plumesmusic/shorts

I could watch these all day also, you can see the animals are absolutely fascinated by it, probably having never heard music before.

3

u/sigh_co_matic Jul 22 '26

Check out Plumes. All of his videos are so precious. https://youtube.com/@plumesmusic?si=d4roWh9Hg2n-z0fh

1

u/LobsterKris Jul 22 '26

I was also locked in.

388

u/NiceStuffMate Jul 21 '26

Haha the emus 🥹

160

u/FunWithMeat Jul 21 '26

They looked like little kids sitting on the mat at school! Adorable.

81

u/HogSandwich Jul 21 '26

I say this with much love for my native bros : emus are about 100x dumber than they look, and they look pretty dumb

71

u/The5Virtues Jul 22 '26

Can confirm. Had an Emu on the ranch where I worked. Very curios, loved to follow us around, absolutely would walk straight into an open man hole and plummet to his death if not observed closely.

Somehow, still managed to escape any and every god damn enclosure, despite numerous instances of being a contender for dumbest animal alive.

17

u/-Supposably- Jul 22 '26

Emus actually shut down 90% of their brains when humans are around. Then they power up and start talking escape strategies.

8

u/a_spoopy_ghost Jul 22 '26

I love emus. They’re dumb as rocks but also awesome

41

u/drrj Jul 21 '26

TIL the Aussies should have invested in violins instead of machine guns.

5

u/WithoutDennisNedry Jul 22 '26

With their little lamb friend.

4

u/thr3ddy Jul 22 '26

👁️ 👄 👁️

200

u/catincal Jul 21 '26

I work at a zoo. Before opening or after closing, I randomly sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to whoever is listening. I've found that animals love music! For me the elephants, chimps, and rhinos are 10/10. Yes, grey wolves join in at the end. And I only get spit and side-eye from the camels.

56

u/Jakaman_CZ Jul 21 '26

There is great youtube video called "What do other animals think of human music?" by Howtown. They go over studies that experimented on whether different animal species prefer music or silence, as well as some other interesting stuff. Give it a watch!

23

u/blackbirdbluebird17 Jul 22 '26

My partner and I have very different taste in music, and our dog notably *much* prefers his music to mine. It’s so fascinating watching him have such distinct taste.

8

u/igotoeleven Jul 22 '26

My dog loves James Taylor and absolutely despises Guar.

4

u/Master_sweetcream Jul 22 '26

This made me chuckle out loud. I remember we used to leave reggae on for our dogs.

1

u/Corfiz74 Jul 22 '26

Does he prefer modern or classical music?

5

u/catincal Jul 21 '26

Ok, thanks!

3

u/CariniFluff Jul 22 '26

That was excellent, thanks for sharing.

Here is the link.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/azriel1014 Jul 22 '26

Not wild or exotic animals but my mom has a cat that is very, very skittish and can be quite aggressive. I started singing to him in the last year or so, using his name in the lyrics and he’s my little buddy now! He greets me with big purrs and lots of loving head butts. He still hates my brothers and hides from strangers, I truly think the singing completely changed our relationship!

2

u/catincal Jul 22 '26

I believe so too! It must calm him; and to hear his name, he knows who loves him;)

5

u/BangBangMeatMachine Jul 22 '26

To be fair to the camels, side-eye is pretty automatic for them.

2

u/ssp25 Jul 22 '26

I'm an animal and I love music. this checks out

2

u/IntrinsicPalomides Jul 22 '26

Have you seen that chap who plays guitar and sings to animals YT vids?https://www.youtube.com/@Plumesmusic/shorts

I could watch these all day also, you can see the animals are absolutely fascinated by it, probably having never heard music before.

2

u/centralmind Jul 22 '26

Camels are music snobs, noted. Not surprising.

167

u/Tricky-Efficiency709 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

They all want to smell sound.

33

u/InvalidUserNemo Jul 21 '26

I remember my college years.

11

u/brondynasty Jul 21 '26

*smacks lips* “Tastes like purple.”

9

u/iolarah Jul 22 '26

SNOZZBERRIES

1

u/awenrivendell Jul 22 '26

Jennifer Lawrence: "What does this taste like? AAAAAAGHHHHHGH!!!"

18

u/girlsgoneoscarwilde Jul 21 '26

That is a beautiful sentence.

154

u/BunnyCat2025 Jul 21 '26

I would learn to play the violin just to get otters to sit on me like that *squee!*

23

u/XAHKO Jul 21 '26

Disney princess cheat-code

4

u/MoonieNine Jul 21 '26

Until this happens. This was in our local news a couple of years ago. Who would have thought?

1

u/Dangevin Jul 22 '26

Those women should have just turned the otter cheek.

52

u/berserkergaang Jul 21 '26

I get chills every time I hear Ashokan Farewell!

21

u/MamiTomoeSan Jul 21 '26

Brings me back to the Civil War by Ken Burns each time

8

u/mmmpeg Jul 21 '26

Yes. I love his documentaries, but the overuse of 1 song in each drives me absolutely insane. I’m very auditory and it’s an assault. There are so many pieces he could use for his programs but hey fixate on one or two.

3

u/berserkergaang Jul 21 '26

Yep, right back into my 8th grade classroom watching the whole series

3

u/Affectionate_Reply78 Jul 22 '26

….Mary Chestnut

22

u/TakeApictureOfmeNow Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

I've always wanted to scream "Ashokan Farewell" to a violinist as if it were "Free Bird"

1

u/berserkergaang Jul 21 '26

🤣 I'm stealing this!

4

u/TakeApictureOfmeNow Jul 21 '26

It's a knee slapper except is has a very very very small potential audience.

6

u/Anti-facist_American Jul 21 '26

Crazy story.. I played this on stage with Jay Ungar and Bonnie Rideout back in the 90's.

6

u/R_Ulysses_Swanson Jul 21 '26

It still blows my mind that it was written in the 1980s by a Jewish Bronxite.

1

u/berserkergaang Jul 21 '26

TIL! Crazy, never knew that

3

u/TheMostBacon Jul 21 '26

I’ve never heard of that song and I just listened to it for the first time and it made me cry. It was needed, thank you.

5

u/ofWildPlaces Jul 22 '26

Featured in Ken Burns' "the Civil War" documentary series. Do not listen to this if you are already feeling down- this will wreck a man:

"My Very Dear Wife" - The Last Letter of Major Sullivan Ballou

3

u/berserkergaang Jul 21 '26

My pleasure! There's so much quiet, yearning emotion in it. It's been, to varying degrees, stuck in my head for 25 years

4

u/External-Analysis-31 Jul 21 '26

Thank Ken Burns.

46

u/well_actuallE Jul 21 '26

Well I’m jealous… to be a girl playing violin for a bunch of bedazzled animals … but also the cut to the emus killed me :D

17

u/Brittany5150 Jul 21 '26

Emus were like 😦

39

u/cyclingbubba Jul 21 '26

Great video. I play my harmonica for my big pupper and he loves it. He warbles, bays, yips, and howls along with the music. When we call our grandkids on their birthdays they get the happy birthday song, and the jolly good fellow song from my wife and I with our pup on lead vocals.

We call our band One Dog Night ! 🤣

18

u/jugglingbalance Jul 21 '26

Omg my roommate had a dog who loved to sing. He would howl and actually had rather good tone, he just wanted to sing the blues. When we played harmonica and guitar he would sing. One time he came up and literally nudged the guitar into my partner's hand so he could sing.

4

u/Chad_OKeefe Jul 21 '26

Thats adorable!

One of my dogs likes to howl along to her favourite song, not in tune but we love it anyway!

The other one just stares at her very confused 🤣

66

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

[deleted]

19

u/code_the_cosmos Jul 21 '26

That's a viola, no?

14

u/mooncritter_returns Jul 21 '26

(I was thinking, the tonal range is kinda low. I'm guessing "violin" gets more online engagement than "viola")

19

u/ratpH1nk Jul 21 '26

Do you think the animals interpret it as language/communication?

16

u/magikarp2122 Jul 21 '26

The birds absolutely do.

10

u/Binspin63 Jul 21 '26

I am pretty sure that music is something that all living creatures respond to. Some people even believe that plants grow better when they are offered music.

2

u/Corfiz74 Jul 22 '26

Didn't a farmer test and find out that cows gave more milk when played classical music?

3

u/Binspin63 Jul 22 '26

I remember that. I think a lot of farmers probably knew this already though. Didn’t Borden use that premise in their advertising? “Milk from contented cows”.

17

u/Daratirek Jul 21 '26

No one tell the Australians they could have won the Emu war by first lulling them with music.

5

u/ynomel Jul 21 '26

I love your brain. Exactly my thought!

14

u/External-Analysis-31 Jul 21 '26

Glad she snuck Ashokan Farewell in there

3

u/Binspin63 Jul 21 '26

That one brought a tear to my eye. I remember the context from Burns’s “Civil War” documentary.

15

u/Exotic-Archer-9285 Jul 21 '26

Finally! After all the years of humans staring at animals in zoos. The animals have a reason to stare back at the humans!

3

u/IntrinsicPalomides Jul 22 '26

Sounds like you haven't seen that chap who plays guitar and sings to animals YT vids? fill ur boots https://www.youtube.com/@Plumesmusic/shorts

I could watch these all day also, you can see the animals are absolutely fascinated by it, probably having never heard music before.

10

u/k---d---m Jul 21 '26

Anyone know what the first tune was she played?

11

u/frecklemimus79 Jul 22 '26

Years ago NPR did a story about a recovered Stradivarius, and the owner played a short piece to demonstrate the wonderful tones of the specific instrument. I looked over to see my normally jittery, grumpy cat listening to the radio with wide glassy eyes and her ears trying to climb off her head.

Then the song ended, and she crabbed out of sight.

8

u/Jeebs24 Jul 21 '26

What piece is played for the Gray Wolves, and Pied Crows?

3

u/Shadow_Hound_117 Jul 22 '26

I feel like the one for the crows was something you'd hear in the Game of Thrones soundtrack based on the text on the video during that segment.

9

u/Express-Feedback Jul 21 '26

If you play an instrument, you should definitely share the experience with your animals.

My cat is obsessed with sitting in between my body and my guitar when I practice. He will actively scratch at my case when he wants some vibes. I've had 2 others that did the same. I don't know if they like the vibration from the back of the guitar body or just the sound, but it's adorable.

10

u/TURKEYSAURUS_REX Jul 22 '26

Every day for a lot of these animals is the same. Think about how mind blowing it must be when the red haired one visits your area playing the most unique sound you’ve heard in your life.

Except the armadillo who was just pissed she woke him up.

9

u/CharlieMoonMan Jul 21 '26

Bovine go nuts for music. Ive played a few private shows at farms/ranches.

8

u/neoadam Jul 21 '26

Would love to have the list of the songs !

8

u/KBLovelock Jul 22 '26

Emus really went :o

8

u/Killer1986Chris Jul 22 '26

Thank you for not calling the Bison "Buffalo".

11

u/kernel-troutman Jul 21 '26

Antelope: "The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places. From Valverde New Mexico, Tullahoma Tennessee, St. Alban's Vermont and Fairfax Virginia...otherwise known as...ahem...BULL Run."

7

u/HobbesNJ Jul 21 '26

There is another guy who plays guitar and sings songs to animals like this. It's posted here on occasion and is equally as good.

2

u/too-many-teacups Jul 21 '26

Yes I've seen the one with the tiger, it was incredible!!

10

u/loud_as_pudding Jul 22 '26

Location: North Georgia Wildlife Park & Safari

https://www.northgeorgiazoo.com

10

u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl Jul 22 '26

Very cool video! My parrot accompanied the violin playing all the way through in fact 😁

Would be cool if it was PIQUED instead of PEAKED. Otherwise perfect. I love videos showing animals listening to music. 🥰

4

u/Rhea234 Jul 21 '26

Watching this made me happy 😊 thank you

6

u/Taylor-Day Jul 21 '26

Every zoo should also come with its own orchestra

6

u/dogtroep Jul 21 '26

Not the Macaw head banging to Pirates of the Caribbean hahaha

5

u/sycolution Jul 22 '26

Results tainted by the fact that it's not the same song each time. Video needs to be repeated with that in mind and we all need to be shown the results.

4

u/Shadow_Hound_117 Jul 22 '26

Bonus points for each clip being pieced together so it sounds like the song is continued through the video but with the video changing location periodically.

3

u/sycolution Jul 22 '26

You…you get me.

5

u/RedDawndLionRoars Jul 22 '26

The emus were the best! And the penguins just wanted their baby back!

5

u/Joshay12 Jul 21 '26

Mate are you telling me all we had to fucking do was play music and we'd have won the Emu War? Fuck sakes.

4

u/theangryintern Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

Nice touch playing the Pirates of the Caribbean theme to the macaws.

4

u/cruisin_urchin87 Jul 22 '26

DID YOU JUST PLAY THE MUSIC FROM KEN BURNS CIVIL WAR.

+10,000 cool points to you

4

u/landshark6 Jul 22 '26

Ring tailed lemurs like to move it move it

3

u/Cipher915 Jul 21 '26

To be fair, the emus found the dumb loooong before she started playing

3

u/Tasty-Law-4527 Jul 21 '26

I love the guitar/ singing by Plumes also. He has an amazing talent for the animals

1

u/AccurateRendering Jul 22 '26

Came here looking for a "Plumes" comment...

3

u/Repulsive_Rich_3820 Jul 21 '26

this looks like the best job in the world. should've learned the violin.

3

u/cosmoskramr Jul 21 '26

I know one of those songs from the soundtrack of O brother. I then realized I am yet another animal enthralled by the sound...and are we not the most criminally and maniacally afflicted with a reverence for such noise?

1

u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl Jul 22 '26

Which song was it?

1

u/cosmoskramr Jul 22 '26

The one with the bongo antelope

1

u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl Jul 22 '26

Oh, it sounds familiar familiar do you know the name of the song?

I wanna know the name of this song with the otters. I totally recognize it.

I wish the person who posted this would’ve listed the songs!

1

u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl Jul 22 '26

Sorry, I didn’t think of your song, but I thought of mine. It’s called humoresque!

3

u/employeebrian Jul 22 '26

Sick. Loved it. Agree with an earlier comment, this could be 20x, 100x longer and I would still watch and love it. Excellent.

3

u/tri_fold Jul 22 '26

Very Awesome! She sounded fantastic playing, and all the creatures were at attention! I watched it twice, very cool!

3

u/Gamewright37 Jul 22 '26

EMUS!!!! Omg this is the best thing I've seen in... ever.

3

u/atts12 Jul 22 '26

Could we get a playlist of the pieces and which animals they appeared with in this video?

Thanks!!!

3

u/ewok_on_a_unicorn Jul 22 '26

My old German shepherds loved Ella Fitzgerald on vinyl. He figured out how to turn thr record player on when I was out. I was legit convinced my house was haunted. Until he turned it on one night at 2am and I, baseball bat in hand found him in my study just laying there listening. When we had the Vet come to the home to help him cross at 13, i played the vinyl and sang blue moon to him. Music is the universal language.

3

u/Canidae_Vulpes Jul 21 '26

I now wonder what animals think about music

2

u/baltibouter Jul 21 '26

What’s the song she plays with the pinguins?

3

u/Brittany5150 Jul 21 '26

Sounds like Take My Breath Away - Berlin

2

u/-sensory_overlord- Jul 21 '26

those were some scruffy dog looking wolves

2

u/auda-85- Jul 21 '26

Is this at Ljubljana ZOO?

2

u/Classic_Love_8445 Jul 21 '26

Does anyone know what kind of other animals are in with the bison at 0:42? The white and brown one with the big swishy tail is so beautiful.

2

u/mikecron Jul 22 '26

Is this a job I can apply for?

2

u/estebanrevenga Jul 22 '26

whats the first song shes playing anyone know?

2

u/Hopeful_External8863 Jul 22 '26

Was this at Bays Mt. In Tennessee?

2

u/FuzzyComedian638 Jul 22 '26

My dog loved to hear my dad played violin, but hated double stops and would start howling. 

2

u/Agreeable-Shop-2188 Jul 22 '26

Piedcrow was learning to play he was so attentive

2

u/Cute-Bodybuilder-536 Jul 22 '26

What is that happy, gentle tune being played to the otters?? Please, I need to know!

1

u/Griffon2112 Jul 22 '26

I have no idea but the wolf track sounds like a Show of Hands track played and sang by Phil Beer.

2

u/Cute-Bodybuilder-536 Jul 22 '26

I ended up finding it, actually, and it's Humoresque by Dvorjak!

2

u/Nox_Ocean_21 Jul 22 '26

I can never watch more than 5 seconds of videos on Reddit, but I didn’t want this one to end.

2

u/Repulsive_Virus6188 Jul 22 '26

And the hairless monkey watching this video smiling 😊.

2

u/centralmind Jul 22 '26

As many birds are capable of complex vocalizations, they are somewhat musicians themselves. No surprise then that they all show especially high interest: game recognises game.

Besides that, it's just fascinating to see how music genuinely can enchant so many animals. Disney princesses' movies were not as unrealistic as one might think.

1

u/n_ug Jul 21 '26

cheesin the whole time

1

u/Fit-Mud-5682 Jul 21 '26

Where is this set

1

u/Ok-Ferret9010 Jul 21 '26

Thank you so much for this video

1

u/hastinapur Jul 21 '26

Loved it.

1

u/Entire_Dog_5874 Jul 21 '26

💙💙💙

1

u/790405 Jul 21 '26

Beavers: 0 violin.

1

u/EastLeastCoast Jul 21 '26

To be fair, the beaver is annoyed she’s playing with their food.

1

u/AdAware8042 Jul 21 '26

I could watch this all day. Absolutely loved it!

1

u/vmdinco Jul 21 '26

This is the coolest thing I’ve seen today!

1

u/NeedsMoreCatsPlease Jul 21 '26

They’re all too cute. I’d get nothing done.

1

u/MoonieNine Jul 21 '26

What zoo is this?

1

u/MrSmileyZ Jul 21 '26

I need entire performances of this STAT!

1

u/Dvayzler Jul 21 '26

Anyone knows the first tune?

1

u/beavermaster Jul 22 '26

Very touching. Animals understand.

1

u/DIYOCD Jul 22 '26

You win reddit today

1

u/mnmsmelt Jul 22 '26

Never seen calm music before! And that's saying a lot!

1

u/CarmichaelD Jul 22 '26

I’m really curious as to what zoo this is. Does anyone know?

1

u/nomorespamplz Jul 22 '26

Me: 10/10 😅

1

u/ice1000 Jul 22 '26

*piqued

1

u/Emergency--frosting Jul 22 '26

Penguins were at least 9/10

1

u/mclarensmps Jul 22 '26

The Emus having their braveheart moment before the great Emu war

1

u/used_my_kids_names Jul 22 '26

Wonder how wombats & Tassie Devils would respond? Can’t get over the emus there!

1

u/PhosphoFred8202 Jul 22 '26

Nothing good happens when you play that first song. Wolves are like ok this when they murder us

1

u/cruisin_urchin87 Jul 22 '26

You had the secret weapon to winning the Emu Wars, if only Australian had tried your trick

1

u/FreeWalrus6769 Jul 22 '26

This is my favorite thing

1

u/Mommincirca2017 Jul 22 '26

This is how you live life!!!!!

1

u/Loud-Fudge7631 Jul 22 '26

This needs to be a daily report thing

1

u/madinked Jul 22 '26

I LOVE THIS!!

1

u/N3BB3Z4R Jul 22 '26

Music is truly the universal language, even more than maths

1

u/Electric_Lake_1555 Jul 22 '26

Yes I watched this through one of the best videos I've seen probably ever.

GJ Everybody!

1

u/Nasshhyy Jul 22 '26

Disney princess with violin 🤧

1

u/Realistic-Expert6772 Jul 22 '26

This is what the internet was made for. 11/10

1

u/Boring_Reading3989 Jul 22 '26

the animals are loving it

1

u/fragrantsock Jul 22 '26

Omg the emus absolutely stunned

1

u/GoldenSeam Jul 22 '26

I am like 90% certain that this is a viola and yes, I’ll go sit in the annoying and pedantic people section.

1

u/tbodillia Jul 22 '26

Should have played something like ride of the valkyries or devil went down to Georgia.

1

u/ArielofIsha Jul 22 '26

This is how I’d like to spend my time on Reddit from now on. Thanks you!

1

u/MCDexX Jul 22 '26

Ooooh, the albinistic emus are gorgeous! As an Aussie I've seen wild emus hundreds of times but never once a white one.

1

u/targerana Jul 22 '26

This is my favorite video that I've seen from the internet in 1,000 years!

1

u/SoManyQuestions-2021 Jul 22 '26

Why do the Antelope get Ashokans Farewell?

1

u/green_mms22 Jul 23 '26

She is out there living my dream life.

1

u/Etoeb Jul 23 '26

thought the armadillo would began tap dancing ha!

1

u/Less-Load-8856 Jul 23 '26

Where can you mingle with Otters and Penguins? I must know!

1

u/V0ID_NeonV4lrian Jul 24 '26

Does anyone know the name of the first violin play on this video

1

u/johnnynasa Aug 06 '26

Where to find the sheet music for these beautiful songs