A Swedish engineer spent six months teaching an octopus to play the piano, and the results will leave you amazed.
God fills His creation with wonders we’re only beginning to understand. Mattias Krantz, a musician and YouTuber, looked at an octopus and saw potential that no one else could see.
Krantz found Taco at a market where he was about to become someone’s dinner. He bought him and brought him home.
Octopuses are smart creatures. They solve problems well. Each of their eight arms has its own little brain. “It’s like eight pianists in one body,” Krantz said.
The first days were rough. Taco didn’t trust him. He wouldn’t take food at first. When he finally did, he pooped on Krantz as a thank you. But Krantz kept trying. He brought a toy piano.
Taco thought it was a boat. He brought a single piano key. Taco just sat and stared at it for five minutes.
Progress came in tiny steps. Taco could pull things but couldn’t push. So Krantz redesigned the keys over and over. He tried teaching Taco with lights. That failed.
Krantz tried underwater speakers. Taco just enjoyed the vibrations like a massage. Nothing worked the way he planned.
Then Krantz had a thought. “Taco is not a chicken. I can’t just apply chicken logic to my octopus.” He needed to figure out what Taco liked. Turns out, Taco loved crabs. Krantz made levers that moved like prey. Taco started playing notes to catch them.
The real breakthrough was the “crab elevator.” Every note Taco played lowered a crab closer to him. He couldn’t grab it until he finished the whole song. Taco figured it out. He learned to play complete melodies.
After four months, Taco performed his first song. “That was amazing. I didn’t know you were a blues pianist,” Krantz said. Now they play music together regularly. Taco genuinely enjoys it.
Krantz almost forgot that Taco “was destined to become someone’s dinner. And now we’re making music together.” He thought about releasing Taco back to the ocean. But then he realized something:
“A musician could never survive in the real world.” So Taco stayed.
This story warms my heart because it shows what happens when someone refuses to give up on another creature. Krantz saw potential where others saw food. He kept trying when nothing worked.
He believed Taco could learn even when it seemed impossible. That’s how God sees us too. He sees what we can become, not just what we are right now.
WATCH: Man Spends Six Months Teaching an Octopus to Play Piano
