Originally posted by
Elen
I did!
And I think this elephant enjoyed the music as much as I did:
Beethoven's
Moonlight Sonata ─ one of my personal favorite piano pieces (not that I can play it) ─ is indeed an excellent piece to play before an elephant.
By the way, did you notice the sudden reaction of the elephant when the chord changes from having a major third to a minor third at around 00:50? Also, the elephant turns toward the pianist at around 03:04 because of the prolonged descent down the scale without that any bass notes are being played ─ elephants are very sensitive to low frequencies and rhythm, and that descending run breaks the rhythm by omitting the bass line.
I am either way convinced that the animal both appreciated and enjoyed the piece. The way it responded to certain passages and transitions ─ e.g. the insertion of diminished chords ─ says it all, and elephants are after all one of the most intelligent species on Earth.