In a quirky experiment, Swedish musician Mattias Krantz taught an octopus named Takoyaki to “play” a keyboard. Krantz, known for eccentric musical projects, rescued Takoyaki from a live fish market and set out to test the cephalopod’s abilities.
“I’ve always wanted to teach an animal piano,” Krantz said on YouTube. “In theory, octopuses have incredible potential. They’re as smart as a three-year-old, amazing problem-solvers, and each of their eight arms has its own mini brain. It’s like having eight pianists in one body.” He added, “No one would believe me if this wasn’t recorded,” laughing.
Krantz tried several methods, including light-up keys and fake crabs hidden inside the instrument. The approach that worked was a custom-built “octopus piano” that dispensed a tasty treat whenever Takoyaki pressed a key. After about six months of training, the octopus learned to associate key-pressing with rewards.
The clips shared on Instagram and YouTube have attracted millions of views—about 22.7 million on Instagram so far—and plenty of online attention, including a reaction from Paris Hilton. The experiment highlights octopuses’ problem-solving skills and Krantz’s inventive approach to animal training.
