Have you ever been so touched by a talented musician that you’ve wanted to stop and listen to them all day? Well, this violinist went one step further – she didn’t just stop humans in their tracks with her music. She managed to compel whales out of the ocean.
The woman was on a boat in Maui, Hawaii, a spot that’s very popular for whale watching. From December through May, thousands of humpback whales make their journey to Hawaii from colder parts of the world, to breed and raise their young.
The chance of glimpsing a whale or two is enticing enough for hundreds of tourists to head out onto Maui’s seas in tourist boats, armed with binoculars and a good deal of anticipation. There are roughly 10,000 whales in Maui’s warmer waters every year, so the chances of spotting a whale are pretty high.
The whales close by to the violinist’s boat probably never expected her to play them some music. They’re probably more used to people sitting silently, hopefully waiting, not daring to make a sound for fear of scaring them off.
When the woman pulled out a violin the whales must have realized she was treating them to a live concert! She began to play, and the whales were so intrigued that they began to breach the water, listening to her music.
Perhaps to the whales, the sound of the woman’s violin was the most similar thing they had heard to their own whale song. Whatever the reason, they were here for the music – and some of them got up pretty close to hear her better.
The other people on the boat must have been in awe at what was happening. It’s common for whales to bob out of the water every now and then, but if you’ve ever been whale watching yourself, you’ll know how sporadic that can be. Whales prefer to keep to themselves, but this woman had broken the invisible barrier between human and sea creature by simply sharing her musical talent with the ocean.
People rushed to capture photos and videos as the woman continued to play, and one whale got particularly close to the boat party, hanging around to appreciate the music. One thing’s for sure, this is a moment that nobody will forget in a hurry.
We’re grateful that whoever recorded this video decided to upload it online, where it accumulated over 1 million views just on YouTube alone. Many people commented to share their awe at witnessing such a special moment, though some people preferred to resort to humor, with one person commenting:
“It’s getting harder and harder for classical musicians to find an audience.”
Someone else wrote:
“They’re like, what’s she trying to say with that accent”
There are hundreds of interpretations of what the music might be communicating to the whales, with some believing they recognized it as a mating call, while others suggested the whales would think she was a slightly out-of-it friend. Who knows what they actually thought!
If you’re yet to experience whale watching yourself, don’t quite expect it to be as mind-blowing as this! Not unless you happen to have a violinist on board, and your local whales are a fan of classical music.
Click play on the video below to watch the magnificent creatures popping out of the water to listen to the violinist play.
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