Here's a piano wiz from my neck of the woods:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztphwqWe6i4

What a talent. At local festivals and competitions, my students routinely go up against kids playing like this.

Wow, he's so musical! A lot of the time whiz kids are made to play super flashy pieces but wow, that was really beautiful playing!

Amazing talent! How many hours a day does it take to become so proficient? No doubt natural talent is a big plus. Really enjoyed his playing and am reminded of what my teacher tells me about even notes, phrasing, etc. Except I've been at it a good 8 years and have a long way to go to play as well as this 7 year old!

You can't teach a kid to do what this little guy does. You can only guide.

With that kind of talent it's like reminding someone of things he already knows.

Parents and students who think they can play like this with 30 min, 45 min or even an hour a day are sadly mistaken. Having talent, ie, a high musical IQ, helps a lot, but it's no substitute for extended focused practice.

I'd also wager that this seven year-old is carefully supervised when practicing, at least most of the time.

Nice. But he's still playing other people's music.

By with encouragement that may change.

OMG!

Playing the piano IN TAILS at age 7!!

I'm so glad no kids I ran into when I was a kid, played like that. My parents would have made me quit as a lost cause.

Edited to add: I am SOOOOO GLAD that youtube did not exist when I was a kid...it's bad enough to watch now that I'm a supposedly mature adult.

This kid never fails to amaze me.

At today's competition, he won first place playing the VIOLIN. Oh, my god. It's like he's channeling Paganini.

Sorry, Ed, but Bach is not just "other people". Bach is a god and his music comes straight from heaven. The kid is channeling Bach.

What puzzles me about those who say it's not really making music unless it's "your own" music is this: No orchestral pieces, ever? Even if a member of the orchestra has written the music that's still 50 or so others playing someone else's music. And if you composed orchestral (or chamber music, or even duets) there would be no way of playing it without someone playing music not of their own making.

I'm waiting for his parents to post his violin performance from this afternoon. He played the first movement of Vivaldi's "Summer." It was fantastic!

Meanwhile, you can enjoy his earlier (if you can imagine) performance of Bach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZkPlUxV-Kc

Good heavens...it took me four years of violin just to get to that Bach piece, and he played it way better than I did...

How do your students react when they see this kids name on the programme? I know a couple of youngsters like this who do the music festival and competition circuit picking up trophies and awards. I think it's good for my students to listen to them but they always moan when they realise they are competing against them.

I once read in some programme notes that J.S. Bach himself used to travel around to competitions. When others heard he was going to be there they didn't even bother to turn up!

Chris--

If you saw the violin video and the girl's reaction shot (priceless!), you'll see that younger students don't mind sharing good music with each other. In fact, the concept of "competition" hasn't dawned on them. However, as the kid gets older and more self-conscious, it is a problem.