She plays beautifully in a way you would expect from someone older.
But... at the end she flashes a "light up the room" smile that reminds you she's a happy 8 year old



Performed at Steinway Hall & store in Connecticut. There is no applause at the end because it was a recording session. Please visit www.umipiano.com for more information and Umi's upcoming performances.

Talent like this is always a joy to watch.

She has quite the performances coming up which is seen on her website.

Beautiful, poised, amazingly talented child. I certainly hope that she won't be exploited......

That's a little scary. She's really playing the music. I noticed that she really can't play octaves yet, so she just "single-noted" a few of them.

Unbelievable talent.

My jaw is still on the floor. I have seen some of her videos before. If she doesn't burn out, this is the kind who can legitimately compete for the Cliburn at age seventeen.

She seemed to be enjoying every moment of that performance. Amazing. She was really feeling the music... not just playing it. Her smile at the end was priceless.

Oh, I just loved the part near the end where she was getting so excited and bouncing up and down on the bench.

I showed it my son, and his only comment was "Mom, you need to practice more."

I know that I'll almost get flamed here for my post, but anyhow:

I won't get into comparing and maybe, hopefully Umi is completely different, but in this age and time youtube is literally filled with young performers, in every instrument, from drums, to doodle, to piano, to guitar, to anything.

I don't care about her age. Experience has shown that the 'promising' part doesn't appear too often. Can we get a promise that she will advance in the same speed as she did in the first 8 years of her life? If so we will be getting the next Gillels, Richter and Horowitz combined! :-/

The OP says it all I think: "She plays beautifully in a way you would expect from someone older." It's not only the beauty of her performance, but also her age. And her age will only assend! Sadly!

Here's to hoping that she won't end up like most (quotation needed :D) children prodigies do, due to over exposure and lack of a 'normal' life (whatever that means).

____________________

In her defense, should she ever need it, this is one of the few very young pianists who's performances, without looking at the video DID mean something to me. And this is how I judge music: Without looking at the video!

Of the half dozen or so "prodigies" I've known, all but one have careers in music. Only one has a university position, the rest teach privately. All perform now and then, but none do anything with a high profile.

My little brother is almost 8 and the only thing he can do on a piano is bang the keys as incredibly hard as he can.

I do always wonder though, how these young good pianist practice? How do they have enough time for school, and even friends? Heck my little brother doesn't even have time to talk to us. Yes he probably isn't nearly as disciplined, but I wouldn't take his friends, all his time, and a little tv away from him. Sure I love piano, but I wouldn't give up a childhood for it.

Just wondering.

When I was in high school, I remember the professor I studied with had a seven year old prodigy in her studio. I marveled at the work ethic, and at the output.

Of all the people I've met during my studies as a musician (general), I think that most (>70%?) are making a living as musicians. None were hailed as prodigies!

EDIT: Of course 'high profile' is always overated (as I found out myself, when I discovered that there are other composers except Ligeti and Boulez in my early 20s (and my total lack of knowledge and missing of the Internet).)

It makes me worry.

Is this a true prodigy who eagerly practices because she is driven from within to create beautiful music, or is this a child of parents who demand every moment be structured and productive and every endeavor drilled in until it becomes superior leaving no time for childhood exploration? Is the smile at the end one of happiness or is it relief because "I pleased Mama and Papa"? What will happen when this child grows into a young woman and starts to make her own choices?
_________________________
Best regards,

Deborah

She is sweet and talented. No doubt about it. I think how far she would go depends on how much she loves music when she grows bigger.

The thing that I do not quite understand is about her teacher. The piano repertoire is vast. Why she played this piece when she was only 8? I just wish that she has a wiser teacher.

Well, at age eight, my son had already been playing for .... oh, that's right, he hadn't yet started.

I'm just curious...do you play as well? Is your son a member here also?

Yes, I play. I was pretty well trained as a teen, and then went through a not uncommon withdrawal until later in life. I never lost my skills, and my technique is now as good or better than it was in the dim dark past. But I do not practice enough, or at least not continuously enough, to tackle big new works. Maybe when my kids are all through with school ....

My son has posted here before (as Book_Worm), but frankly he's not much interested in PW. That's fine with me. As far as forums go, I think he would rather post on a Call of Duty or World of Warcraft site.

Are you suggesting that this piece requires the sensibilities of a more mature performer? Given this child's technical and interpretive skills, what would you have recommended in place of the Liszt?

Regards,

Deborah,

Do a youtube search for "Uni Garrett" and watch her on Ellen's show. It doesn't completely resolve the totally valid concerns you raise, but I think the interview helps allay them quite a bit.

-Jason

Ah, I see. I was just curious, since I've always thought it a wee bit odd that so many of your posts are about him, etc.

This is a thread about Umi Garrett, so I don't want to hijack it. But I will say that my son is probably the reason that I even discovered PW. His early progress was rapid enough that I thought he would benefit from a piano upgrade (from my 1971 Howard label Kawai) and that's how and why I found Piano World. This forum helped me in my search for a piano, and after I found my new piano I stayed because the pianists and teachers here have helped me learn much more about playing, teaching and learning. Lastly, my experiences as a piano dad may be of some relevance for others who are embarking on the long journey of providing a musical education for their children. You may still find my posts a bit odd, but that's my explanation.

If you watch the video from about 2:10 to 2:35, she was using quite a lot of arm and body strength to bring out the dynamic/music the way she liked. Her entire body moved up and down and off the bench a few times. If she keeps doing something like this and choosing pieces like this, would this lead to injury? I have no medical degree, so I cannot be sure. Maybe I just think too much.

Do I have a suggestion for an alternative piece? I am no musician either, so please take my suggestion lightly. I think some of the fugues from WTC could be good. My son, who is 12 now, has been working on some of the fugues for the past year. He learned a lot from playing fugues. It forces him to be more focused and listen particularly carefully to the sound he produces.

Wow! Brilliant playing.

I hope I play as well as her when I grow up.

Unlike many of the other youtube 'prodigies' this little one seems to truly enjoy performing and making music. She seems to know how she wants this piece to sound... and seems to delight in performing for her audience.

Even if she doesn't make music her career when she grows up... she seems to enjoy what she's doing now. Though I wasn't a prodigy at 8 - I played and practiced every spare moment I had... getting up at 4 in the morning so I had time before school to play for as long as I could. No one pushed me... no one drove me to practice harder... I just loved it. I was performing by age 9... and earning money from performing by age 10. I stress that I was no prodigy... just a little kid who loved music.

And I'm still playing 30 or so years later. No concert pianist... and I don't have a career in music... but music is still my life. And I love playing just as much as I did when I was 8.

Not all of these kids are pushed and driven by maniacal parents determined to force their children to succeed. Some kids just love what they are doing.

Regardless of whether the child enjoys it or not, I think there is something creepy and icky about putting a kid on public display at such a young age, before they are old enough to really understand what is going on, or make informed decisions for themselves about it. Yes, I know, this sort of thing has been going on for a very long time, but then, a lot of prodigies have run into huge difficulties because of it, too.

There's probably no set recipe for raising gifted kids in the most healthy way. However, announcing to the world that you have one and inviting everyone to gawk at your cute little freak of nature surely isn't the best choice of how to do it, at least not to my way of thinking.

BruceD,

I think this is a better alternative to a gifted child:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8kpDVvOyHs&feature=related

I think it's good that they'll have a great advantage when they're grown up, because kids like this are obviously talented, and their parents realize that, therefore they push them when they're young. Those are the most important years. If you're not developed then, it's going to be really, really difficult.

So I see nothing wrong with it. Especially since if the kid didn't enjoy it/wasn't musical, they obviously wouldn't do it.

I don't know Ms. Garrett's musical history, what she has learned or how she has learned, so I can't say whether or not the Liszt was a good or a bad choice for this child from a pedagogical standpoint. I can only take it for what it's worth, out of any context of her course of studies. It may well be that she has studied a fair amount of Bach, and that that is what has helped her develop her technique.

I would think that one with a technique such as she already has may well have studied and played a number of composers; who knows why the Liszt was chosen for this recording session over any others? There may also have been a number of reasons why this particular one has popped up.

Here's her program for this Friday in San Diego :
J.S.Bach: Italian Concerto
Mendelssohn: Spinning song
Chopin: Waltz no.5 op.42
Chopin : Fantasy Impromptu
Debussy: Children's Corner No. 6 "Golliwogg's Cakewalk"
Liszt: Gnomenreigen
Villa-Lobos: O Polichinelo

She has also performed the Mozart Piano Concerto No 23 twice this year and is scheduled to play it twice more by the summer.

I wonder if perhaps you may know more about her history than I and therefore have reasons to justify your criticism of her teacher.

Regards,

There's no way for a talented child to develop other than being put on national television and YouTube? Before they are even ten years old? Gimme a break...

I wish it were that easy, but the reality IMO is that sometimes, or should I say quite often?, gifted children are put under a lot of stress and are indeed forced to to what they do...

There is a book on the drama of gifted children.
Gifted children are also bullied by peers.
And they are often outsiders , also as adults...

Umi though seems to be indeed enjoying what she is doing.