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The New Mozart: Blind girl plays any song after one listen

dailymail.co.uk — A blind five-year-old pianist from South Korea has stunned the music world. Yoo Ye-eun, who was born blind and adopted in 2002, has never had a formal piano lesson but can play any song after just one listen.

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  • MattgUP, on 07/12/2008, -13/+107I don't understand how this is possible!
    • insanebrain, on 07/13/2008, -1/+34That's the beauty of it :)
    • PilotHead, on 07/13/2008, -18/+10it's over nine thousand!
    • AchaIemoipas, on 07/13/2008, -8/+50She's probably an autistic savant. Too young to know at this age, but that's pretty much the only condition that could allow her to do that at such a young age.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome

      "something that almost all savants have in common is a remarkable memory: a memory that he describes as "exceedingly deep but very, very narrow"
      • nobody98, on 07/13/2008, -1/+9But she figures out all the notes by ear without having any formal practice... does that tie in with the savant syndrome?
      • goon5000, on 07/13/2008, -7/+14not really, some people are just born with a good ear, by coincidence she also happens to be very smart and blind, so I'm not surprised at all that she can remember a whole song.

        If you think about it, there are only 12 unique notes on a piano right? so all music is made up of those 12 notes, and the patterns are always pretty similar so its just a matter of remembering the patters. Just like you can whistle your favorite song by memory.
      • AchaIemoipas, on 07/13/2008, -2/+6@nobody98

        Yeah, that's pretty much it.

        It's the fact that she never learned how to play that makes me think she is a savant (I know one).

        Good videos about autistic savants (part of a documentary):
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkDMaJ-wZmQ
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqDX2XpdyY&feature ...

        She didn't really learn how to play the piano, she "figured out" the piano. Not the same.

        @goon5000
        Play the same notes in a different scale and it's all wrong. And comparing whistling a simple tune to playing Beethoven or Mozart on the piano at age 5 just doesn't work
      • Mononuclear, on 07/13/2008, -6/+3Why is whistling a tune any different? To sing or whistle you have to be able to move your lips/mouth/vocal chords in tiny increments to achieve different pitches and you need to be able to hear when you are wrong. Some people can do it, some people can't. Most people wouldn't be able to whistle a tune after hearing it once or improv along with someone else.

        An instrument is the same thing. You have to know where to put your fingers or how to blow to make the right pitch and be able to hear when you are wrong. Singing seems to come natural to some people, playing the piano seems to come natural to others. If you are familiar with your voice, or familiar with the piano and you are talented you can recreate a song after hearing it once or you can improv along with someone else regardless of whether or not you know music theory or can read music.
      • AchaIemoipas, on 07/13/2008, -1/+14She doesn't just play the piano.

        She reproduces a complex multi-level harmony, while using two sets of the same instrument and two different sides of her body, by hearing it once.

        Even people who know music wouldn't remember all the notes from a single listen.

        Whistling or singing is not at all like playing an instrument. You can't whistle two notes at once and you can replicate rythm. The piano is a percussion instrument.

        And you can't whistle the song she played. You can somewhat whistle the single level tune. It's humanely impossible to recreate the nuances and dual tones with a single mouth. You'd need two mouths and two pairs of lungs.

        And there's a difference between having a natural hability to learn the piano with help and just plain figuring out a piano at age 3.
      • Syntheticbadger, on 07/13/2008, -0/+6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Lemke

        Guy that's blind, with Cerebral Palsy and a few other things that when he was 16, his mother thought she left the radio on but it turned out her son was playing tchaikovsky's piano concerto no 1 after hearing it once on the radio
    • moduc, on 07/13/2008, -17/+4what's possible? The title of the article? Misleading?

      "Ye-eun, whose act includes classics from such composers as Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, practices every day and says her ambition is to become 'a great pianist.'"

      Should it adds that girl play any song after 1 listening and a lot of practice?

      Maybe it's the memory that keep her not having to read the musics (people with amazing memory have been known before). But the rest? She must practice.
    • Chordonblue, on 07/13/2008, -3/+85I had a friend who could do this. He was actually in Ripley's Believe It or Not because when he was 9 he had perfect pitch and could play 10 instruments at a virtuoso level. He ended up session playing with some of the best country and rock and roll bands in the U.S. To this day, I've never heard anyone play a keyboard solo AND hammer on a guitar solo at the same time. Amazing!

      But it always seems that this level of genius is always weighed down by something and in his case it was diabetes. He took terrific care of himself, but eventually the disease caught up with him and he died 11 years ago at 32. He was my hero and mentor. Someday soon, this little girl will probably be that to other people as well. Good luck to her!
    • blahtastic, on 07/13/2008, -12/+4No no no, he means he doesn't understand how she was "born blind and adopted." How is one born adopted?

      (no one will get the sarcasm, so yes, I am kidding, and I understand what it means. It just sounds slightly funny.)
    • dOOBiEx213, on 07/13/2008, -2/+4Comment abuse:
      A more recent performance in the same show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bppXP91b4nE
    • vind, on 07/13/2008, -5/+12she's really one of those new Japanese robots.

      Really, though, this is amazing.
    • ligyron, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1Is this the talent show that is spamming the YouTube most viewed page?
    • JacobParker, on 07/13/2008, -2/+1i know sum1 who was born with perfect pithc, but he's not as good lol
    • dharcha1, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1yeah, shouldn't she be at least 6?
    • saqer, on 07/14/2008, -1/+2just like you can't understand that there's a God
    • remccain, on 07/14/2008, -4/+1Big deal. My wife can duplicate any picture/painting that see sees. Both still have no talent. They're nothing but human Xerox machines with no creativity.
      • Relikh, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Wow. Do you talk to your wife like that? How can she stand living with you?
      • remccain, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1What? Tell her that she's a living Xerox machine? Yeah. I tell her "Sweetheart, you're the best damn xerox machine I've ever seen." She can duplicate in 4 or 5 different media (oils, acrylics, charcoal, pastels, and watercolors, I think) but she cannot create. Never has in 20+ years. She can also play 6 different instruments with exceptional skill, but cannot compose. I perhaps misspoke above; yes, duplication is a talent, but creativity is what separates people from machines. My wife's talent is due to never ending practice; hours of dedication and hard work. Something that most people, including myself, don't possess.
  • ironeus, on 08/01/2008, -1/+96wait until she can reach the pedals and she will showcase her talent even more.
    • thedeadwalrus, on 07/13/2008, -18/+6Did anyone else notice that she is terrible? I was expecting her to be proficient. It is impressive, mind you, that she can pick out the songs. But she hits more wrong notes than a deaf monkey and has no sense of rhythm.

      She is no blind Tom:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Tom_Wiggins
      • portis, on 07/13/2008, -1/+15Are you forgetting that she is only 5 years of age?
      • pigducksheep, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1She's five years old, blind, has never had lessons, and can make out and play a song the first time she hears it. Are you really criticizing her for hitting a few wrong notes?
      • exomni, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Actually I'd say she's exactly a Blind Tom Wiggins. Though obviously more privileged.

        Though no, she's no Mozart.
      • thedeadwalrus, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2I'm sorry. She's amazing for a blind 5 year old who never had lessons. There. You got me. She would be a mediocre 10 year old though.
    • sweetholymosiah, on 07/13/2008, -3/+4The best pianists make as little use of the sustain pedal as possible!
      • ed54, on 07/13/2008, -1/+3Not really. Some pieces are impossible to play without the sustain pedal to make it smooth. And it makes a reverb effect that sounds nice in certain occasions. It is possible to play anything well without the damper pedal, though. You just need to get a feel for the piano to be able to play softly enough.
    • mrb4b00, on 07/13/2008, -0/+6and grow longer fingers too.
  • Konstantino, on 07/12/2008, -3/+59It's things like this that make me wonder why some are born with such amazing talents? Sometimes it doesn't even seem possible.
    • KeillRandor, on 07/13/2008, -1/+7What some humans are capable of probably would amaze lots of people - an ex-gf of mine was born with perfect co-ordination and spatial awareness - (She's now a professional martial artist, after thinking about being a tennis player) - and I've heard of people who can pick up and learn languages, just like this girl picks up and learns music...
      • kpaphysicist, on 07/13/2008, -10/+4such a liar..
        A) diggers don't have girlfriends, ever
        B) she wasn't a superhero
        /sarcasmic
    • feoren, on 07/13/2008, -2/+19The brain is full of self-limiting factors, and things like what this girl and autistic savants do are very likely to be present in everyone's brain, but our brain cannot, or is not willing to, shut off the hundreds of other things going on at once. Only in people whose brains are damaged into ignoring the huge amounts of stimuli we have to process every second (causing autism or blindness) is this kind of focus possible, and selection just will not favor that kind of tradeoff. Brain technology may soon reach the point where we can temporarily shut off some parts of our brain and stimulate others to be able to do amazing feats like this. I don't mean to belittle her natural talent, but calling her the next Mozart because she can reproduce music is like calling a camera Michelangelo.
      • sandkiller, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4Good answer
      • arvvvs, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1Some times when certain brain functions are shut down, others open up. There was this 60 minutes presentation where the guy couldn't walk properly or drive, but could learn languages really fast in a week, and memorize long nos.
      • mohsenxp, on 07/14/2008, -2/+0In all honesty we have no idea what brain condition Mozart had because in those times such things were unheard of.
        So in a way it isn't that unfair to call her the next Mozart.
        Unless we know for sure that Mozart did not have any form of autism.
      • jumanous, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1her ability to impro later on in the show is what makes her unique. Unless I'm mistaken, most savants can't do this.
    • pcflea, on 07/13/2008, -4/+4To me, this is great evidence that we live more than one life. It could be that she was literally Mozart or maybe Ray Charles in a past life. Either way, she's got talent that isn't born every day.



    • BabaRamDass, on 07/13/2008, -3/+1The fact she is blind means she uses more of her other four senses more than you or I do. She probably uses hearing like we do sight.

      Have you ever played HORSE (Basketball)? Someone does some sort of pattern shot, and you have to repeat it. After seeing a shot done just once many people can make it on the first try. This girl is basically playing an audio version of HORSE. If none of us had sight, her ability wouldn't be all that novel.
      • jumanous, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1man... comparing horse to playing a piano is just silly. That's like comparing DNA to an amino acid.
  • bakedpajamas, on 07/13/2008, -22/+8Makes you want to believe again...
    • insanebrain, on 07/13/2008, -11/+9WHY ?? this shows the capacity of the brain . .not the stupidity of religion.
    • supermanly, on 07/13/2008, -4/+12Makes you want to believe in humanity again

      Fixed.
  • bozodaclown51, on 07/13/2008, -7/+166i cant get over how the audience cheers and gasps at the most random things
    • eatbeast, on 07/13/2008, -2/+62it sounds like the audience in wii tennis
    • xerexes1, on 07/13/2008, -0/+21They do that on all Korean tv shows, from what I recall. I could never figure out what the correlation was among what someone said or did, and how the audience reacted. Obviously a cultural difference.
    • kall, on 07/13/2008, -0/+19You should see a Starcraft tournament.
    • jordan314, on 07/13/2008, -0/+6Some of it sounds canned and edited in
    • Inohavehalos, on 07/13/2008, -0/+14"We aren't able to have babies"

      GASP!
    • MajorApus, on 07/13/2008, -1/+6Subtitles may not be synced with what they are actually saying.
    • quomen, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3You have to watch more Korean TV lol..
  • dbalaski, on 07/13/2008, -20/+320The ability to re-create on piano any song she hears once doesn't make her Mozart
    I would say it makes her more a talented savant... gifted.
    For instance Mozart was also a composer at an early age..

    Don't get me wrong, I am impressed with her talent.
    I think we should temper words used until justified .
    • imightbewrong, on 07/13/2008, -4/+21she's on the the right track
    • sonnysavage, on 07/13/2008, -2/+44That's the comment I was going to make. The art of composing and ability to re-produce are two different things.
    • atgmac, on 07/13/2008, -2/+15I can play music from memory after only hearing it a couple of times. Does that make me Mozart? No. I'm an awful composer as a matter of fact. I'm sure she'll be an excellent pianist when she's older but I doubt she will be an excellent composer.
      • Upsizer, on 07/13/2008, -1/+13I wouldn't say doubt. I would say, however, that being an excellent pianist does not imply being a excellent composer.
      • atgmac, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1No, but it's a handicap because as a blind person, she can't write manuscript. Somebody else would have to transcribe her compositions, which is a hindrance if you want to write hundreds of works like Mozart did. Still, who knows?
    • sindex, on 07/13/2008, -1/+8Being blind probably hinders her ability to compose, since she can't write. On the other hand, I'd call her ability to make up a tune to "Meeting," a song she had never heard, composition. Chances are, once trained, she could do anything musically she wants.

      (although I agree the child prodigy/Mozart comparison is used too often)
      • sonatatempest, on 07/13/2008, -0/+7I doubt being blind would hinder her ability to compose should she have the ability. Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles certainly never had a problem with it.
      • sindex, on 07/14/2008, -1/+2Again, the girl is FIVE. Let's withhold judging her composition skills until she learns what the hell the word even means. lol.
      • nmcphee, on 07/14/2008, -0/+2I'd say being deaf would be a bigger obstacle, but Beethoven managed to pull it off. And the ninth is totally awesome too.
    • Thoraxes, on 07/13/2008, -10/+2Mozart will always be one of the most amazing composers of all time in my opinion. His sheer genius was one of the most incredible things to happen to music EVER.
      I have yet to ever see someone who compares to him.
      This little girl isn't the next Mozart, but she's definitely a savant.

      -Music Major and dude who has Perfect Pitch.
      • ssjbriguy, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4People who are comparable to Mozart: Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy
    • KingBabi, on 07/13/2008, -8/+3Frankly, with the right amount of practice anyone can perfectly reproduce any song. It takes talent to inject nuance and feeling into a song. This is why 99% the kids who learn piano from a young age because their mom made them either give up or play the same songs over and over at parties. Kieth Jarrett is a musical genius, some kid playing the Magic Flute for the millionth time is not (but could be).
    • Adwt0125, on 07/13/2008, -2/+4Agreed - composing is a lot different than performing.
    • lamech, on 07/13/2008, -2/+2Agreed - however she has had no training and can't even see to read or write the music... how can you teach someone like that a skill that is usually reserved for people with sight?
      • RobotBuddha, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2"how can you teach someone like that a skill that is usually reserved for people with sight?"

        It's not that hard to memorize multiple pages of text, assuming it was first put into a medium she could access. It just feels that way for most of us because we were raised in a lifestyle that places no need on it.
      • ssjbriguy, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3I guess you've never heard of Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles.
    • lanemik, on 07/13/2008, -1/+3To be fair, Mozart did have his father Leopold who was the deputy director of music for the Archbishop of Salzburg, a composer, and an music instructor around to instruct him from his earliest years. Leopold and his connections with other composers like Hayden along with his connections with royalty was able to give Wolfgang what few (if any) other extremely gifted children have ever had. Mozart really was the case of the best possible child/family combination in history, IMO.

      This little girl may well be as talented as the young Mozart, but nobody will ever know for sure. Mozart got his start much earlier and had a much better environment to foster his talents than this little girl will ever have.
    • Pake, on 07/13/2008, -0/+8You realize that the comparison to Mozart has mostly to do with the fact that he was capable of hearing a song one time and being able to almost recreate it 100%, which is exactly what this little girl is doing, right? Comparing their abilities by age 5 as musicians isn't entirely fair still, since Mozart had a bit more help early on and let's not forget the whole vision part.
    • defsyfe, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3Mozart also had the guidance of his father who was a composer. This little girl is playing by ear.
    • Haoie, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1She must have an amazing memory.

      Or some way to condense music information and replay it flawlessly later.
    • gonzojoe, on 07/14/2008, -0/+3They call her a Mozart because it's The Daily Mail -- not exactly the pinnacle of UK journalism. They make Fox News look like the BBC World Service.
    • solboldi, on 07/14/2008, -0/+2There was only one Mozart. I can't stand hearing that every child that can play piano is Mozart.

      Stop saying that!

      Almost none of these child prodigies wind up composing anything of value.
  • greengarfield, on 07/13/2008, -6/+110that little girl is amazing! That said, could we stop comparing every young talented pianist to Mozart??? It's one thing to be a child prodigy, but from there to become the greatest composer ever in a 35 years life...
    • goon5000, on 07/13/2008, -8/+5greatest ever? we don't even know who the best composer ever was because the only ones who we know of were the one's that were commissioned by the king, the king was basically the record company
      • Pandalume, on 07/13/2008, -3/+4That's all part of being a great composer. Getting your music heard is just as important as writing the correct notes. That's why he was the best.
      • shibagarden, on 07/13/2008, -2/+2The king? What king ever commissioned Mozart to write anything?
      • Magicmasta, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2I don't think there is such a thing, "the best" is subjective.
      • kujo740, on 07/14/2008, -1/+1I think Chopin's Ballads could quickly change your mind on the subject of "being the best."

        Also google Vladimir Horowitz. Mozart is definitely the most known but I wouldn't necessarily say the best.
    • MOJIRA, on 07/13/2008, -2/+4I don't know about greatest composer ever... he's definitely the most well known.
    • ScottMitchell, on 07/13/2008, -4/+3Great, just great. Now J.S. Bach is spinning in his grave. Now, perhaps you could call Mozart one of the best child performer prodigies evar.
    • JoeCool1986, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2I'm a piano performance major and my piano teacher says that people generally argue between Bach and Beethoven as who was the greatest composer ever. Generally, I hear that none surpass Bach. I say this because while Mozart probably had the most famous aural skills in history, I've never liked his music as much as Bach and Beethoven and the likes ;)
      • BlueCadenza, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1I never really cared for bach but in terms of composition, he was a GENIUS in his own right. He pioneered counterpoint and his pieces like Chaccone are brilliant and beautiful, albiet long lol. But Vivaldi was a much more evocative and emotional player for a baroque composer, a time when music was supposed to be formulaic and spiritual.

        Nevertheless, beethoven was literally the opposite but only because he lived in the romantic period. You can't really compare the two of them. I really wouldn't call either of them "better."
    • Jpotts12, on 07/13/2008, -2/+1It is pretty amazing, but not as amazing as this little girl I heard a while back who was DEAF and could play a song after hearing it once.....that was truly amazing.
    • Mist0r_Wiggles, on 07/13/2008, -1/+1Beethoven FTW!
    • JonLatane, on 07/13/2008, -2/+2Mozart's a far cry from the "greatest composer ever." He was the pinaccle of the Classical musical tradition, strictly following theory and using controlled, unemotional sonorities. However, if you want your music to make you FEEL something check out Beethoven (or any of the later Romantics).
      • noumuon, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1if you don't feel something listening to mozart's works, you're listening wrong; and unemotional sonorities... something seems oxymoronic about that statement.
    • ubrikkean, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Hahah, as you can see, superlatives are always contested on Digg.

      Oh, and Rachmaninov FTW.
  • MarrowMan, on 07/13/2008, -8/+46Wouldn't she be the new Beethoven? He was deaf after all. I dunno, seems like a better comparison to me.
    • bieber, on 07/13/2008, -0/+13Not really. There are lots of blind musicians, not many deaf at all...
    • martoq, on 07/13/2008, -2/+7Beethoven wasn't completely deaf until his teens. And like bieber said, this girl is blind, not deaf.
      • AndrewJC, on 07/13/2008, -0/+9Beethoven was born in 1770 and wasn't totally deaf until 1814. The fact that he was going deaf and people's concerns over the status of his abilities was the reason he wrote the 7th Symphony.
      • uppercanuck, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4Check your facts. Beethoven didn't start losing his hearing until his late 20's/early 30's and wasn't completely deaf until sometime in his late 40's.
      • MarrowMan, on 07/13/2008, -4/+1Whatever
      • JoeCool1986, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3However, nothing blows my mind more than the fact that Beethoven wrote the entire 9th symphony completely deaf. And more sadly, because of that, he never got to hear it.
      • westlaker, on 07/13/2008, -1/+1@joecool: don't feel too badly for him... he might not have been able to hear it but people like him "see" music
      • ssjbriguy, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2Beethoven didn't need to hear the 9th Symphony, per se, because he did it all in his head.
    • timbro1, on 07/13/2008, -0/+6he wasn't deaf his whole life, he was losing his hearing near the end.
    • dollar0dot02, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4Beethoven went deaf. Bach went blind.
    • nobody98, on 07/13/2008, -2/+2Beethoven and mozart were both creative people. They created music. We'l have to to wait and see if this little girl is capable of writing her own music before we compare her to Beethoven or Mozart.
    • deepdiggdude, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2Did anyone notice that they were playing Beethoven's 8th symphony while introducing her as a new Mozart?
      • nmcphee, on 07/14/2008, -0/+3people don't notice Beethoven's even numbered symphonies.
      • omjeremy, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1I can guarantee most people have heard Beethoven 6. It was even on the Simpsons at least once.
  • goldfenix, on 07/13/2008, -3/+255Why is it that blind people get all the cool super powers?
    • PilotHead, on 07/13/2008, -8/+4so blind people can hate Dare Devil as well.
    • allothersnsused, on 07/13/2008, -0/+21Yeah! That's so not fair! They get everything!
    • joel8x, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2Yeah, she can play the piano, but can she win at 3-card Monty?
      • mtrip, on 07/13/2008, -0/+5Nobody wins at 3-card Monty, that's kinda the point.
      • blinktude, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2chuck norris wins at 3-card Monty
    • AmICoolNow, on 07/13/2008, -2/+15I think you mean, "Why do Asians get all the cool super powers?"
    • laola1, on 07/13/2008, -0/+0Neuroplasticity, if you're interested in a serious answer.
      • nmcphee, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1neuroplasticity is true if you go deaf. Why aren't there any deaf superheroes that I know about?
    • DismantleRepair, on 07/14/2008, -0/+8Except the ability to see.
    • Ortheos, on 07/14/2008, -2/+1Yeah she can play the piano, but can she watch movies?
    • SniperZero, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Maybe we all have powers just blind people find them because they don't have to process vision.
  • sensor, on 07/13/2008, -14/+6What do you mean after one listen? They did not even test that.
  • algaexx, on 07/13/2008, -10/+18What an incredible little girl. She will be very successful in the future.
  • migshark, on 07/13/2008, -0/+46Phonographic memory it seems. I Can't wait until her motor skills and limbs develop so she can be more accurate.
    • Vocifer, on 07/13/2008, -1/+28I have a pornographic memory.
    • Barney255, on 07/13/2008, -1/+12that odd humour is why you don't have friends
      • carniv0re, on 07/14/2008, -1/+6your lack of a sense of humor is why you don't either.
    • megamod, on 07/13/2008, -1/+4i for one welcome our blind 3 feet tall overlords
  • molotovcat, on 07/13/2008, -14/+8Believe what? How is this NOT possible? Humans have had such capabilities for a long while. With conditions such as aspergers, parts of the human mind have their full potential unleashed. It's amazing but nothing 'otherworldly' like other dumbfounded posters believe. I thought Mozart composed music, and not simply copied the music of others?
    • goon5000, on 07/13/2008, -3/+2all music is copying from others, that's why there are styles or genres, that's why Jimi Hendrix didn't appear in the 16th century out of the blue. Mozart copied from Handel, Hyden, Bach...
      • Thoraxes, on 07/13/2008, -1/+3It was rare that Mozart ever copied many of the styles.
        He had total melodic recall. An early instance of this was when he composed a piece based solely on the song of a bird he heard chirping on the way home.
        His Requiem is better than Bach's B minor mass, and the two can't really compare styles.
    • ace429k, on 07/13/2008, -0/+10my roommate for a semester in college had aspergers. he used to forget how to flush the toilet.

      pissed me off.
    • RobotBuddha, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4It's not really a full potential in the sense of the average person having a chance at it. These kinds of things are usually due to other brain function being absent tor damaged, which messes with the development of other areas.
  • wraith313, on 07/13/2008, -8/+63This is a really dumb label for that girl. Here is why. All she is doing is playing what everybody else has already done. Mozart was great as a COMPOSER, not a player.
    • pizpot, on 07/13/2008, -2/+5she did play along with the singer...
    • dlowder, on 07/13/2008, -1/+9In fact he was very well known first as a player, a really great player. He started out as a child prodigy playing the piano and violin for wealthy nobles all around Europe. This is probably why everyone is making the comparison between this child and Mozart.
    • prgmctan, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2He was an extremely talented pianist as well, but I see your point
    • sweetholymosiah, on 07/13/2008, -0/+7she's 5! christ...
    • JoeCool1986, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2One of Mozart's most famous trait was his unsurpassed aural skills. I think that's why their comparing her to him.
    • poopdigger, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1One of Mozart's tricks was his ability to play the piano upside down. He could most definitely play the piano well.
  • Bggnz, on 07/13/2008, -2/+133At 5 years old i was still picking my nose while staring at tv's, ( sadly enough not much has changed ). This girl is amazing.
    • Coolkid11, on 07/13/2008, -0/+19I just happened to be picking my nose while reading your comment. :3
      • MrJagil, on 07/13/2008, -2/+4lulz, me2 ^^
      • tkr2099, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1Creepy, me too..
      • nmcphee, on 07/14/2008, -1/+1I was picking up a totally hot babe while reading your comment- but then she picked her nose. She was in halfway past her knuckle when I decided to close skype.
    • solboldi, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1You could have done much more if your parents had kept you away from TVs.
  • blaze03, on 07/13/2008, -3/+5She belongs on that "real life superheroes" or whatever show I caught on Discovery a couple of months ago. She's gonna do amazing things in her lifetime.
    • Goner, on 07/14/2008, -3/+1unless she ends up socked away in some church somewhere playing jesus songs... someone is teaching her song after song about jesus.. while I suppose that's okay, they need to be feeding her a systematic diet of classical, jazz, etc piano music. I hope they ntroduce her to the whole world of piano, not just the church hymns they think it'd be cute to see her play..
      • LordBoreal51, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Right. I always worry about that when I hear prodigy musicians...?
  • mydjtl, on 07/13/2008, -11/+5Helen Keller has got nothing on her...
  • newwildlife, on 07/13/2008, -4/+8Completely Amazing. I have nothing else to say
  • duckyinc, on 07/13/2008, -10/+9It's not amazing, it's a disorder. Generally these type of children have something wrong with them, also the ability to repeat doesn't give you the power to create good music.
    • Cndor, on 07/13/2008, -4/+3Agreed, she might have some brain related problems and such in the future. I am totally serious because we all know that is not normal. If you can do something better than others, then others can do something better than you. It's just how it is.
    • Lavarock, on 07/13/2008, -1/+5I'd throw my cards at autistic. dunno. Still cool.
    • SniperZero, on 07/14/2008, -1/+1Yes I have to agree with this. It is most likely a problem in the brain that it is recording all memory of music and playing it back over and over in her mind. The fact that she is blind also gives me the impression something is wrong.

      Although depending what else is wrong I would probably give it up to have the skill of memory like she does (mainly in music).
  • bobangitanov2, on 07/13/2008, -31/+2the audience are so annoying. the korean language is so horrible to listen to. that girl is ugly too, but she has a real talent and inclination to music, and she should be formally trained. I wish that guy would release the sustain pedal every now and then for her.
    • MASTERPL, on 07/13/2008, -1/+24You are calling a 5yr old BLIND girl ugly.....
      What a ***** *****.
      • Canochas, on 07/13/2008, -11/+2Why can't he? All blind girls have to be pretty?
    • FongoBongo, on 07/13/2008, -0/+10Go get cultured you ***** *****.
      • bobangitanov2, on 07/16/2008, -1/+1I think my comment was much more cultured than yours. It was 50% creative critisism, you tinydick.
      • FongoBongo, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1right. which is why you have -29 diggs. The only thing your comment had was arrogance and racism. And you're still a stupid *****.
  • Netmonger, on 07/13/2008, -16/+7Yeah.. Interesting but not a Mozart. Memorization does not equal talent.. I stopped listening after the error prone recital of Fur Elise - maybe she was just nervous (and I certainly cant do any better at 39 :) but it just wasn't that good. Shes definitely amazing for a *blind* 5 year old though.
    • JaphMalik, on 07/13/2008, -0/+9Keep in mind her hands are small too so it's harder for her to move to get the right keys.
    • rossiohead, on 07/13/2008, -0/+6Wasn't that good for a regular piano-player maybe.

      But being blind, five, and reportedly having never heard the song before... I think it was well within the realm of acceptable.
  • benjp2k1, on 07/13/2008, -7/+55I can't believe some of the posters on here. How can you not think this is amazing! First off, she's 5 years old and has NEVER taken lessons! How many 5 year olds do you know that can even play the piano without lessons, let alone as well as she can? And secondly, sure she's only copying what someone else has done - but she's doing it after hearing it once! I am sure after she has grown up she will be writing her own pieces, just give her some time. The most amazing part of the clip, IMO, was when she was playing the tune for Noh Sa Yeon's "Meeting" (a song she didn't even know).

    Sorry for the rant - but she truly is amazing. It almost brought me to tears when she was singing and playing at the end.
    • Thoraxes, on 07/13/2008, -8/+6She's good for her age sure.
      Just not Mozart.
      It's us music nerds who hate it when people compare to him.
      • kesam, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4How do you know? Did you know Mozart at five? Maybe he had aspergers too.
      • Thoraxes, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Take music history in college, and you will know what I mean.
    • aelias, on 07/13/2008, -6/+1I have no tested verification of her claims. To me she's a kid, most a likely a savant, who plays really well.

      Show me some random ***** picking a song on their ipod, and have her bang it out.

      Neato for sure, but second coming of Mozart?, Ummmmm.
    • rigorious, on 07/14/2008, -2/+2her rhythm isn't exactly elegant and she 'punches' the wrong notes quite often. I'm not saying I prefer the more emotional and sweeping playing style, but the whole thing was about accuracy and musicality at her young age. imo it fell kind of flat.
    • BlueCadenza, on 07/14/2008, -1/+0It might be amazing for you, but I have absolute pitch and am thus not really amazed, but I am PROUD of her because thats just awesome that she's gotten attention. But while her abilities are amazing, many children with aspergers can do this.

      But Mozart composed his first symphony at age 8, a feat I don't think has been repeated. Most savants or aspies cannot compose, and when they do the melody is uneventful and virtually devoid of emotion. Mozart's symphony no.1 is an amazingly joyful, fast paced, and sophisticated piece.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL0bBPMH8qg
    • Scagli3tti, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1...and thirdly, there's the little inconvenience that she's blind. This is definitely one of those things that I can only look at with bewilderment and awe.
    • BlueCadenza, on 07/14/2008, -1/+0Ok fine, I changed my mind, you win. I heard the girl sing and I had to stop or else risk crying. Seriously that was beautiful.
  • jeremydouglass, on 07/13/2008, -15/+5agreed, dbalaski
    mozart was a creator, not a mimic.
    even fantastic mimics such as this girl, who's ability has autism written all over it, typically don't create original material.
    it's a headline like this, and bits from the article itself, that prove that the writer knows little
    about how the brain works, and even less about music.
    i guess i always find it a little sad when someone so young and fragile and unusually gifted
    is bandied about like a commodity.
    when she writes an opera, then we can start auditioning words like "genius" and "the next mozart". until then, sadly enough, she's a sideshow act who's not old enough to know better or opt out.


  • PilotHead, on 07/13/2008, -11/+1damn, the only thing I can do after 1 listen is stop caring. =s
  • CarStan, on 07/13/2008, -4/+211But can she play "Through the Fire and Flames" at 100%?
  • darthdusty, on 07/13/2008, -12/+3Holy ***** she's a bat!
  • bmson, on 07/13/2008, -0/+11Such a cute little girl.
    She will be come an incredibly talented when she's an adult.

    The human brain is mind-blowing.
    • punkcat, on 07/13/2008, -8/+3i has a talent.
    • RobotBuddha, on 07/13/2008, -6/+2I'm not sure if mind blowing is the word. It's impressive more for overcoming the normal limitations of the human brain than showing any great strength of it. An AI could do similar, with no real intelligence involved.
    • UpperUpsilon, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2Sadly, not ours, or we wouldn't be on Digg.
    • pigducksheep, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1The human brain blows brains?
  • Joe_rigby, on 07/13/2008, -0/+8I think when she can reach the keys a little better she'll be really talented.
  • pdxuser, on 07/13/2008, -14/+17She stumbled her way through Fur Elise, a song she has surely practiced many times. How do we know the story is true?
    • loringalta, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Her fingers aren't long enough, nor trained enough to pick out the tune accurately.
    • BlueCadenza, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0I could hear her playing the melody in her head and trying to play it on the stop. She didn't really memorize the notes and the lower notes are usually harder for us to hear in our head from memory. So she had a bit of trouble with that and her frustration was obvious.
  • uppercanuck, on 07/13/2008, -11/+1So what? Assuming this is true, she didn't earn that skill. This makes her nothing more than a performing monkey. We can bet she'll be exploited until she either grows out of it or is able to say 'stop' on her own. The Mozart comparison is about as accurate as saying she is also from Vulcan and can lift air craft carriers with one hand.
  • markperia, on 07/13/2008, -6/+39wow there's a lot of assholes in digg today. She's a ***** blind 5 yr old pianist! When you were 5 what were you doing?

    Ok, let's give the benefit of the doubt and say that *maybe* she was trained and they were lying about her being able to play after one listen, but that doesn't mean that what she was doing isn't amazing. And for those saying that she's autistic, that's still no reason to knock down the girl. Maybe she is autistic but she still has amazing talent.

    I just can't believe how much of a jerk people here are.
    • eanbowman, on 07/13/2008, -1/+6I've lost that disbelief long ago, my friend. Welcome to "the Internets". XD
    • goon5000, on 07/13/2008, -8/+0I taught myself piano when I was 5, nobody wrote any articles about me!
    • feoren, on 07/13/2008, -9/+1You don't think very hard about what you're saying, do you? This girl was born with some sort of damage to her brain that is allowing her to focus on the music like that. Nobody is saying what she's doing isn't amazing. But she's a human being, and treating her like she's intrinsically better than everyone else (with the "when you were 5 what were you doing?" comment) even though she's going to have problems doing everyday tasks because she probably has more brain damage than just blindness is ridiculous. It's true that her inaccuracy is not characteristic of autistic savants, which makes me think maybe she is just blind and her parents force her to play the piano hours and hours every day instead of playing outside ("You can't play with other kids, you're blind!"). Yes, it is a bias that Japanese people often put undue stress on their kids, but it is also often true. The point is that humans are humans, and one human isn't intrinsically better than another. The great leaders, thinkers, and artists of the world were generally ass holes or stupid in another way or regular people who were the right people for the time.
      • BarkingSheep, on 07/13/2008, -2/+0she's Korean, although the same could be said about them.
    • michael43, on 07/13/2008, -1/+3I agree with you, there seems to be an abnormally high number of assholes on digg today, although it always meets it's quota. If they have nothing better to do than to talk trash about a 5 y/o blind girl, they're pretty pathetic to say the least. If I had to guess at an answer to your question, I'd say most of the assholes are doing the same thing now they were doing when they were 5 y/o. Living with their parents, eating boogers and throwing tantrums when they don't get their way.
  • graaaag, on 07/13/2008, -0/+6Franz Liszt to could this too, sometimes at concerts he would get up and play back the entire symphony by himself on piano.
    • Thoraxes, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4I cringe at the pianos he broke :(
      He was crazy.
      • solboldi, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1He was not crazy. There is no such thing as crazy.
  • eanbowman, on 07/13/2008, -7/+2... and here I wasted my time programming in BASIC when I was 5. XD

    Seriously though - this is just great. It will be cool to see what comes of her playing as time goes on.
  • bullioncube, on 07/13/2008, -7/+2After 3 years of piano lessons I quit
    • JacobParker, on 07/13/2008, -2/+1we care...
    • Karmavs, on 07/13/2008, -1/+1Well then you can probably play Fur Elise at least as well as the “new mozart”.
  • CLYF, on 07/13/2008, -0/+13I heard not everyone can do this...
  • linusl, on 07/13/2008, -1/+4I understand the clip shows the girl appearing on some kind of game show. I feel kind of sorry for the other contestants, they don't stand a chance against a blind five year old girl playing almost perfect piano. I loved this, she really touched me. She might be an autistic savant, but from what I can tell she still appears to behave like any normal kid, unlike other savants I have heard about. Maybe this could change, I don't know much about autism (if she really is autistic). Anyway, I hope she does well either way.
  • CriX, on 07/13/2008, -0/+14"to all our Youtube viewers..."
  • Regulator980, on 07/13/2008, -0/+36This is what she can develop into with enough training:

    Derek Paravicini - The Human iPod
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nIcPTm0dmo
    • Mpwns, on 07/13/2008, -2/+5holy ***** he can remix on the fly with out thinking about it. that 5 year old girl is now over rated.
    • Cov3rt, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1I really really want to see people with these powers using some more tech, you'd get some frickin awesome DJs,
  • Coolkid11, on 07/13/2008, -5/+8She isn't a new Mozart unless she is composing her own music.
  • HappyScrappy, on 07/13/2008, -0/+8My grandmother could do this. She wasn't blind. She could just listen to a song and then she could play it on her organ. Sometimes she'd have to work for a few seconds on some of the parts, but then she'd start from the beginning of the song and play the whole thing. It sure made Christmas a lot of fun, we'd all gather around the organ and sing while she played Christmas songs that she had learned this way, she'd play them each year, without having to relearn them.

    I checked, I didn't inherit this from her, and from what the family can tell, no one else did either.
    • Niightwitch, on 07/13/2008, -3/+6My grandfather used to play with his organ too. He did it so much, we had to put him in a home.
  • Nutmegan, on 07/13/2008, -11/+81) She didn't demonstrate the ability to play anything after hearing it only once. I'd like to see it.
    2) A lot of children in the range of 5-7 play well enough to kludge through Fur Elise.
    Sounds like marketing spin to me, but who knows?
  • keithnoir, on 07/13/2008, -0/+23can she play guitar hero?
  • goon5000, on 07/13/2008, -20/+0I'd do her
  • scaaven2, on 07/13/2008, -3/+2oh yes
  • srodrigo, on 07/13/2008, -1/+6My grandma had a very old and blind parrot when I was like 8. He was very smart and learnt so many words, it was amazing. His name was Mozart.
  • allemande, on 07/13/2008, -8/+1Personally, i think this is a hoax.

    I believe not many people here have an idea that it is VERY difficult, being blind, having never taken a lesson, never been taught about music, ( if all this is really true) to develop an ability which will allow you to reproduce complex pieces of music from hearing it ONLY ONCE, and worse...ON A PIANO.

    This girl has an obvious opportunity to develop her talent while she still can. To learn how to play the piano correctly, train her memory and her hearing so that one day she can really do what she tries to sell (or what her mother tries to sell using her) now.

    This girl could become a great musician...but with proper training and education, and not by being exploited this way. Shame on her mother
    • aeramil, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0Agreed. It's selfish what they seem to be doing with her. If she started playing at 3 and showed potential, why wouldn't they attempt to give her some real help for her to develop as much as she can.

      I'm a musician as well, been playing violin since the age of 4, and now pursuing it in college as my major. Really too bad this girl is being exploited as she is.
  • fatTJ, on 07/13/2008, -2/+20She Survived A Japanese Game Show
  • jayjay0, on 07/13/2008, -1/+3Comparing her to Mozart so soon is a reach.. but she truly has amazing talent that isn't found -- well really anywhere.
    A ton of potential and it looks like her parents are already embracing the possibilities and doing something about it
  • naked_violence, on 07/13/2008, -8/+2PHOTOSHOPPED!!

    No really, an amazing thing. Took me a year to get a blues scale right.
  • ravedave, on 07/13/2008, -17/+9Mimicry is not creativity. Comparing her to Mozart is unfair at this point, other than they share the traits of blindness and playing a piano.
    • LogicBoy, on 07/13/2008, -3/+2I think she is comparable to Mozart in many ways; and not only in the ways you've mentioned.

      Her talents have a striking resemblance to those of Mozart in his early life. The 14 year-old Mozart is said to have transcribed Allegri's Miserere after just one listen - even though the music was a closely guarded secret of the Catholic Faith. Comparing her to Mozart is therefore fair.
    • aerophantom, on 07/13/2008, -0/+6Mozart wasn't blind...maybe you're thinking of Beethoven. Who developed deafness.
    • lanemik, on 07/13/2008, -2/+4FAIL. At least read the wikipedia entry on Mozart before you pound your fists on the keyboard.
    • insomniac8400, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2Mozart wrote music, she does not. Clearly until that happens you cannot compare them.
    • tnoy, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Mozart wasnt writing his own music at 5.
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