11/23/2023 0 Comments Asian boy piano prodigy![]() "Caucasian" Americans with the educational background, awareness of what it takes to excel in music, and financial means to provide an excellent teacher and high quality instrument(s), who live in the (almost universally) urban environment in which excellent teachers and other musical opportunities are found.will simply, very often, see other opportunities and have other goals for their children than being a professional musician. And all anthro grads joke (sometimes its not so funny) that an anthro degree is great for a job in which you ask, "You want fries with that?" My parents were horrified when I went to grad school for Anthropology. People who don't fit into one of these 2 categories tend to see piano as a 'life enrichment' activity but would not want their children to focus on music to the detriment of what's going to pay their bills in the future. There is still a perception that certain disciplines are only really viable for either people who are wealthy enough that they don't need the income, or people who love it enough that they are willing to live in a garret on bread and water to pursue their dream. And, if the piano teachers in your town/area consider John Thompson book 4 to be 'advanced piano repertoire' it is impossible to imagine that *your* kid might have the talent it takes to play the stuff needed to get into a conservatory.ī)You have to believe it's worth doing. You must have some basis on which to be confident that you're not wasting your life and resources in pursuit of a ridiculous pipedream. This is one of the first things that those in urban and rural ghettos do not overcome. (speaking of which, can you imagine pushing your child from elementary school to work for hours a day to get in to law or medical school, if law or medical degrees carried the same guarantee of a job or financial rewards that a music degree does?)Ī) You must believe it is possible. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.There are some things that both the parent and the child must believe, in order to pursue musical excellence.especially when you're discussing pursuing musical excellence to the point of a conservatory education and a possible career in music. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. MARTIN: Brigitte's other hobbies include playing with toys and reading books.Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR. To interpret what you see and what you feel. ZHANG: It's beyond the speaking language because I have to use 10 fingers. MARTIN: But music isn't just any language. ZHANG: She read the music, and the music is a language. MARTIN: Here's her teacher on a talk show explaining why she thinks Brigitte is able to progress so quickly. ![]() That's very - for that, 3 years old, it's really amazing. ZHANG: I said, now, can you play right-hand D major, left-hand C major, right-hand G major? Then she went - boom, boom, boom, boom, boom - make all the different, right moves. Her teacher says she is still amazed how quickly Brigitte learned. Brigitte's parents have to place a stool under the piano bench to keep her feet from dangling above the ground. MARTIN: That's Brigitte's mother, Nicole Sun. NICOLE SUN: The first time I heard she - playing a piano piece, I was so deeply moved. TAO ZIE: At the beginning, I never expected she's going to be a prodigy or anything. MARTIN: Brigitte's father, Tao Zie, signed her up for Zoom classes - you know, something to do during lockdown. ZHANG: From the lessons, I observed she has a curious mind, and she loved to learn. MARTIN: That's Brigitte's piano teacher, Felicia Feng Zhang. She is only 4 years old.įELICIA FENG ZHANG: Brigitte came to me when she was just 2 months after 3 years old. A year later, she became the youngest winner of the prestigious Elite International Music Competition, which grants the winner a performance on stage at Carnegie Hall. MARTIN: Last fall, Brigitte Xie took up the piano. Some of us have even taken up a musical instrument, perhaps the piano. Some of us have even followed through, a gesture at self-improvement or just a way not to go stir-crazy in COVID times. At some point over the last 18 months, each of us has probably thought about taking up some new pastime.
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