Meet the amazing piano prodigy, 8, who can breeze through Tchaikovsky and Mozart concertos ... despite being blind

Last updated at 2:41 PM on 6th September 2011

Meet the amazing eight-year-old piano prodigy who is totally blind, yet has no trouble breezing through Tchaikovsky and Mozart concertos while most children her age are getting to grips with their times tables.

Naturally blessed Ying-Shan Tseng, from Boksburg in South Africa, is years ahead of her peers and only took up the piano three years ago, aged five.

And last year she excelled her competition after being named the top junior instrumentalist in the five- to 15-year-old age group at the South African Championships for Performing Arts.

Scroll down to watch young Ying-Shan play the piano

Totally blind: Ying-Shan Tseng plays at her piano at the Pioneer School for the blind in Worcester, South Africa

In contrast to sighted performers who are able to read music as they play, Ying-Shan must first learn each individual piece by braille before committing it to memory.

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'I cannot imagine where she stores all that information,' explained her astonished music teacher, Elize Weldhagan.

'In the first month she could do little songs that other kids can do after three or four months. She's absolutely amazing.'

The eight-year-old studies the music in braille first, and then commits it to memory

She reads music using braille whilst at the piano at the Pioneer School for the blind in Worcester, South Africa

Young Ying-Shan is totally blind and reads music using braille whilst at the piano at the Pioneer School for the blind in Worcester, South Africa

Ying-Shan's mother and father, Ching-Hsuan and Ken Tseng, say they were as surprised as anyone at that daughter's outstanding talent.

Her mother said: 'I don't know where her ability has come from, but we will do all we can to help her become a professional performer.

'She has taught me so much about perseverance and dedication in the way she masters her talents.'

After spending the first years of her education in a mainstream school with sighted children, where she is said to have excelled, Ying-Shan was later moved to the National Eisteddfod Academy for performing arts.

Recently she was named the most inspiring junior performer at the school's annual awards.

Asked how she feels about her unique gift, the precocious performer says that music is like painting.

'I really like music, when I make the sound it is painting a picture. It makes me happy,' she said.

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Selasa, 06 September 2011