Musicians always have this debate on the topic of “Being gifted vs trained”.
There are many who believe that some are gifted whereas some believe it’s the training & practice that sets them apart.
Irrespective, here are some famous blind piano players who have made a name for themselves through sheer hard work and perseverance.
Ray Charles
Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder are probably the two most popular blind African American musicians. Both could sing and play the piano well, both had charisma, but Ray got there (on the music scene) first. And probably also inspired Stevie Wonder to become the musician he is.
Stevie Wonder
Probably the most famous blind musician, Stevie Wonder was also a child star, and has crafted some of the most popular songs ever, all without ever having to open his eyes.
Art Tatum
Art Tatum was nicknamed “God” by many because he was considered to be one of the best jazz Pianists of all time. Tatum used inverted and extended chord progressions that were at least a decade ahead of his time and the pianist would greatly influence future jazz giants like Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk and Oscar Peterson.
Nobuyuki Tsujii at the BBC Proms
There’s something fascinating about the idea of a blind musician. Ask any musician who cannot see, and they’ll replay that they can see through their heart. Here’s Nobuyuki Tsujii, a blind pianist who is mobbed by people in his native Japan, all set to perform at the proms. Read the full story here.
George Shearing
George Shearing started his piano career making 5 pounds a week playing at a local pub, and went on to become one of the most famous jazz pianists in the history of jazz.
This internationally famous blind jazz pianist performed all over the world, composed hundreds of original songs, and was also knighted by the Queen of England in 2007. He has even played at the white house for three different presidents.
Ronnie Milsap
Most famous blind musicians made a name for themselves in genres like blues and jazz. And even though, Ronnie Milsap (born blind) spent his childhood listening to country and gospel music, Ronnie went on to become a star in country music.
A naturally talented musician, Ronnie Milsap taught himself to play a variety of music instruments by the time he produced his first single, “Total Disaster”.
More Blind Musicians Worth Mentioning
Moondog
While people are forced to live on the streets (they have no other option), Louis Hardin, aka Moondog, decide to live on the streets out of choice (not out of necessity). He also dressed every day as the Norse god of thunder, Thor.
Moondog’s musical style was heavily influenced by the sounds he heard on the streets such as subway noises and foghorns.
While his music never enjoyed any mainstream popularity, musicians such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Janis Joplin drew inspiration from this unique musician.
Jose Feliciano
In a career spanning over five decades, Jose Feliciano has produced music in several genres (in both Spanish as well as English). He is best known for the Christmas novelty song “Feliz Navidad”. Jose Feliciano played the guitar.
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson (American gospel blues singer and guitarist) is one of those talented musicians who died a poor man, despite his songs been covered by famous musicians such as Eric Clapton and The White Stripes.
Its believed that Blind Willie Johnson lost his eyesight after his mother threw lye in his face in a fit of rage. Although there’s ambiguity on how he went blind, the fact is that Willie Johnson did not let the incident stop him from becoming a better musician. He went on to produce over 30 different tracks with Columbia records.
Know of any more celebrity piano player who was also blind? Please let us know here.
Also Read: Teenagers ‘without hands’ learn to play the piano, get inspired
This blind piano player is so good that scientists are studying him
Blind jazz piano player Matthew Whitaker is already a popular musician who has been rocking crowds with his improvisational piano playing for some time now. His exceptional skills – twisting melodies, crafting complex harmonies, improvising at lightning speed – have prompted to study him; a neuroscientist says Whitaker’s visual cortex goes into overdrive when he plays.
Dalia Sakas, a classically-trained concert pianist and director of music studies at the Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School in New York City, a school for the visually impaired, has been teaching Whitaker for several years. She says that Whitaker has very good ears; he can listen to a piece of music one time and then play it.
Blind 15 Year Old Plays Freestylers on Piano after One Listen
Now what would you call this performance by this 15 year old blind boy?
He’s not a celebrity like the others listed here.
Kuha’o has been playing the piano for about 3 years and has been blind since infancy. He is only 15 years old and can play most songs after hearing it just one time on the piano.
But then as they say that when you lose one sense, usually your other senses compensate for the lack of it.
And it seems to be true in the case of 15 year old piano prodigy Kuha’o whose ivory-tickling skills look quite good.
This video shows Kuha’o’s playing the “Cracks” by Freestylers (dubstep) after listening to the song just once.
To see his actual performance, you’ll have to skip to about 5 minutes into the video.
Visually impaired girl impresses AR Rahman
Sahana, a visually impaired girl, is garnering lot of attention on social media with ther keyboard skills. A recent video of her playing AR Rahman’s South Indian composition Thumbi Thullal has now impressed the musical maestro himself.
#Sahana tried this Single track #ThumbiThullal from the movie #cobra composed by #ARRahman. #ChiyaanVikram #shreyaghosal #NakulAbhyankar #7ScreenStudio pic.twitter.com/rNVP2kmQrF
— SahanaNiren (@sahana_singer) June 30, 2020
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Why isn’t Lennie Tristano on your list? Some list.
This article shows what you know. The best piano player, blind or otherwise, was George Shearing, and you would have had to living on another planet to not have heard of him. Open your eyes—and ears.