Nobuyuki Tsujii, Japan’s famous blind pianist, will be holding solo piano concerts in Hanoi on June 19 and in Ho Chi Minh City on June 21 as part of the 2013 Japan-Vietnam friendship year, which aims to commemorate 40 years of diplomatic relations between both of the countries. This concert is merely one of many other events to bring more of Japanese culture to Vietnam.
Nobuyuki, who is 25 years old, is already considered to be one of the most talented pianists and composers in the whole of Japan. Despite being born blind, he started showing potential for music when he was introduced to the piano at a tender age of just two years old. When he was seven years old, he managed to take home the first prize at the All Japan Blind Students competition by the Tokyo Helen Keller Association. Three years after that, he decided to join the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra. After that, he went on to become the first ever blind Japanese artist to get a gold medal at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas, USA. For the full story, you can read more over here.
There are many individuals who tend to doubt their abilities when they start to learn the piano. They might try for a couple of lessons and simply give up after that as they feel that they are not progressing as fast as they would like to. What people need to understand is that picking up a new skill requires a certain amount of time. Just like the famous phrase, “‘Rome wasn’t built in a day”, you can’t expect to learn to play the piano overnight either. It will definitely take time based on your pace too. Obviously, everyone has a different pace and some might pick it up faster than others. Some might be more talented and gifted compared to others, but one shouldn’t doubt their own ability. Everyone has their own niche, so some will be better at other things.
Although Nobuyuki may have the talent and potential at a very young age, he is someone who has no vision. He is not able to see the piano keys, but we still worked it out to become what he is today. That is definitely something more than just talent. It is a combination of will power, determination and perseverance. This is something that we can all learn from him. If he is able to it, you should to as long as you put your mind to it. If you decide that you need professional help, Awesome Piano is here to guide you along. We provide piano lessons in Singapore for all ages.