I came across this on Youtube.... she's 5 years old!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b8BhFMLVnQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP8vk-48ssQ

Depressing to watch when I want ot pick up the violin in my late 20's

Don't let it depress you or stop you taking up the violin. Who knows where that child will be as a musician in 5, 10, 15 or 20 years time. She's just as likely to have given up before the age of 18, and possibly feel that she is a major disappointment to her family and a failure, as she is to be a great soloist.

Whataver happens there will alway be great players and child prodigies but that does not devalue any achievements you make and should not influence the pleasure you gain from making music.

The related one of the 4 year old playing violin in a concert is also too cute! But it's not surprising when you read the posts about music lessons in Hong Kong and Japan etc in this forum!

I've seen these video's on youtube before, and as a late starter at violin myself i found them quiet depressing too. But there are two ways you can look at it. I enjoy playing violin and thats why i'm learning, so seeing someone so young play so well makes me work harder, because if she can do it at 5 years old than it's not impossible - even if it's difficult!

Everyone reading this thread, please take heed that these children are a rarity. They are essentially musical freaks. I don't mean that in a nasty way, but please don't think that any budding professional musician will have to have started out like these children have. They don't. It takes more than natural ability to make a professional musician.

Enjoy your music making and don't be put off by these prodigies. Also think of the sort of regime many far eastern cultures are surrounded by. Their inbuilt desire is to succeed. Failure is not an option and many face the prospect of factory work if they don't work hard at something which allows them to break free from this.

One also needs to question how much these children play by rote. Sure, their co-ordination is beyond most children of the same age, but how much of what they're doing is a result of some sort of repetitive programming, rather than purely innate talent???

I've just looked that these videos again and something has struck me about the propertions of the instrument to the supposed age of the child playing. I don't believe the girl in the first video is 5 years of age - either that, or she's a giant 5 year old!

Look at the size of the violin and her hands. That violin is at least a 3/4 sized instrument and there is no way any 5 year old would be big enough to play a violin that big.

Secondly, the camera doesn't acutally give a view of her below the knees and looking at the background behind, her head is quite a bit above the level of the table with the computer on it. If she is standing on the same floor level as the table behind her, her lower legs must be mighty short - unnaturally so - given the proportions of the rest of her body.

Regarding the Fearless at Four video, what appalling posture!!!!! Violin poking out from under the front of her chin, scroll pointing down at the ground. No, I don't care if she's only four, if she wants to play in public and show off her talents then it has to be done properly and correct posture is all part of good technique and playing well. Her posture badly affects the left arm position in general, along with shifting technich. Long term, if she continues to hold the violin like this she is likely to suffer injury.

I thought she looked more like 9 than 5 but I'm not certain. It could just be a very well proportioned tiny violin couldn't it?

Liz

That made me feel better. I too thought she looked and sounded alot older than 5. Perhaps 7-8 years old. Perhaps a bit too much of the pushy parent syndrome ..... do anything to make their kids look better than anyone else.

I'll still take up the violin sometime in the new year ... but of course I wont hope to be playing tunes like that for a good few years!

The sound coming from the instrument is too BIG to be produced by a tiny violin. I'm certain it's a 3/4 sized, which could make her at least 9 years of age. Look at her hands and arms in general, they are simply too large to belong to a 5 year old.

Oh for goodness sake, whether she is 9 or 19, why do we have to compare ourselves with her?! Why do we have to put ourselves down needlessly like this? Give me one good reason why we shouldn't compare ourselves instead with what we were a year or two ago. How or how much, we have improved, in the last two years or so, etc. Then we'll feel a whole lot better. It's about time that we mortals cease putting ourselves down for no good reason.

I did draw peoples attention to this in my first posting on this thread. We can't turn the clock back on our own lives and change things, so make the best of the time that's ahead of you and make those changes NOW.

Amen!

Yeah you're right!

That's what I thought. When I first watched it I assumed they meant the violin was 5 years old

Brilliant

I've just looked at this and thought the Violin looked big, as the speakers are not working I couldn't hear what was being played and the size of the violin was the first thing I noticed,must admit I didn't question her age. I agree with Tess if you want to do something then do it and enjoy your own progress without comparing it to someone else. It's your achievements that count and there will be all sorts of factors surrounding why someone is good at something. We just have to accept things as they are and not get hung up on others achievements.

A year ago I wouldn't have known violins came in differant sizes let alone the age a child might be playing them at!

The tendency to compare is a strong human drive that everyone gets pulled into in some way or other. Unfortunately classical music lends itself to this with the grade system, which is a sort of stripe for your arm. The most refreshing thing I have heard in age was my daughter's new viola teacher who boldly stated "don't worry about her grade they are just for the parents. Worry about the sound that's what really matters".

This young girl is still a child and she does play extremely well. I am a lot older and will never play that well! There is some joy is watching and listening to them. What ever her age or size of violin - she' making a very good sound with it and looks to be in control of what she's doing. All power to her. But she is not in her own. We live in the Midlands and I have seen lots of very young people playing Bach, Vivaldi etc to a frightening standard at the local music festivals. And several children at my children's primary school have passed their grade 7 and 8 before leaving to join their secondary schools. There is a lot of talent out there and is a joy to see.

Jon

Absolutely agrees. To me, she is at least 13 (Asians do look younger and are typically shorter than Europeans, don't know if you've picked up that.) Her look and her height definitely don't look like a 5 year old. Even if she is 5 year old, she didn't really played it perfectly though as what AmandaL has said. Some of the notes are out of tune and her gusture and hand position are definitely not correct. For some reason I think that is a full size violin, by porportion and observation.

True, I think she's a bit older than 13 too. People do lie in there, just ignore it.

Regarding the Fearless at Four video, what appalling posture!!!!!

And she never takes her eyes off the instrument.


True, I think she's a bit older than 13 too. People do lie in there, just ignore it.

13 is a bit too far. I would say 9 or 10

Yeah I'd say about 8-9

Do you know what i think??? She's been playing that same tune for 8 hours a day.....for 2-3 years.......

HEHE..........of course she's gonna play that piece brilliantly..........mind you....i don't particularly like her spider finger action either......her fingers -- she practically extended them fully after playing most of the notes...rather than keeping them close to the finger board...

Regarding the second video, I do not think the sound is coming from the little girls violin. The length of notes does not coincide with the bowing movements. She has maybe played along with someone else who is recorded.

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