Watch as 'miracle' blind pianist, 13, learns how to play

Watch as ‘miracle’ blind pianist, 13, who left viewers in tears on Channel 4’s The Piano learns from teacher who lets her follow his hands across the keys

  • Lucy, who is blind and neurodiverse, went viral for her phenomenal piano skills
  • Last night viewers learnt more about her story and her piano teacher Daniel Bath
  • Read more: ‘She’s a miracle!’ Viewers break down in tears over ‘beautiful’ Chopin performance by blind girl, 13, at Birmingham train station

Viewers of Channel 4 music competition The Piano have praised the man behind blind 13-year-old pianist sensation Lucy after she blew audiences away with her performance.

The young pianist, who left people in awe last week when a sneak peek of her performing at Birmingham New Street Station went viral online, appeared on the show which aired last night at 9pm, led by her piano teacher Daniel Bath.

As she sat down to play Chopin’s Opus 9 Number 1, Lucy was guided by Daniel who helped her onto the piano stool and helped her find the keys, before she charmed the audience with her performance.

And fans of the neurodiverse pianist learnt a little bit more about her story during the episode as Daniel explained how he teaches her.

After watching the close bond between teacher and student, viewers took to Twitter to praise Daniel, who works with The Amber Trust, as ‘amazing’. 

Viewers of Channel 4 talent show The Piano took to Twitter to praise Daniel Bath, the piano teacher of blind student Lucy, 13, who wowed crowds at Birmingham New Street Station with her rendition of Chopin’s Opus 9 Number 1. In a segment about Lucy’s life, the teacher revealed he coaches her by allowing her hands to follow his along the keys

At the beginning of the clip, Lucy’s mother Candice tells presenter Claudia Winkleman her daughter was diagnosed with cancerous tumours in her eyes shortly after she was born.

In a cut-away clip, the mother recalls: ‘We were in a cancer bubble for a long time which was horrendous, I’m not going to lie. It was really bad.’

She added that watching her baby daughter have treatment was difficult as Lucy struggled against doctors and nurses who had to ‘pin [her] down’ to administer medicine.’ 

In the clip, Daniel helps Lucy up the step onto the platform to the piano and sits her down, before leading her hands to the keys

Footage shows Daniel and Lucy in a piano lesson where she follows his fingers across the keys to understand how to play

Elsewhere in the episode Lucy’s mother Candice reveals her daughter learnt to play the piano after being given a keyboard when she was ‘very little’ which she took into hospital

‘She cried and she kicked and she screamed. I’ve never seen Lucy cry as much as she did,’ Candice says.

She further explains that, as well as having no vision at all, Lucy has a chromosome 16 duplication (which Candice also carries), and is globally developmentally delayed, meaning she struggles with communication.

However, Candice reveals that, when her daughter was ‘very little’, she was given a ‘tiny keyboard’ which she took into hospital with her.

‘She played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star perfectly on it,’ Candice says, adding she caught the attention of a nurse who initially thought the tune was pre-recorded.

However, when the nurse realised Lucy had played the tune all by herself, she said it was ‘spectacular’. From then on, the pianist prodigy began working with Daniel at The Amber Trust, a charity which supports blind musicians. 

After learning more about Lucy’s story on last night’s episode, viewers took to Twitter to praise Daniel’s ‘amazing’ teaching skills

Speaking to the camera, Daniel explains: ‘Our lessons aren’t like normal piano lessons.

‘Because [Lucy] can’t see what’s happening, I started using a method of playing the piano and she would put her hands on top of my hands so she could feel which fingers were doing what.’

Daniel adds: ‘I’ve never met anybody in my career who has the same depth of understanding of music [as Lucy].

‘Music is the way that she communicates and that’s how she makes her place in the world.’ 

Daniel then leads Lucy to the piano and sits her on the stool to play the Chopin piece, before she stuns crowds. 

Many people record Lucy on their phones as she plays the note-perfect tune. Meanwhile, the show’s judges, Mika and Lang Lang, who are watching the clip in a separate room, look visibly moved and watch the performance with open mouths.

At one point, Mika holds his hand up to his mouth and appears to fight back tears.

Lang says: ‘It’s unbelievable that she can play this piece. How – how does she study? I mean, it’s incredible.’

As Lucy finishes the piece and the crowd applauds her, Lang can be heard saying: ‘Oh my God. Oh my God this is – this is impossible.’

Following her performance, the judges are left speechless and the crowd Lucy has amassed at the station erupts in applause.

After learning more about Lucy’s background in the episode, viewers took to Twitter to praise her piano teacher.

One person wrote: ‘Wow! Lucy and Daniel on The Piano were amazing. So emotional and what a wonderful organisation The Amber Trust is. Bravo!’

Another tweeted Daniel directly to tell him: ‘You are an absolutely amazing individual – what a teacher!’

A viewer who was impressed by the work of the Amber Trust added: ‘What amazing things The Amber Trust and Daniel Bath are doing for neurodiverse children. Tonight’s The Piano with Lucy playing Chopin was unlike anything I’ve ever seen/heard.’ 

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