Incredible Kids: Honoka & Azita, Ukulele Stars!

I’m still learning about what school music is like in Ontario, but ever since I was finishing my music degree in my former home of PEI, a popular choice for Grade 6 music has been ukulele classes. I have a ukulele myself–a birthday present from my grandmother–although all I can manage at the moment are a few chords. (I need to practice more!) But, as is the case with the recorder, when all you hear are your fellow beginners, it can be easy to forget (or be completely unaware of) the potential of the instrument to make terrific music.

Listening to duo Honoka & Azita, though, I’m in no danger of that! The Hawaiian-born pair have been playing ukulele since they were eight and four, respectively, and are now sixteen and fourteen. And their talent is not to be believed:

They have more videos available on their Youtube channel, including a cover of the surf-rock hit “Wipe Out.” They’re definitely worth checking out!

Hip Hop in 30 Seconds Flat!

Sometimes people think that they need to wait until they’ve been taking lessons for years to begin composing and sharing their music with the world. Jordan from Brampton, Ontario proves that’s not the case–here’s a hip hop song he wrote when he was only five years old!

I’d love to see the music he could come up with on a longer time frame. I bet it would be even more awesome!

Musical Birds and Beasts!

I’m lucky enough to share my apartment and studio with my cat, Callie:

Here’s Callie hanging out in my old studio on PEI.

Callie is a big fan of the piano and will often jump up on the bench to listen to me (and my cat fan students) play. She’s less fond of the flute–she meows when I play too high–and she doesn’t like the recorder. If I’m sitting down while practicing, she’ll jump into my lap and nip at my hands to try to get me to stop!

She’s not the only musical creature around, though: A while back I found a video of a young violinist and her bird friend. Playing the violin is challenging enough–performing while making sure to keep your bow steady enough so your friend doesn’t fall off takes real skill!

He’s Got Rhythm!

Anything can be a musical instrument, as the percussion group Stomp have proven for years, and that includes washing machines!

Jonathan was ten years old when he performed in this video. He was featured in numerous publications worldwide and appeared on two separate TV shows in the United States and Japan–and small wonder! With skills like that, he’s another kid with a very bright future!

Armenia’s Got Talent!

When a friend of mine showed me this video of a singer on the children’s edition of the talent show The Voice performing “The Diva Dance” from The Fifth Element, I was astonished. When I learned she was only fourteen at the time of the performance, I was floored.

The singer’s name is Victoria Hovhannisyan. She’s from Armenia, which is a small country near Turkey and Russia.

Armenia.

According to the translation of her Russian-language Wikipedia page, her family had no idea she had such a beautiful voice until they overheard her singing a Christmas carol when she was nine. With a voice that many, many adults would be envious of, I’m sure Victoria has a fantastic musical career ahead of her!