In the Key of Genius: Derek Paravicini and Adam Ockelford at TEDxWarwick 2013

Translator: Tijana Mihajlović Critic: Denise RQ (Piano music begins) (Piano music ends) (Applause) (Applause) Adam Ockelford: Correct. Thank you very much Derek. It's wonderful to be here in Warwick. I promise I won't talk too much and that Derek will play a lot, but I thought it would be good to recap how Derek got to where he is today. It's amazing now, because he's so much bigger than me, but when Derek was born, he could have fit in the palm of your hand. He was born 3.5 months early and it was truly a fantastic fight to survive. He hadn't had much oxygen and that affected your eyes, Derek, and also the way you understand language and the way you understand the world.

But that was the end of the bad news, because when Derek came home from the hospital, his family decided to hire the scary babysitter who was going to take care of you, Derek, for the rest of your childhood. And the babysitter's big idea, actually, was to think, "Here's a kid who can't see. Music must be the best thing for Derek." And sure enough, she sang to him, or as she called him Derek, she trilled for him during the first few years of his life. I think it was that excitement of hearing her voice, hour after hour every day, that made him think that maybe, you know, something was stirring in his brain, some kind of musical gift.

Here's a little photo of Derek coming up now, when you were with your babysitter. Nanny's other big idea was to think, "Maybe we should give Derek something to play," and sure enough, she dug this little keyboard out of the attic, not really thinking that much would come of it. But Derek, your little hand must have gone towards that thing and actually hit it, hit it so hard they thought it was going to break. But out of all the attacks, after a few months, the most fantastic music emerged, and I think there was a miraculous moment, Derek, actually, when you realized that all the sounds you hear in the world are something you don't know.

You can copy on the keyboard. That was the big eureka moment. Now, not being able to see meant, of course, that one had taught oneself. Derek Paravicini: I learned to play on my own. AO: You taught yourself to play, and as a result, playing the piano for you, Derek, was a lot of knuckles and karate chops, and even a bit of nose-fucking. This is what the babysitter also did: hit the record button on one of those little tape recorders they had, and this is a wonderful tape of Derek playing when you were 4 years old, having taught yourself.

DP: "Beers and mussels." AO: It wasn't actually "Beers and Mussels." This is the "English Country Garden". DP: "English country garden." (Music: "English Country Garden") AO: There you have it. That was a little... (Applause) I think that's just fantastic. There's a little boy who can't see, who can't really understand much about the world, has no one in the family who plays an instrument, and yet he taught himself to play it. As you can see in the picture, there was a lot of body action while playing, Derek. Now, Derek and I met when he was four and a half, and at first, Derek, I thought you were mad, to be honest, because when you played the piano, you seemed to want to play every note. on the keyboard, and you also had this little habit of hitting me out of the way.

So as soon as I tried to get close to the piano, they pushed me hard. Having told your father, Nic, that he would try to teach you, I was a little confused as to how I could do it if I wasn't allowed near the piano. But after a while, I thought, well, the only way is to just get up, push Derek to the other side of the room, and in the 10 seconds I had before Derek came back, I could play something very quickly for him to learn. In the end, Derek, I think you agreed that we could have fun playing the piano together.

As you can see, there's me in my early pre-marriage days with a brown beard and little Derek concentrating there. I just realized this is going to be recorded, right? Good. Well. (laughs) By the age of 10, Derek had truly conquered the world. This is a photo of you, Derek, playing at the Barbican with the Royal Philharmonic Pops. Basically, it was an exciting ride, really. In those days, Derek, you didn't talk much, so there was always a moment of tension about whether you'd really understood what we were going to play and whether you'd play the right piece in the right key and all that kind of stuff.

But the orchestra was also captivated and the press around the world was fascinated by your ability to play these fantastic pieces. Now the question is, how do you do it, Derek? Hopefully now we can show the audience how to do what's done. I think one of the first things that happened when you were very little, Derek, was that by the time you were two, your musical ear had already surpassed that of most adults. So whenever you heard any note, if you just played a random note (piano notes), you instantly knew what it was and you also had the ability to find that note on the piano.

That's called perfect pitch, and some people have perfect pitch for some white notes in the middle of the piano. (Piano notes) You can see how... you feel like you're playing with Derek. (Applause) But Derek, your hearing is much more than that. If I leave the microphone for a moment, I'll play a bunch of notes. Those of you who can see will know how many notes, but Derek, of course, can't. You can not only tell how many notes, but also be able to play them all at the same time. Here we are. (Chords) Forget the terminology, Derek.

Fantastic. It's that ability, that ability to hear simultaneous sounds, not just individual sounds, but when a whole orchestra plays, Derek, you can hear every note and instantly, through all those hours and hours of practice, play it back on the keyboard. , what makes you, I believe, is the basis of all your ability. However. There's no use having that kind of raw skill without technique, and luckily, Derek, you decided that once we started learning, you'd let me help you learn all the scale fingerings. So, for example, using thumbs down with C major. (Piano notes) Etcetera. Yes. In the end, you were so fast that things like "Flight of the Bumblebee" weren't a problem, right?

DP: No. AO: Correct. Here, at the age of 11, Derek played things like this. DP: This. (Music: "Flight of the Bumblebee") (Music ends) AO: Yes. Alright, Derek, let's take a bow. Well done. (Applause) The really amazing thing was that, with all those scales, Derek, not only could you play "Flight of the Bumblebee" in the usual key, but Derek can play any note that I play. So if I pick a random note, like that. (Piano Notes) Can you play "Flight of the Bumblebee" on that note? DP: "Flight of the Bumblebee" in that sense. (Music: "The Flight of the Bumblebee") AO: Or another one?

How about in G minor? DP: G minor. AO: Here we go. (Music: "Flight of the Bumblebee") AO: Fantastic. Well done, Derek. You see, in your brain, Derek, there is this incredible musical computer that can instantly recalibrate and recalculate all the pieces of the world that are out there. Most pianists would have a heart attack if you said, "I'm sorry, would you mind playing 'Flight of the Bumblebee' in B minor instead of A minor?" as we moved forward. In fact, the first time, Derek, you played that with an orchestra, you learned the version that you had learned, and then the orchestra actually had a different version, so while we were waiting in the 2 hours before rehearsal and the concert, Derek heard the different version and learned it quickly and then was able to play it with the orchestra.

Fantastic guy. The other wonderful thing you have is your memory. DP: Memory. AO: Your memory is truly amazing, and at every concert we do, we ask the audience to participate, of course by suggesting a piece that Derek would like to play. People say, "That's brave because what if Derek doesn't know?" I say, "No, it's not brave at all, because if you ask for something Derek doesn't know, you're invited to come and sing it first, and then he'll pick it up." (Laughter) So be thoughtful before suggesting something too outlandish. But seriously, would anyone like to pick out a piece?

DP: Pick a piece. Choose, choose, would you like to choose? AO: Because it's pretty dark. You'll just have to scream. DP: Would you like to hear me play? (Audience: "Paganini Theme"). AO: Paganini. DP: "The Paganini Theme." (Laughter) (Music: "Paganini Theme") (End of music) (Applause) AO: Well done. DP: Thank you. Derek is going to Los Angeles soon, and it's a milestone, because it means Derek and I will have spent over 100 hours together on long-haul flights, which is pretty cool, isn't it Derek? DP: Very interesting, Adam, yes. Long distance flights. Yes. AO: You might think 13 hours is a long time to keep talking, but Derek does it effortlessly.

However. (laughs) But in America they've coined this term, "the human iPod" for Derek, which I think doesn't make sense, really, because Derek, you're much more than an iPod. You're a fantastic, creative musician, and I think nowhere was that clearer to see, really, than when we went to Slovenia, and someone - in a longer concert we tend to get people together, and this person very, very nervous. he went on stage. DP: He played "Chinese Chopsticks." AO: And I played "Chopsticks." DP: "Chopsticks." AO: A little like that. DP: Like that. Yeah. (Piano notes) AO: I really should ask Derek's manager to come play it.

He is sitting there. DP: He played "Chopsticks" like that. AO: Just kidding, right? Here we go. (Music: "Chopsticks") DP: Let Derek play it. AO: What did you do with it, Derek? DP: I have to improvise, Adam. AO: This is Derek the musician. (Music: "Chopsticks" improvisation) (Music) (Applause) (Applause) Keep up with Derek. AO: Boom-boom. (Music) (Applause) I think the TED people are going to kill me, but maybe there's time for an encore. DP: For an encore. AO: An encore, yes. So this is one of Derek's heroes. He is the great Art Tatum-DP: Art Tatum. AO:-who was also a pianist who couldn't see, and also, I think, like Derek, he thought everyone was a piano.

Every time Art Tatum plays something, it sounds like there are 3 pianos in the room. Here's Derek's cover of Art Tatum's version of "Tiger Rag." DP: "Tiger Rag." (Music: "Tiger Rag") (End of music) (Applause)