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If Stevie Wonder is watching this very cute young guy, he may be thinking of his own childhood as he does so. The boy is only six years old.
Avett Ray Maness is a self-taught pianist who began tinkling the ivories on the piano when he was just 11 months old. He has been playing the instrument ever since.
After his mother began posting recordings of her son playing the piano on YouTube, the child from Dayton, Ohio, has developed something of a reputation as something of a little internet superstar.
Even more astounding than his ability to educate himself on his own is the fact that he learned to play music while being visually impaired.
Avett Ray was born with a condition called optic nerve fibroplasia, which caused him to be entirely blind in one eye and to have a small amount of vision in the other. He has severe problems with his vision and must use a cane to get around.
He also reads braille. However, he was able to navigate his way through the 88 keys despite the fact that they were not in plain sight.
Avett Ray has amassed a following of thousands of followers on YouTube, and he has also given live performances in front of audiences numbering in the hundreds.
The youngster’s two favorite bands at the moment are Queen and The Turtles, and he’s been enjoying performing and singing songs by both of those bands recently.
His mother, Sara Moore, has expressed the hope that her son’s skill may serve to raise awareness for the plight of the visually impaired and motivate people to work toward making improvements in terms of accessibility and the resources available to them.
Moore told CBS News that music is physically ingrained in him. “Right now, he’s putting a lot of effort into perfecting his performance. People are constantly requesting him to perform because his gift is so extraordinary.
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