WEBVTT 00:16.916 --> 00:18.517 I like to listen to all sorts of sounds. 00:20.886 --> 00:22.454 I love the sound of heavy rain, 00:23.489 --> 00:25.324 as well as the sound of wind. 00:26.392 --> 00:27.693 The sound of thunder, 00:27.693 --> 00:28.861 stinky tofu being fried, 00:29.595 --> 00:30.829 and the waves. 00:32.264 --> 00:33.265 For me, 00:33.265 --> 00:35.267 it is through sound that 00:35.935 --> 00:37.202 I connect with the world 00:37.336 --> 00:38.537 and communicate with people. 00:45.477 --> 00:46.879 I was born 00:46.879 --> 00:48.080 without my sight. 00:48.814 --> 00:51.383 So I liked to go around making noises, 00:51.383 --> 00:54.119 such as breaking a glass on the floor. 00:55.187 --> 00:55.955 I wasn’t throwing a tantrum, 00:55.955 --> 00:57.856 I just wanted to hear the sound. 00:58.357 --> 01:00.993 I ended up smashing a lot of furniture around the house. 01:01.527 --> 01:04.296 So when I was three, my uncle 01:04.296 --> 01:07.099 bought me a kids electronic keyboard 01:07.099 --> 01:08.634 as a gift of sound for me. 01:16.542 --> 01:20.546 My grandfather loved singing Taiwanese folk songs. 01:20.546 --> 01:21.780 I was able to 01:21.780 --> 01:24.383 play the songs by ear on the keyboard. 01:25.918 --> 01:27.186 My family was very surprised 01:27.586 --> 01:30.289 by my natural talent in music, 01:30.289 --> 01:32.624 so they sent me to classical piano lessons. 01:33.292 --> 01:35.794 That was my first foray into the world of music. 01:37.162 --> 01:38.030 I entered my first competition 01:38.030 --> 01:39.932 at the age of eight. 01:40.332 --> 01:43.635 In 2000, I went to the United States 01:43.902 --> 01:47.473 and won first prize in the world young musician contest. 01:48.307 --> 01:51.410 That was when I hit my peak. 01:53.245 --> 01:55.814 In 2002, I went to study in Austria. 01:56.215 --> 01:59.118 At first, I thought going abroad 01:59.118 --> 02:01.620 was a quick path to achieving my dream, 02:02.454 --> 02:04.289 that it was better than studying in Taiwan. 02:04.590 --> 02:07.192 But they said everything that I had learned in Taiwan, 02:07.192 --> 02:09.161 the way I was playing was wrong. 02:09.728 --> 02:10.929 I had to start over. 02:12.898 --> 02:15.300 I also had to learn to read braille music 02:15.300 --> 02:16.502 and German. 02:16.702 --> 02:18.637 Braille sheet music has 700 symbols. 02:18.637 --> 02:20.739 It took me a year to learn it. 02:31.216 --> 02:33.052 Barely, just barely learn it, 02:33.452 --> 02:35.821 and I had to feel the sheet music and listen at the same time. 02:40.459 --> 02:42.294 I kept learning until 18, 02:42.661 --> 02:43.896 and in 2005 02:44.596 --> 02:48.200 I signed up for the Chopin Piano Competition. 02:49.201 --> 02:51.403 I thought after enduring so much 02:51.403 --> 02:52.771 I should have made progress. 02:53.238 --> 02:54.773 I could get a good result 02:54.773 --> 02:56.075 out of this competition. 03:04.283 --> 03:07.686 And I got eliminated after the preliminary round. 03:08.420 --> 03:10.055 I was in complete shock 03:12.724 --> 03:14.793 and broke down. 03:14.793 --> 03:16.562 I fell into a slump 03:16.562 --> 03:19.398 of the biggest defeat in my lifetime. 03:21.934 --> 03:23.635 I dropped out of school and returned to Taiwan. 03:24.903 --> 03:26.438 After coming back, 03:26.438 --> 03:27.172 I spend two whole years 03:27.172 --> 03:28.941 unable to leave home 03:29.441 --> 03:31.343 because I didn’t dare see anyone. 03:32.144 --> 03:34.780 I couldn’t even touch the piano. 03:37.116 --> 03:39.384 Later, one of my friends got fed up with this. 03:39.384 --> 03:42.955 He thought I should go out first 03:42.955 --> 03:44.289 and get the street performer license. 03:45.457 --> 03:47.426 Play for the general public. 03:49.261 --> 03:50.028 He said, 03:50.028 --> 03:52.664 “Who says that classical music is only for music halls?” 03:53.165 --> 03:54.700 “You can play it in the streets too, 03:54.700 --> 03:56.435 maybe people will like it.” 03:59.438 --> 04:00.072 It was true. 04:00.539 --> 04:01.673 After a couple of times, 04:01.974 --> 04:04.376 I realized some people genuinely liked it. 04:19.324 --> 04:21.493 That made me so happy. 04:22.327 --> 04:23.128 I came to find that 04:23.462 --> 04:25.864 playing in the streets made me happier than on stage. 04:28.867 --> 04:31.336 Through busking, 04:35.407 --> 04:36.875 I felt like I was starting to 04:36.875 --> 04:40.612 slowly regain my passion for music. 04:49.154 --> 04:50.522 Hi, Tse-Chen. 04:50.522 --> 04:52.090 Hello, teacher. 04:53.091 --> 04:54.026 Welcome. 05:01.466 --> 05:05.103 I met Tse-Chen when he was 11 years old, 05:05.470 --> 05:08.807 so it’s been more than 20 years. 05:09.107 --> 05:11.543 The two most important people on my musical journey 05:11.543 --> 05:13.011 is my grandfather, 05:13.645 --> 05:16.548 followed by my most important teacher, Mr. Fan. 05:27.759 --> 05:29.695 Mr. Fan was the only teacher 05:29.695 --> 05:32.364 to never make me feel like 05:32.364 --> 05:34.733 my music was lesser than other people’s. 05:37.736 --> 05:41.039 Tse-Chen’s ears are extraordinary. 05:41.039 --> 05:43.108 It’s beyond our imagination. 05:43.175 --> 05:44.142 Like this note. 05:44.409 --> 05:46.078 The pitch of this razor is “La.” 05:48.447 --> 05:49.915 And for the electric toothbrush, 05:50.716 --> 05:51.450 “Do.” 05:52.851 --> 05:55.053 I’ve always liked going around making noises, 05:55.053 --> 05:56.755 so everything, every item 05:56.755 --> 05:58.590 is music to me. 06:03.195 --> 06:04.596 The razor is music. 06:04.596 --> 06:06.498 We can compose a piece of music with it. 06:16.808 --> 06:18.977 I think the reasons that kept me going — 06:18.977 --> 06:21.046 the first is interest, 06:22.047 --> 06:25.050 the second is unwavering love. 06:31.323 --> 06:32.891 I think interest is important 06:33.091 --> 06:36.928 because it removes many barriers, 06:37.929 --> 06:40.632 and supports you to keep going.