He posted on Facebook the other day about how his most popular video is from when he was much younger (6?), and he was wondering why.
On Facebook last night, I posted a comment where someone had mentioned that watching good players makes them die a little on the inside.
I think that's wrong (and I'm a music teacher, so I'm biased). Many of the pros today (Jake, Taimane, Aldrine, etc.) have been playing since childhood and it's their living, so they better be good...and I wonder if any of them BUT Jake can make a decent living doing what they are doing--the ukulele world just isn't big enough to support artists like pop music.
On the other hand, child prodigies like Feng E and Evan have a big challenge. As they get older, non-prodigy artists who are musically educated catch up with them--and if they don't branch off into other things (e.g. composition, teaching, etc.) they are often surpassed in skill and musicianship by non-prodigies down the road. Mozart began by playing piano internationally and then composing at age 4, moving to composition and performing (a flip) in his adulthood (dying rather suddenly in his early 30s, which really makes you think).
So, what's going to be important for Feng E is that he keeps finding ways to develop, or he'll "just" be another adult ukulele performer some day--and that may not pay the bills.
And I have nothing against Feng E (love him) and I wish him the best...but I hope he's getting the guidance and training to expand his musical universe as the years go on.
