Child prodigies are hardly a new sensation, but few have come along and blown minds with such speed and fluency as nine-year-old, Maituo.
Born in China, in March 2015, presumably with a guitar in his hand, he has been documenting his playing journey on Instagram and YouTube, where he has earned over 164,000 fans.
However, his latest clip (and all credit to Music Is Win for the spot) entitled ‘Clean sweep arpeggio’ is a particularly remarkable showcase of his burgeoning talents.
As the metronome seen at the bottom of the clip shows, he's shredding at a speed-camera-angering 240bpm – and the fact he's using a metronome at all highlights the discipline its taken to get this good so soon.
After two bars of hanging on the root note, during which viewers are no doubt sat there thinking “All right then, what have you got” he launches into an assault of ultra-pristine six-string arpeggios, iced with a tasty melodic run.
Afterward, he drops his hands to his sides and looks at the camera with a beaming smile – and we would too.
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Maituo appears to be using the same pattern each time, moving through a progression that starts on A minor. More importantly, he’s showcasing skills that would be impressive for a player twice his age, with real cleanliness and articulation to his sweeps.
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As mentioned, YouTuber Music Is Win (AKA guitarist Tyler Larson), who is no slouch of a player himself has picked up on the clip and is one of a number of pro guitarists to have their head turned by the young guitarist.
“I'm not gonna try and play this, are you crazy,” jokes Larson. “This clean tone is too scary to get behind.”
Predictably, players have nonetheless compared Maituo’s progress to their own inadequacies in the comment section, with several joking that they’ve felt moved to apologize to their guitars.
Interestingly, Larson notes as he tries to emulate Maituo's skills, that he finds the shape particularly difficult on the higher frets, as his fingers get “all jammed up.” Perhaps, this is one example where smaller fingers might give you an upper hand as a guitarist.
Of course, we’re sure some cynics will be inclined to say that what he’s playing isn’t exactly musical. And they’re right, it isn’t overly so: it’s an exercise, but it’s impressive nonetheless – and shines a light on what players can pull off with patience and diligence.
We just hope Maituo continues to enjoy playing as much as is clearly evident in the clip.
To keep up to date, follow Maituo on Instagram.
