Self-taught teenage pianist goes viral after playing in Michigan shopping mall

A high school senior who taught himself how to play piano had no idea when he sat down at the piano in a mall that he was being recorded.

Now, footage of Monntel West’s virtuoso performance is going viral, and everyone who sees him play is stunned by his talent.

Sara Hadley, who captured the video of the piano-playing teen, said, “I had goosebumps.”

“It was just amazing, and I figured he just deserved some sort of recognition,” she added.

West said that the performance started simply because he was bored while he was waiting for a friend in the mall. He spotted the piano and sat down to play “River Flows in You,” and soon, he had drawn a crowd.

“Everybody has those hidden talents and hidden abilities,” the Everett High School senior said.

“Hopefully this shows people to not be afraid to show them.”

West has never had any training and does not even own a piano. He can’t afford to take piano lessons, either, but he hopes to study music management for two years at Lansing Community College and then transfer to Michigan State University. Fans of his viral video have already set up a GoFundMe page to help West get his own piano.

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