Free piano pledge to young Harlow player, Teon

A woman has pledged to donate her piano to the teenager whose performance on an abandoned instrument went viral.

Teon, 17, was recorded tickling the ivories on a fly-tipped piano in Harlow, Essex, closely followed by Jamie, 15, who has vowed to restore it. Both young musicians are self taught.

Helen Cable, 51, said she was scrolling through Facebook when she encountered the “beautiful music”.

“It just went into my heart and my soul and that was it, I just thought, ‘I have a piano, let’s give this guy a piano’,” she said.

“It was so sad yet happy at the same time,” she said, “because from this piece of someone’s trash, this young man was making the most beautiful sound, and it just struck me.”

Almost half the keys were missing from the piano when it was found, preventing it from playing some of lower notes.

Jamie has since sheltered the piano in has grandad’s garage to prevent further damage from vandalism or the elements.

In the long term, he said he hoped to restore it to its former glory.

Ms Cable said her late father had bought the piano for her about 35 years ago, but it had remained at their family home in Oakwood, Enfield, ever since.

“I was going to sell it at the time but obviously that’s definitely not happening now, this young man needs this piano,” she said.

“So I thought I’m going to offer it and see what happens, and he accepted,” she said.

The former NHS worker lives near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, but is looking for help to transport the Royale piano from the London borough to Essex.

Teon told the BBC it was “perfect timing” as he had been looking for cheap secondhand pianos online.

“I just feel really grateful that someone can be so kind to just donate a piano to someone who they feel like can do well.

“Having a proper piano it has more keys so I’m able to focus on the more difficult songs which allows me to grow more.”

Teon says he hopes to become a professional player in the future if he can develop his skills.