Coloradoan Derek Amato Hit His Head and Became a Musical Genius – Daily Dose of Weird [VIDEOS]

A few years ago, Derek Amato of Lafayette, Colo. played a little guitar and drums, but that was about it.  Then, a sudden head injury changed all that.

According to TODAY Health, Amato was hanging out with some friends when he dove into the shallow end of a pool, and hit his head hard on the bottom.

He suffered the injuries you would expect from such an accident: a concussion, chronic headaches, and a 35% hearing loss among other things  But with those losses came an incredible gain.

A few days after the accident, Amato went to visit a friend and was inexplicably drawn to his piano.

Amato sat down at the keyboard and immediately started playing. Though he’d never had a lesson, it was as if he’d played all his life. And what he was playing now was all original.

[via TODAY Health.]

To me, this is proof of the human brain’s incredible potential.  It’s just too bad it took a serious injury to unlock it.  Here is Amato’s interview on the TODAY Show:

Here’s a special about Amato from the Science Channel:

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