10-year-old girl goes viral with soothing virtuoso song on her 'UFO' handpan drum

A 10-year-old musician named Sprites has gone viral for her incredible performance on the handpan, a percussion instrument that produces evocative and soothing tones. People are rightly amazed by her virtuoso skills and the creativity of her original song—one of many shared to social media by her parents, including her father, gaming music artist TheFatRat.

The clip shows Sprites—who, impressively, has only been playing since March 2025—vibing through a dreamy and rhythmically rich pattern while hanging out on the floor. According to her mom's caption, the performance happened after a three-week trip, during which she brought along two other handpans but left this particular one (nicknamed "UFO") behind. "After coming back home," she wrote, "she immediately went to play her UFO and she completely fell in love with it again."

When someone in the Instagram comments said they recognized the piece, she clarified, "It's her song. She most of the time improvises her very own songs. But this one might sound a little like Malte [Marten’s] style 💜✨"

Speaking of Marten, the handpan performer and instructor is apparently Sprites’ "greatest inspiration," and she was lucky enough to meet and collaborate with her hero at his retreat in south Germany. "When they sat down with their handpans, they simply began to play. No rehearsal, no preparation," Sprites’ mom wrote on Instagram, captioning a video of the duo playing together. "I couldn’t even pull out my camera fast enough to capture the beginning. They slipped into a flow instantly. And what a flow it was. It was pure magic."

"Every day we are amazed by how fast she is improving"

"Sprite has always refused to have a teacher and is completely self-taught, but during those days with Malte, her progress was remarkable," she added. "He may be the only person she truly listens to when it comes to playing the handpan."

Upworthy spoke to Sprites' mother, who kindly answered some questions about her daughter's musical journey. This whole adventure started in 2024 when her father, TheFatRat, bought himself a handpan but rarely played it. Sprites never expressed any interest in playing an instrument, but when she touched the handpan for the first time in March 2025, there was an instant connection. "From that day on, she played every day, sometimes for hours and carried the handpan everywhere she went," Sprites' mother says. "She refused to get a teacher and is completely self-taught. Every day we are amazed by how fast she is improving and by her [playing]. It’s not really logical what currently happens. The amount of talent she shows, the musicality, her feeling for rhythms and melodies and whole compositions is incredible. When she was very small, we already realized that she has musical talent. She seems to have an absolute pitch, was able to sing around 30 kids songs at the age of 1."

She further illustrates Sprites' talent through another interesting story. "Her grandma who founded a music school was teaching piano to a 7-year-old who had been taking lessons," she says. "Sprites was waiting behind. After a while she got impatient because she was not understanding why the girl was not really able to play the song, so she walked up to the piano and just played it instantly by ear."

"I'm gonna save that one to listen during rain."

Training aside, Sprites has already racked up plenty of admirers on social media, including over 170,000 Instagram followers and 120,000 on TikTok—all in less than four months. Here are some of the top comments to her recent viral video:

"She brings it all, if you wanna meditate on this you can, if you wanna run or do sports you can, grounding soothing lifting calming healing. Thank you for sharing these wonderful frequencies with us kiddo! ❤️ magical one"

"🎉💕Transcendent!"

"I have cptsd and your daughters music helps me survive"

"I'm gonna save that one to listen during rain. Meditation will probably be very nice with both sounds"

"So beautiful. Love your music so much. ❤️"

"This is so hauntingly beautiful!"

"How do you remember the sequences? This is so incredibly beautiful 😍"

"I want this on a continuous loop playing in my office."

"Each short clip gets me more and more excited for the album! Can’t wait!"

Lots of fans agreed with that latter comment, inquiring about the status of Sprites’ upcoming record. (Sidebar: She even designed the project's artwork.) "We recorded a few songs already," says Sprites' mom, "but they are not final yet. For each song there will be an acoustic version that is just her on the handpan and one version with a beat produced by her dad. And she will probably sing on some songs!" While they haven’t announced a release date or more details as of this writing, they recommend joining the "album waiting list" at her website for future notifications

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