Blind Musician Taught Himself Six Instruments And Is Now Chasing A Career In Country Music

Angel Paez never let the fact that he was born blind stop him from wondering what music could become in his hands. A fascination that began while listening to instruments at church eventually turned into a remarkable musical path, with Paez teaching himself six instruments entirely by ear and earning opportunities that once seemed far beyond reach.

Now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Paez is pursuing a career in country and bluegrass music. Along the way, he has won a radio competition, performed at the White House and received multiple nominations from the Carolina Country Music Awards.

His Fascination With Music Started When He Was A Child

Paez’s connection with music began at church, where the sound of different instruments immediately caught his attention. Because he was born blind, he was especially curious about the instruments he could hear but could not see, and that curiosity pushed him to understand how they worked and how he could make those same sounds himself.

“I remember listening to all those different instruments and being so curious as to what they looked like, what they felt like, and I wanted to know how to play,” Paez told Aging Untold. The experience stayed with him, and what started as childhood curiosity eventually became a skill he would spend years developing on his own.

“It made me feel like I could never get enough of it,” he recalled. “Like something so cool and so different and new that made me want more out of that.” That desire to keep learning would become one of the defining parts of Paez’s musical story.

He Taught Himself Six Instruments By Ear

Paez eventually started working out instruments without relying on formal instruction. He began with the piano, then moved on to the accordion and violin, gradually expanding his abilities until he had taught himself to play six different instruments by listening carefully and reproducing what he heard.

For Paez, learning music meant developing an unusually strong reliance on sound. Instead of reading traditional visual instructions, he could listen to a piece or a melody, work through the sounds and figure out how to reproduce them himself, allowing his curiosity to become a practical musical skill.

His family eventually recognized that Paez had developed an extraordinary ability. Rather than keeping that talent within the family, they helped create opportunities for him to perform, giving the young musician a chance to discover what could happen when his music reached an audience.

His First Radio Contest Gave Him A Major Push

One of those opportunities came when Paez’s family entered him into a Spanish-language radio competition in Charlotte. It was an important moment because the contest gave him a reason to prepare, improve his playing and become comfortable performing for people beyond the friends and family who had already heard him.

“They entered me into my first radio contest,” Paez said. “It was a Spanish radio station here in town, and that was kind of my first real motivation to play and get good enough to be on stage.” The young musician went on to win the competition, giving him an early taste of what serious performance could look like.

Winning that contest also helped change the way Paez viewed his own potential. What had started as a personal fascination with instruments was becoming something he could pursue publicly, and the experience gave him another reason to keep practicing and looking for opportunities.

Then He Got The Chance To Perform At The White House

Paez’s musical journey eventually took him somewhere most young musicians could only dream about. He had the opportunity to perform at the White House, a milestone that became one of the most significant moments in his decision to pursue music as more than a hobby.

“That, more than anything, gave me the spark, if there ever was one, to pursue the music,” Paez said. The performance gave him a powerful indication that the ability he had developed on his own could open doors to stages far larger than the ones he first imagined.

That experience appears to have stayed with him as his musical ambitions continued to grow. Instead of treating the White House performance as the end of the story, Paez kept working toward a place in the country and bluegrass music scene.

Country Music Has Become His Next Big Goal

Paez’s ambitions have increasingly centered on country and bluegrass music, where his skills as a multi-instrumentalist have earned recognition. He has been nominated twice by the Carolina Country Music Awards, including nominations for Musician of the Year and Best Fiddler of the Year.

Those nominations represent a significant step from the child who first became fascinated by the sounds of instruments at church. Paez has gone from figuring out music for himself to earning recognition from an established music community, while continuing to build the connections that could help turn his talent into a long-term career.

His path also shows how unconventional routes into music can sometimes lead somewhere unexpected. Paez did not begin with a traditional lesson plan or a carefully mapped-out career, but years of listening, experimenting and performing have given him an opportunity to pursue the country music career he wants.

Fame Is Not What Paez Says He Wants

Despite the attention he has received, Paez’s goal is surprisingly grounded. He is not talking about becoming one of the biggest stars in Nashville or building a massive fortune; instead, he wants music to provide a living that gives him enough freedom to continue creating and enough income to enjoy that success with his family.

“My dream is to just be able to make a living out of it,” he told Aging Untold. “I know I’m not going to get rich, but I just want to have enough to take my family out to dinner every now and then and then have enough to be able to call my connections and say, ‘Hey, let’s go do this project.’”

That goal puts his ambition into perspective. For Paez, success would mean having enough stability to keep making music, collaborate with people he respects and share some of the rewards with the family members who helped him take those first steps.

Self-Doubt Still Follows Him

There is another part of Paez’s story that makes his achievements easier to understand. Despite winning competitions and performing at major events, he says he can still struggle with confidence, particularly because he considers himself naturally shy.

“I’m pretty shy by nature, and I think that’s what holds me back sometimes,” Paez explained. His admission is striking because his career already includes accomplishments that would give many performers plenty of confidence, yet he still has to push himself when opportunities arise.

Paez has also found that success can change how he sees his own abilities. Every time something works out, it gives him another reason to believe he can attempt something that once seemed intimidating, creating a cycle where each achievement makes the next challenge feel more possible.

Every Major Milestone Started With Curiosity

There are several moments that have shaped Paez’s unusual musical path:

• Six instruments: He taught himself to play six instruments by ear, beginning with the piano before expanding to instruments including accordion and violin.
• Radio competition: His family entered him in a Spanish-language radio contest, and he won, giving him an early opportunity to perform publicly.
• White House performance: The opportunity to perform at the White House became a major turning point in his decision to pursue music seriously.
• Country music nominations: Paez has twice received Carolina Country Music Awards nominations for Musician of the Year and Best Fiddler of the Year.
• A practical dream: Rather than chasing celebrity, he wants to earn a living from music and have enough freedom to continue working on projects with other musicians.

Each milestone grew from the same basic habit: Paez heard something that interested him and wanted to figure out how to make it himself. That curiosity eventually became a musical skill, and the skill opened doors that led him further into the country music world.

His Story Is Still Being Written

Paez’s career has not reached its destination yet. He is still working toward the simple goal of making a living through music, and that means continuing to perform, building relationships and finding new opportunities within the country and bluegrass scene.

His story began with a child listening to instruments at church and wondering what they felt like and how they could be played. Years later, that same curiosity has carried him onto major stages and into a music community that is beginning to recognize his talent.

“A lot of times when I encounter that success, whether that be music or just life in general, it feels good,” Paez said. “I can literally go out and do anything.”

For a musician who taught himself six instruments simply because he wanted to understand the sounds he heard, the next stage may come down to the same thing that started it all: listening closely, learning continuously and being willing to try.