SINGAPORE — Watching musicians channel their “heart and soul” into their craft can be uplifting.

For Singapore TikTok user “migraineyy”, it looked like it was her heart, soul and some elements of a core muscle workout.

The TikToker, Ms Jovanna Yam, 21, has gone viral after she uploaded a video of herself and a female partner playing a duet of a portion of American musician Hoagy Carmichael’s 1930s tune Heart and Soul.

In the video, Ms Yam is not seated at the piano — instead she is lying while facing away from the piano with her upper back flat on the piano stool. Her hands are reaching backwards to the piano keys. Her feet, while not visible, seem to be on the floor.

This means that her body is in a similar pose to what is known in the fitness world as the “bridge position”, which is designed to strengthen a person’s core muscles.

It also means that she is playing with her hands behind her head, unable to see the keys.

The other player is crouched near the piano.

The pair appear to be playing a public piano situated at Orchard MRT Station, which is part of train operator SMRT’s Music in Community programme.

The video, published a week ago and titled “When pianists get too bored”, has since garnered more than 210,000 likes, 5,000 shares and more than 500 comments.

‘TALENTED, IMPRESSIVE, AMAZING’

Several TikTok users complimented Ms Yam’s dexterity and flexibility, with comments such as “impressive”, “amazing” and “more than talented”.

One TikTok user did not think that “(a strong) core is an issue”, but marvelled at how Ms Yam was able to do it.

Ms Yam responded to the comment saying that relying on her “muscle memory” helped.

Many users also praised her for her bravery in performing the feat at an MRT station, with one saying that a person would feel immediately “embarrassed” if people were to watch them.

Another jokingly commented: “When your lower back hurts but you have to practise still.”

Requests for Ms Yam to perform more songs, while in this position, have also poured in in the comments section of the post.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, Ms Yam, who frequently posts piano content, said on Wednesday that she loves to come up with “creative ideas to entertain my audience”.

This includes playing the instrument "upside down".

“It’s uncommon to see pianists perform ‘tricks’, so I decided to do it in public as well.” 

She added that she has since picked up other song requests from her viewers who wanted her to play them in that position.

She said that it was initially challenging to play this way because she was playing the piano backwards without looking at the keys.

“I had to mentally ‘reverse’ the piano key structures and change fingerings, which teased my mind. Even sometimes, my mind and hand coordination do not sync," she added.

“After a couple of attempts, I got the hang of it as my muscle memory and inner-hearing aided the whole process.”

Ms Yam is pursuing a Bachelor of Education (Honours) in instrumental and vocal teaching at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. The degree programme is offered in collaboration with the Royal College of Music in London.

She also works part-time as a freelance piano teacher, and teaches pop, classical and piano theory to students ranging from beginners to early advanced levels.

“I feel that my efforts are greatly appreciated by the TikTok community since many of them felt impressed.

“This has motivated me (to) post more unconventional and quirky piano content to inspire other musicians and bring joy to people.”