Describe a natural talent you have that you want to improve.

So the natural talent I'd like to talk about is my ability to pick up tunes by ear. What I mean is, I can hear a song — even just once or twice — and then more or less work it out on the piano without any sheet music in front of me. I just sort of find the notes by trial and error until my ear tells me it's right.

I stumbled across it completely by accident when I was about seven, actually. We had this battered old piano in the living room, and one afternoon I started messing around and, before I knew it, I'd plonked out the theme from a cartoon I'd been watching. My mum came rushing in, absolutely convinced someone had taught me, and honestly, no one had.

The thing is, I've never taken it any further, and that's exactly what I'd love to change. I can play by ear, but I can't read a note of music to save my life, so I'd really like to knuckle down, learn proper notation, and maybe get to grips with a bit of music theory so I actually understand why certain chords work together rather than just fumbling my way to them.

How do I feel about it? Genuinely grateful, but also a little frustrated with myself, if I'm honest. It feels like a bit of a wasted gift — like I've been handed this head start and never quite bothered to run with it. So one of these days I'm determined to take it seriously.