At a very early age I began to thump on the piano alone, and it was not long before I was able to pick out a few tunes. I also learned the names of the notes in both clefs, but I preferred not be hampered by notes.
Source: Along This Way, 1933.
-- James Weldon Johnson, (Jun 17 1871-1938), US poet, diplomat, anthologist; He is noted for his poetry and anthologies of black culture; wrote The Book of American Negro Poetry, 1921.