by Ha Nguyen
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Chiming in: An artisan show young people how to play a traditional musical instrument. A pilot traditional music teaching programme has been conducted in Phan Dinh Phung Primary School in HCM City. — VNS Photo Dinh Hue |
In a bid to preserve traditional Vietnamese folk music, HCM City's Phan Dinh Phung Primary School has begun teaching pupils how to play the dan tranh – a 16-string zither.
The pilot programme is being carried out in co-ordination with the Tieng Hat Que Huong Club.
Musician Pham Thuy Hoan, the club's head, said: "Teaching traditional music in school is very difficult and a major challenge. However, with the help of the school's staff the programme has been enthusiastically received by the students, and things are going well."
Hoan said that with the help of parents, more instruments would be made available to students.
"We need the support of parents. Hopefully they will be able to buy instruments for their children so they can practise at home," she said.
Nguyen Thi Luong Thanh, the school's head, said: "Although the subject is new in our school the initial results of the programme have been encouraging. Many of our students now know about the instrument and can play several simple melodies."
Hai Phuong, a teacher at the city's Music Conservatory, said schoolchildren should also learn about other traditional instruments, such as the dan nhi (two-chord zither) and the dan bau (monochord).
Ethnomusicaologist Tran Van Khe said: "It is very important to acquaint schoolchildren with traditional music. It is good for them to learn about their heritage. It is good for their all-round development."
Khe said he has travelled up and down the country promoting traditional music, such as the southern don ca tai tu (amateur music) and nha nhac (court music). He said hundreds of music enthusiasts have attended his talks.
Traditional Vietnamese music is rich and multiform, said Dr Le Toan, who received his formal training in the former Soviet Union.
"Each kind of folk music has its own individual style, tone and melody that is best taught orally, unlike with Western music."
Toan said teachers must impart their knowledge very carefully, with much attention being paid to each line of music – particularly with ca tru (ceremonial singing), quan ho (love duets) and hat xoan (folk music from the northern province of Phu Tho).
Ca tru musician Nguyen Phu De, 85, I has spent much of his life trying to keep the traditional art form alive.
"Students who want to study ca tru must ask their elders and teachers about the music's tradition and lore.
"They must obey and respect their teachers and try very hard to follow the music's rhythm and structure," De said.
Furthermore, he said ca tru students must think of themselves as brothers and sisters living under the same roof.
"Those involved in ca tru should share their problems and thoughts. The spirit of ca tru is highly respected in our club in the northern province of Thai Binh," said De, who worries that he does not have enough time left to teach his own children about the traditional folk music.
"I hope they will try to understand ca tru and respect its majesty."
He added that it was everyone's responsibility to keep ca tru alive.
"I hope not only our club members but all Vietnamese take the time to preserve and develop ca tru."
Meanwhile, artisan Ta Thi Hinh, from the northern province of Bac Ninh, has been organising free quan ho classes.
"We hope to maintain and preserve the traditional art forms of our ancestors.
My students range in age from first-graders to middle-aged people," Hinh told Viet Nam News.
She said one of the most difficult tasks when teaching love duets is finding a couple who share the same passion for traditional folk music.
"With teenagers I often teach them how to sing solo, but for adults I must arrange for them to sing together," she said.
As a result of Hinh's efforts, she said hundreds of people in Bac Ninh (the birth place of quan ho) have become fans of folk music, many of whom now earn a living from quan ho.
Doan Trung Kien, from the Bac Ninh Quan Ho Folk Arts Troupe, won a silver medal at the 2009 National Love Duets Contest. He said: "Artist Hinh teaches the little details, how performers in the past communicated – how to walk, how to express themselves powerfully when performing.
"I feel very lucky to have learned from her because she teaches us rare techniques that I've never heard of before," Kien said. — VNS