Feature: Teaching Pipa and inherit the culture

Photo from Ye Dihua

Ye Dihua, graduating from Xiamen University, is a Pipa teacher teaches students the basics of Pipa. Ye said that since the varying qualifications and experience of Pipa teachers or tutors are annoying, the Chinese government has taken actions to examine the qualifications of them and give them teaching certificates.

Pipa is a traditional Chinese instrument, which has developed with the society. Ye has been learning Pipa for 21 years, and she has been teaching for 4 years. For Ye, playing the Pipa has been a daily routine for her.

Ye said that she was forced to take classes in Pipa like many children at that time, but she found that she developed an interest in playing the Pipa while learning it. When growing up, she has been nurtured with abundant moral guidance and support from Pipa. Therefore, she learned Pipa in the university and now she becomes a Pipa teacher. Ye was taught by the associate professor Li Kunli who is well-known in Southeast China. After finishing her master degree, she decided to be a lecturer in a university, but the requirements were too demanding for her. However, she makes up her mind to teach Pipa and inherit the culture.

As a professional Pipa musician, Ye has attended many shows or competitions including the second Dunhuang national Pipa competition. Since playing the Pipa from 5 years old, she knows the importance of laying a good foundation. Therefore, although she fails to be a lecturer in a university, she adheres to teaching Pipa

Ye Dihua attends a show. Photo from the blog of association of Xiamen overseas and returned scholars

As a teacher, she knows the rules of teaching Pipa. Ye said that compared with the piano, many traditional Chinese instruments, including Pipa, do not have a well-established teaching system which makes many unscrupulous merchants earn the profit from it.

 

The group photo was taken in the second Dunhuang national Pipa competition. Ye Dihua is the second one from the left. Photo from the blog of association of Xiamen overseas and returned scholars

In Xiamen, the extra co-curriculum or tuition classes for Pipa are about 150 RMB to 200 RMB per hour (88RM to 117RM). However, some schools or centers only charge 99 RMB for ten Pipa classes (58 RM per ten classes which means each class only costs 5.8 RM). However, the cost of learning piano is about 300 RMB per hour (177RM per hour). In addition, the price of learning the piano has been standardized.

The excessively low price of learning Pipa in some schools or centers disturbs market order. Consumers also are misled by these merchants. In these excessively cheap lasses, there are a large number of students in one class. The inexperienced teachers with low qualifications may lead to a wrong understanding of students about playing the Pipa. In addition, the wrong understanding may be hard to change in their further study.

       Ye Dihua suggests that consumers ask around for recommendations from friends or relatives when choosing teachers. Learning Pipa from some graduate students, doctoral students or professional lecturers in college or universities will be better than attending Pipa classes in extra-hour schools or centers.

       To make a living, Ye also works in school associations. She mentioned that in many primary schools, the traditional Chinese instruments club are held. What is more, traditional Chinese instrument musical orchestras are also organized in many schools and students are required to learn the knowledge about traditional Chinese instruments.

      

Schools in Xiamen and many other cities in China hold classes about traditional Chinese instruments. Students in the Nanchang Road Primary school can learn to play the Pipa in class and enjoy the traditional Chinese music together (Hua, 2019).

There is no doubt that it is good to pass down the culture to next generations (Ye Pan, 2019). However, Ye thinks that it also has some non-ignorable disadvantages. Learning to play the Pipa in big classes will be cheap, but a large number of students will disperse teachers’ attention. It is hard for teachers to correct the wrong post or understanding of each student. Once the teachers find that the post of students is almost the same, they will think that these students understand it in the right way. As a result, some details will be ignored.

“It is important to pay attention to the details in learning to play the Pipa,” Ye emphasized, “If you get used to the wrong post, you need to spend more time in correcting it. For me, I teach my students in accordance with their aptitude, special interest and character so that they can bring into play their own artistic talents.”

       Although Ye is dissatisfied with the current situation in teaching Pipa, the only thing Ye can do is trying her best to teach her students well. To change the current situation and rectify the traditional Chinese instruments teaching industry, Chinese government needs to take more actions. In a way, teaching certificates can improve the qualifications of teachers, and a well-established teaching system needs more comprehensive rules.

Ye Dihua said that there is still a long road for China to go in establishing a good Pipa teaching system.

Watch a video and enjoy the music.

Reference:

Hua, P. (2019, March 13). Folk music promotes the reform of "small-class" curriculum. China Education Daily. Retrieved from http://paper.jyb.cn/zgjyb/html/2019- 03/13/content_514515.htm?div=-1

Ye D.H. (2019). Personal Interview.

Ye P. (2019, March 15). The popularity of folk music into the campus famous spread the beauty of traditional culture. Retrieved from https://m.chinanews.com/wap/detail/zw/cul/2019/11-15/9008832.shtml