research
Shanghai. This gave us the opportunity to see the daily life of families, and to share a home-cooked meal, which many of us agreed was the best meal we ate while in China. As the delegation sat in the com- munity center to briefly process our expe- riences, we asked ourselves what we could really say about music education in China. Our experiences had been limited to a few schools, many of which are magnate or specialty schools. What would the average Chinese child experience for music educa- tion in their neighborhood school? Would all schools have the resources that were available to those we had visited?
Children in the traditional Chinese Ensemble at Aiju School.
Watch video clip on ensemble playing exclusively in the online digital version of Wisconsin
School Musician.
young woman who was teaching almost 40 students seated in rows of chairs had a beautiful singing voice, an intense energy and an obvious passion for music. Despite the language barrier, those of us in the room who taught elementary general mu- sic in particular, found ourselves drawn into a comparison lesson of two erhu pieces, each in ABA form. We watched as the children moved around the room to the form of the piece, and then had an opportunity to hear classmates play the erhu, and even to try playing it themselves.
Practical Pointers
The music teacher was a master teacher in every sense of the word.
The lesson finished with a presentation to the delegation by the children of a beauti- ful Chinese song.
Our time at the school ended with a perfor- mance by the children studying traditional Chinese instruments. The ensemble made up of erhu, bamboo flute, pipa, liuqin, guzheng, yangqin and percussion. For more information on these instruments, try http://www.philmultic.com/home/ instruments/ or http://library.thinkquest. org/20443/instruments.html.
On the final day of our trip, our group was treated to a meal in the homes of fami- lies connected to a community center in
I realized as I arrived back in LA with a 10-hour layover to return to Wisconsin that I had a lot to think about concerning my trip to China. How would I use this experience to change my professional practice? How had it served as a profes- sional growing experience? How would I bring the ideas, songs and listening seg- ments to my students? Every experience we have provides the ability for us to grow musically and professionally. What musical and professional adventures are waiting for you?
This research project was supported, in part, by funding from the Graduate School and the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Sheila Feay-Shaw works in the UW-Milwaukee Department of Music.
feayshaw@hotmail.com
– Kevin Thays
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Wisconsin School Musician
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