Rural county in east China plants seeds of music for its young students

High-quality music education has become accessible even in the remotest village after a campaign to popularize the harmonica was kicked off in Funan county, Fuyang city in east China’s Anhui province.

Students are in the middle of a rehearsal at a primary school in Funan county, Fuyang city, east China’s Anhui province. (People’s Daily Online/Miao Zijian)

To help students cultivate an interest in arts and improve their artistic literacy, Funan county has required that all primary and middle schools teach students the harmonica as a compulsory course starting in September 2020, the melodious musical instrument being an affordable choice for students living in rural areas. The local government even held training sessions for music teachers and invited experts to offer courses on the harmonica before officially launching the campaign.

At a primary school in Laoguan township, students were recently rehearsing the song Dance of the Golden Snake with the guidance of their teacher.

“Last September, all seven primary schools in our township opened harmonica lessons and we gave each of the students a harmonica for free so that they could learn the instrument in the most convenient way they could. Our school also established a harmonica interest club for students who wanted to learn in-depth and systematic knowledge about the harmonica,” said Ren Peng, the principal of a local primary school.

Students learn to play harmonica at a primary school in Funan county, Fuyang city, east China’s Anhui province. (People’s Daily Online/Miao Zijian)

“Dance of the Golden Snake is a fast song with quite a lot of key changes. What’s more, since different musical instruments are used throughout the song, the song is challenging for the students to play. But through repeated rehearsals, the students were able to know more about the harmonica during the process and were doing better and better,” said Liu Mengqing, a music teacher who teaches harmonica to primary and middle school students in Laoguan township.

In the past, the music education offered by rural schools in Funan focused only on singing and dancing lessons. The harmonica lessons have aroused the interest of the students and brought positive changes to them.

Students in the middle of a rehearsal at a middle school in Funan county, Fuyang city, east China’s Anhui province. (People’s Daily Online/Miao Zijian)

At a middle school in Dicheng township, 90 percent of the school’s total student body, or some 232 students in all, are left-behind children. “Some students suffer from mental health problems. We also found that it was difficult for them to catch up with their studies and become more self-disciplined. But since the harmonica lessons were launched, we saw that the students had developed a better version of themselves,” said Wang Peng, the principal of a local middle school.

A teacher teaches students how to play harmonica at a middle school in Funan county, Fuyang city, east China’s Anhui province. (People’s Daily Online/Miao Zijian)