Memories of home strung together by Chinese songs

At a traditional Chinese festival, my students at the Stony Brook University Chinese School sang Chinese songs beautifully, without making a single mistake. Their parents, many of whom were born and grew up in China before coming to the United States, soon joined the singing.

I could never have dreamed of such a scene some 20 years ago, when I was to take an elementary school music test, but couldn't sing a thing.

I was born in Luoyang, Henan province, in a family of music lovers. My mother loved movie songs while my father's favorites were military songs. My brother was into pop music and learned many songs from videos.

Mother insisted she could teach me to sing and began: "Birds fly in the sky, flowers smile at me, we are like spring. From meadows to gardens, dear friends and mothers, we dance and sing, live happily forever and ever."

I remained silent. The silence was deafening. My brother made a face and shook his head, father stood up from beside the radio with a blank expression.

When I confessed that I was "tone deaf", everyone laughed and told me anyone could sing.

Mother helped me with a hands-on approach. She put my hands on her belly to feel the air filling her lungs when she sang. My brother worked hard on improving my posture - back straight, shoulders down, neck long and finally - smile.

I passed the music test, scoring 94 out of 100. That marked the start of my fascination with singing; I joined the school choir. At Tsinghua University, I became a soprano in the choir and performed on a TV program.

From Tsinghua Law School, I went on to New York to continue studying law with my husband.

What has remained unchanged though, is the tender feelings aroused by songs describing a starry night, when children in their mothers' arms doze off, listening to gentle melodies.

Singing is my recreation when I do housework and look after my children. Children's songs always describe a beautiful and bright world, of friends and a million small delights. When my daughter was 3, she began to sing along with me, changing words and melodies according to how she felt.

Singing has also come in handy in conducting my weekend classes with students of Chinese descent. Like my mother, I too try to help my students to take up a hobby that will enrich their personalities. Good songs can be a stress buster when study pressures intensify. During holidays and family reunions, singing Chinese songs help pass our culture and values to our children.

Standing in front of my students, songs that I had delighted in so many years ago, came rushing back to me. But the students sang like pasta boiling in the pot, with different pronunciations, and different rhythms. I taught them the pronunciations in Chinese and the music.

Parents were attracted by our singing and entered our class: Some listened and smiled; others helped the students to keep a good posture. We practiced every weekend and my husband sent the song's lyrics and music to every student's home.

Although I was "tone deaf" in my childhood, over the years, I've come to discover that songs embody our nation's culture, patience and love.