With charity project, music teacher hits the right note

Shi Yan teaches a class at the Guribanhua Central School. [Photo Provided To China Daily]

Shi Yan brings the joy of music to students in far-flung schools without the resources for a music room

Shi Yan has the knack of firing up her students' imaginations. The 36-year-old is always full of enthusiasm whether she is teaching music at a primary school in Dalian, Liaoning province, or volunteering to support rural schools.

On Sept 17, Shi was teaching a class at the Guribanhua Central School as a member of a charity team that donated musical instruments to five rural schools in Tongliao, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Seeing her fingers glide over the piano keys, the students were fascinated.

When she told the students to practice the movements they were happy to do it.

"We can't imagine such a lively music class. Generally, our music teachers only teach singing," says He Wuritu, head of the school.

"With the instruments, our class is not boring any more. The warm-hearted people from Dalian are opening a new gate for our students to the world of music," she says.

Shi, a national model teacher of music, has been taking part in a charity project called Sound of Yida - Love Music Classroom since it was launched in April 2011.

Initiated by Dalian Music Radio (FM1067), the Dalian Charity Federation and the Dalian-based Yida Group, the project aims to create music rooms in rural primary schools.

It has so far setup 94 music rooms in Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Hebei provinces.

"Schools in rural areas lack resources for music education. Many schools have no music instruments at all. Some even have no recorder, let alone a piano. For the kids there music education means only singing," says Shi.

According to Yao Jiange, chief inspector of Dalian Music Radio, each donated music room is equipped with 20,000 yuan ($3,15) worth of instruments, including two digital pianos, some clarinets, harmonicas, percussion instruments, and a digital demonstration teaching instrument that can help students better understand the teacher's finger movements.

Usually, after the donation, Shi Yanand Ren Guanjie, a music teacher from Dalian Youth Recreation Center, give instruction to local teachers on how to use the instruments and liven up the class.