A Chinese girl's love affair with guitar
Updated: 2013-07-20 10:35
(Xinhua)
|
||||||||
She loves to travel with her guitar, everywhere around the world.
"I didn't choose to play guitar. Rather, it chose me," said Yang Xuefei, Chinese classical guitarist.
Related: Guitarist Yang Xuefei reinterprets Bach on a seven-string
To many Chinese youngsters grown up listening to ballads, guitar seemed to be a symbol of their rebellious adolescence. But when the long-haired Yang played in her elegant evening dress, she would change people's perception towards this musical instrument.
When Yang was a little girl, her parents took her to learn music with the aim of "letting the naughty girl sit down for a while".
At that time, the most popular musical instrument was accordion. But after seeing seven-year-old Yang, the teacher believed her too small to carry the heavy accordion, and suggested that she try guitar.
"I was astonished at the suggestion, because I haven't heard of guitar before," she recalled. But as soon as she bought her first guitar with 20 yuan (about 3.26 U.S. dollars), she fell in love with its sound.
She improved quickly, making her public debut at the First China International Guitar Festival and accumulated international reputation by giving concert tours to Spain, Portugal, Japan, etc.
"Chinese teachers taught me skills, while English teachers let me know how to become a guitarist," she said.
Yang noted that many Chinese students had good skills, but what they lack understanding to the music. That was just what she learned in Europe.
"When I saw the Baroque house, it had rich decoration, I immediately thought of the graces in the music," she said. "Gradually I began to understand more of Western music."
- 'Despicable' minions upset Depp's 'Lone Ranger' at box office
- 'Taken 2' grabs movie box office crown
- Rihanna's 'Diamonds' tops UK pop chart
- Fans get look at vintage Rolling Stones
- Celebrities attend Power of Women event
- Ang Lee breaks 'every rule' to make unlikely new Life of Pi film
- Rihanna almost thrown out of nightclub
- 'Dark Knight' wins weekend box office
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Party seeks to boost ties with the public |
Conundrum over sexual bribery |
Bar street heaven for expats, hell for locals |
Chinese Haute Couture |
Railway cities staying on track |
More concerns over camps |
Today's Top News
US court says reporter must testify in leak case
Venezuela VP defends support for Snowden
'Trayvon Martin could have been me': Obama
Asiana legal fallout begins after deadly crash
Floor on lending rates axed by PBOC
Huawei backs UK security review
Blacklist on way for court defiance
Tokyo's 'big leap' aimed at China
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |