The way I came
"When I was two years of age, I heard the CCTV News theme and fell in love with it. The lead instrument in that piece is the violin. Later, when my family asked if I wanted to learn to play a musical instrument, I immediately chose the violin. At that time, however, there were no children’s violins in my hometown, and so I did not begin to learn to play the violin until I was four, when I was then tall enough to hold one.
As a child I wasn’t very physically coordinated. I took various wrong paths in the early stages of my study of the violin. At first, no one believed music would become my major, as I was not so good at it and no one in my family played a musical instrument. I practiced playing the violin occasionally just for fun, seeing it merely as an enjoyable hobby.
Soon I was 15 and took my first class with Professor Liang Chai in Beijing. I was simply trying to broaden my vision and range. I never thought Professor Chai would say one day, “Rain, you have an amazing feeling for music and your own individual expression. You will regret it if you don’t pursue your study of the violin. Skills are less important because they can be quickly learned. I think you’re going somewhere. Do you want to work with me and give it a try?”
For a 15-year-old teenager, such a compliment was nothing short of the sound of heaven! I was aware that the Central Conservatory of Music had a lower admission rate than Tsinghua University. In other words, I would almost certainly fail if I took the entrance examination, but I just wanted to have a try even if there was no chance. At least I wouldn’t regret it later.
My mother and I set off from two different places in China and met up in Beijing. My “retreat” of ten hours a day officially began. That three year period was my “War of Resistance”. For most students, the first stage of intense learning was one year, but for me it was three and a half. It was truly painful. Ten hours a day. Six days a week. The rest of the week was spent going out and getting some fresh air. My room was even soundproofed so that I could practice for a few more hours during the night. I somehow managed to endure those three years of complete darkness and the reversal of day and night!
In 2009, I graduated from high school and was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music even though no one had any faith in me. When my college years concluded, I took the postgraduate examination and gained admittance to the Central Conservatory of Music Graduate School with a full national scholarship to pursue a master’s degree. Afterwards, at the suggestion of my supervisor Chai Liang, I decided to give up this degree and instead head to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to study under Professor He Wei. Since then, my overseas study began to unfold.
Looking back, the wrong paths are actually of great help for my instruction, for my approach to teaching the violin to beginner and post-beginner learners. The gifted do not necessarily know how to teach as their gift makes it easy for them to achieve what others can only achieve through hard work.
I followed several wrong paths. I now understand the confusion and anxiety one feels when certain skills barriers seem impossible to overcome. My hope is to help more people like me, that is students who love music but are trapped, as well as beginners who may have made the mistakes I have made, so that they can fulfil their aspirations with the healthiest state of mind and the greatest enthusiasm. This is why I am committed to music education."
