Singer Tran Luc: Happiness is being able to sing on my homeland

Singing with a homemade guitar

Luc said that he loved singing so much that, back in the day, no one in the entire Dong Hop - Quy Hop countryside had a guitar, there was no place to organize cultural activities with a guitar, and the singers just hummed the rhythm and sang a cappella. Then he made himself a guitar so that he could drift off to the songs he hummed from the cassette tapes his mother bought at the district market.

Singer Tran Luc, born in 1985, is a singer of the Provincial Ethnic Song and Dance Troupe. Photo: NVCC

Unfortunately, the instrument could not produce the desired sounds because it was a self-made instrument made from wood from his garden and the core of a bicycle brake cable. However, the result allowed Luc to satisfy his passion, playing familiar melodies such as "Gian ma thuong", "Duoi tre tre thien ly" or "Rang tram bau" from a cassette tape of People's Artist Tien Dung.

His passion was known by his neighbors, and his siblings followed and encouraged him. “My uncle from Vinh came to visit and saw me singing enthusiastically with my homemade guitar. He felt so sorry for me that he bought me a guitar,” Luc recalls. Since then, the guitar has been Luc’s confidant and also a means for him to prove himself and nurture his passion day by day.

However, in the poor commune where I came from, there were not many art programs for young singers like Luc to show off their talents. He only participated in art performances at school, in class and "mainly sang at home for his siblings and neighbors to listen to". "At that time, because I didn't have the means, every time I saw singer Trong Tan sing on TV, I would absorb every word, write down the lyrics I had memorized on a piece of paper and sing along, and in my mind, I always wished that I could achieve the technique of singing and emitting words like my idol singer" - Luc shared.

Passion is dedication, is the desire to follow the path that you have cherished since childhood, so after finishing the high school exam, instead of choosing a school and a major like his peers, Luc packed his bags and went to Vinh to find a teacher to study vocal music. As if by natural talent, the difficulties that other students had to go through in terms of rhythm, beat and pitch were quickly overcome by the poor boy.

Because Luc's voice, in addition to its impressive high range, is smooth and soulful in its enunciation and vibrato. "That's why now when I sing pop music or chamber music, I still meet the standards of sound and song ideas, but when I sing folk songs, that's me" - Luc said.

Confidently enter the profession

After passing the entrance exam to the Provincial School of Culture and Arts with a fairly high score, Luc confidently registered to take the entrance exam to the Military School of Culture and Arts with a "huge competition" rate. However, when recalling these memories, Luc said he was not afraid, nor was he self-conscious about being a boy from the mountainous region who came to the bustling city to pursue an artistic career.

Singer Tran Luc and co-star singer Que Thuong in a show. Photo: NVCC

Then, with that confidence and natural talent, Luc was one of the few candidates selected in the 2003 entrance exam to the Military University of Culture and Arts.

Getting into school is difficult, learning to grow up in this environment is even more difficult. Because during the study process here, students have to train themselves by interacting with the showbiz environment, by running shows to learn, to gain practical skills and especially to gain the necessary experience that this profession requires. "There are days when we run shows until our necks are sore, but we only earn a few hundred thousand, but that is sweat, effort and also the result of labor to make us more confident when we go out into life", Luc said.

He also said that the small salary from singing while still in school also helped Tran Luc to supplement his student life. "Because my brother worked hard driving to support his siblings' education, there was a time when he had to sell his blood to earn a few extra coins for his younger brother, who was pursuing a singing career."

Mentioning this, Luc was moved and said: "I must be grateful to my relatives who have worked hard all their lives so that I can one day stand on a prosperous stage, so that they can remind me to always strive, always try to improve myself, hoping to repay them one day."

Sweet fruit on return day

After graduating, Luc was selected by the General Department of Logistics - Military Region 4 Art Troupe, but knowing that he could not survive in this competitive environment, he chose a more peaceful and "more open" path, which was to return to his hometown. Upon receiving this information, Luc was personally invited by the Head of the Provincial Folk Song and Dance Troupe to join the troupe, with the hope that Tran Luc would stay with the Provincial Professional Art Troupe for a long time.

Now, after nearly 10 years in the troupe, Luc has become the main soloist, with great influence in the folk song and dance troupe. When mentioning Nguyen Ke Luc, the singer with the stage name Tran Luc, no one does not admire his versatility in style. He can sing pop and chamber music, but songs with folk melodies are the songs that help Luc to be nailed in the hearts of the audience.

Singer Tran Luc and singer Lan Huong in a song with the sound of mountain folk music. Photo: NVCC

These are Goose Feather Sail (Van Don), The sound of the flute calling friends (Trinh Quang Thuan), The song of the Giam song across the river (Viet Ky), The boys in the forest (Vu Duy Cuong). Some of these songs have also helped Luc win many awards in his career as a singer. Such as the Gold Medal of the National Professional Arts Festival in 2012 with "The boys in the forest"; the A Prize in the North Central Region Music Festival in 2015 with the song "Goose Feather Sail"...

The more he goes through his career, the more experience he has, the more interesting journeys he has, because although it is a provincial art environment, here Luc has the favor of a large audience, and the recognition of professionals. "Therefore, if I had to choose again, I would still choose to return to my hometown, to the house that gave me my first steps, to the place where I have a warm home, and have the care and protection of my family."

Therefore, Luc's point of view is that there is no stage where one should not sing, no environment where one should not experience "because being able to sing and earn money by honest labor is the happiness of a singer" - Tran Luc said./.