Fascinating performance of a retired teacher in Nghe An

.

In the art performance contest to celebrate the 28th anniversary of International Day of Older Persons in Dung town (Thanh Chuong), Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuc in grade 7 performed a special art performance, which was a unique eight-stringed instrument.

On the wooden table, there were rows of bowls of all sizes. Mr. Phuc, dressed in traditional costume, confidently played the “rice drum” skillfully with chopsticks. The sounds coming from the bowls performed by Mr. Phuc were truly captivating, making listeners and viewers exclaim in admiration. This performance was considered the “masterpiece” of the competition.

Mr. Phuc said that this set of bowls is a collection of bowls with “sharp” sounds, which he collected over a long period of decades. To get these bowls, he took the trouble to go to many family temples, shops, markets, and houses throughout the countryside to search.

After gathering a number of bowls with standard sounds and determining the timbre of each bowl, he assembled a set of bowls with a full range of sounds from low to high. This set was added to over time. The top of the instrument is a wooden board with foam with holes to fix the bowls.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuc with his unique set of eight-stringed zither.

Mr. Phuc said that at first, this set only had 7 bowls, but after a process of collecting and selecting, the set now has 16 bowls. At first glance, these bowls look like many other familiar bowls, but when tapped, they produce a very loud sound.

According to Mr. Phuc, playing the zither is cumbersome because you have to carry many things, table, bowl, water. There must be water in the bowl, thanks to the water, the sound resonates, creating a warm, smooth sound, not rough. Each bowl has been measured with the appropriate amount of water to create the desired sound.

“The water level in the bowl greatly affects the sound quality, so you must pour water in the right proportion to create the right sound. The bowls in this set have been marked with water levels, so when playing, just pour water in and arrange them in order,” said Mr. Phuc.

Like many other musical instruments, to play the zither well, the player must have a passion for both collecting musical instruments and practicing. Up to now, Mr. Phuc has been attached to the zither for more than 40 years. His view on playing the zither is to study hard, study anytime, anywhere, from artists, friends, through television, and explore practical knowledge...

Through a long period of practice, with his unique set of eight-stringed instruments, Mr. Phuc can play many cheerful and lively pieces of music, such as “Chiec khan pieu”, “Noi lua len em”, “Tieng zither Ta Lu”…

This set of bowls is a collection of bowls with beautiful and unique sounds, fixed on a foam table top.

Mr. Phuc shared that this unique performance of the eight-stringed zither has brought him many awards in major festivals, the most notable of which are the A prize at the provincial art festival, the Silver Medal at the national art festival...

It is known that Mr. Phuc is a retired physical education teacher and a famous enthusiast of traditional musical instruments in Thanh Chuong. After decades of searching, collecting, and making, his house now has about 60 musical instruments, including all sets: wind (flute, flute, reed pipe, trumpet, mouth harp, etc.), string (mono-gourd, sixteen-stringed zither, two-stringed fiddle, day-shaped zither), leather (rice drum, tam-vong drum), percussion (Tro-rung, lithophone, bowl-shaped zither). As for flutes, there are dozens of them of all types: horizontal flute, solo flute, folk flute, sao pha tram, mini flute, double-stringed flute, bau flute, etc.

In the old house, he dedicated the outside space to his collection of traditional musical instruments. In addition to traditional musical instruments, he also collected some Western musical instruments such as clarinet, violin, etc.

Of these instruments, 2/3 were collected by him, and 1/3 were made by him. He searched for raw materials himself, then researched, chiseled, and cut on many different materials (stone, wood, horn) to create new products. Some instruments took a whole year, even 7-8 years to complete, such as the 5-tier stone instrument.

With just chopsticks and ordinary bowls, Mr. Phuc can play many pieces of music.

Recently, on the occasion of National Day September 2, 2019, he successfully crafted a 100kg stone monochord. The surface of the instrument has a map of Thanh Chuong decorated with many patterns such as the surface of a bronze drum and the national flag. The neck of the instrument is made from the horn of an old mountain goat. The gourd is a water buffalo claw given by an old man in Ky Son district.

Not only is he passionate about collecting and making traditional musical instruments, he can also play the musical instruments he has, especially playing bamboo flutes, double flutes, gourd flutes, monochords, bowl-shaped zithers, stone zithers, etc. skillfully.

Currently, Mr. Phuc is the Chairman of Thanh Chuong Traditional Musical Instrument Club. The club meets regularly every month, aiming to create a playground for people who love traditional musical instruments in the district to connect with each other, increase exchanges and learn. The club's program has been included in festivals (Bach Ma Temple, Ba Chua Temple, Bon Son Temple, cultural and historical relic reception ceremonies in localities...).

Mr. Phuc is an artist who collects and plays many traditional musical instruments.

“I love traditional musical instruments because they are familiar, easy to buy, easy to make, the sounds they make are natural and familiar melodies, to me traditional musical instruments are a part of life” – Mr. Phuc shared. Perhaps that is why his efforts to discover, learn and collect traditional musical instruments never stop.

Not only is he a competitive soldier, an excellent teacher with many achievements and contributions to the education cause, a famous "inventor" of visual teaching aids, a "magician" with more than 100 performances written into an anthology, Mr. Phuc is also a famous artisan with a passion for traditional musical instruments in his homeland.

Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Dieu - Cultural Officer of Dung town said: Teacher Phuc is a multi-talented, enthusiastic person, with a passion for traditional musical instruments. Despite his old age, he is constantly researching, learning, and creating to create new, interesting, and unique works. With his inherent talent and enthusiasm, Teacher Phuc has made many contributions to preserving and conserving traditional culture and the local art movement.