Li Xinyang enrolled in the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, in Sydney, Australia, in 2012, becoming the first student in the institution's history to major in pipa, the traditional Chinese stringed instrument. After she graduated, Li established a pipa-teaching institution and the Amazonite Fushion Music Ensemble, both in Australia, to present the charm of traditional Chinese music to overseas audiences, through diverse artistic practices.
Strings Resonate Overseas
More than 20 years ago, in a music class in a primary school in Shantou, south China's Guangdong Province, music teacher Chen Songda discovered then 8-year-old Li could accurately grasp the rhythm of playing the zhongruan, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. The teacher also learned Li's finger joints were exceptionally flexible.
After a professional assessment, Chen suggested Li switch to the pipa, which had a more complex technical system. After she entered middle school, Li gained a deeper understanding of pipa's artistic expressiveness. The instrument could depict the chilling atmosphere of a battlefield, and it could outline the gentle charm of China's Jiangnan region (south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River).
What amazed Li was the pipa always carried the emotional codes of Chinese culture, from the Dunhuang murals, Playing the Pipa Behind the Back, to Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Bai Juyi's poem, Song of the Pipa Player.
During her adolescence, and amidst her heavy academic workload, practicing the pipa, daily, became Li's unique psychological-adjustment mechanism. Between the vibrations of the strings, what began as a routine task evolved into a conscious artistic pursuit.
Li moved to Sydney to attend high school. She took her beloved pipa with her. Although the local teachers knew little about the ancient Eastern instrument, they encouraged her to persist with her hobby.
After she learned, by chance, Dr. Liu Lu, at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, was researching the pipa, Li developed a desire to pursue advanced professional studies in the pipa. She wrote a letter to the conservatorium, expressing her desire to study the pipa under Dr. Liu, and to pursue a degree in music education. Her sincerity moved the dean, and, after a rigorous assessment, Li was admitted to the school.
Li initially faced two challenges: A language barrier, and a weak foundation in Western music theory. Throughout her university years, Li never allowed herself to slack off, and she spent most of her time practicing the pipa and studying music theory. From sight reading (performing music without preparation) to harmonic arrangement, she overcame the various difficulties, one by one.
During a campus concert, Li performed a pipa solo that blended Eastern melodies with modern techniques. She earned rounds of applause from the audience. "I didn't expect a traditional Chinese instrument to be so popular in Australia," Li says. The cross-cultural resonance strengthened her conviction to use the strings of the pipa to spread the beauty of Chinese music to the world.
Pipa Classroom
While studying the pipa, the teaching and guidance she received from her mentors allowed Li to "deeply experience" the warmth of traditional Chinese folk music. This warmth eventually blossomed into an educational ideal. After she graduated from university, she became a music teacher, in a public school, in New South Wales. To promote pipa education, she founded a pipa classroom, where she used the sound of the instrument to build a bridge of emotion.
When the pipa classroom was established, Li only had one student. She was undaunted. "Don't be discouraged. You should persist in what you love until the end," she told herself. As her reputation grew, more students signed up to study the pipa.
Li has always encouraged her students to practice the pipa for at least one hour every day. She doesn't require them to play a long piece in its entirety; instead, she allows them to break longer pieces into smaller sections, to practice sequentially.
She not only teaches her students to play traditional Chinese repertoire, but she also guides them as they improvise familiar Western classical pieces. Li's teaching philosophy is designed to ensure her students experience the diversity and inclusivity of the pipa.
Li designed various schemes to spark students' interest and make the pipa lessons more engaging. Li uses situational teaching during special occasions, such as students' birthdays and folk festivals. For example, once, during Halloween, she offered a themed course, "Harry Potter Plays the Pipa and Returns to Hogwarts."
She has introduced a point-based-reward system, under which her students accumulate points through daily practice. The points can be exchanged for lucky-draw opportunities, or to participate in musical games.
This "learning-through-play" model allows her students to naturally reinforce their pipa-fingering techniques by participating in activities. Li's pipa classroom is packed with students, for one-on-one lessons, every weekend. The teaching insights she shares on social media consistently receives widespread recognition from students, parents and local music teachers.
By drawing on her more than a decade of teaching experience, Li has integrated Western music theory with Chinese folk music knowledge to compile the introductory pipa textbook, My First Pipa Book. The textbook features hand-drawn illustrations to assist in teaching.
The pipa classroom now offers sessions to children, teenagers and adults. The classroom is fostering the spread of pipa art in Sydney, and it is helping grow the community of pipa enthusiasts.
Fusion of East, West
As the number of her students continued to grow, Li began planning to establish an ensemble. "Performing the pipa in an ensemble with Western instruments, such as the cello and guitar, would not only expand the expressive space of folk music, but would also cultivate new audiences through musical dialogue," Li recalls. In 2021, the Amazonite Fushion Music Ensemble was established, composed of a small ensemble for younger students, and a larger ensemble for teenaged students.
Given the wide variety of instruments, and the growing number of participants, sparks of musical creativity are constantly ignited within the ensemble. During improvisation sessions, the teachers only set the chord progression and main key, allowing the students to collaborate spontaneously without a score, which often leads to unexpected artistic effects.
In addition to the regular courses and ensemble training, Li guides her students in watching Chinese and international music competitions, to help them recognize the shared characteristics of different musical languages. "Cross-cultural musical dialogue not only showcases diverse aesthetic values, but also fosters deep connections between Chinese folk music and Australia's local music," Li says.
Although Western staff notations and numbered musical notations differ in the way they are used to record music, they are equally effective in conveying emotion, Li says. She teaches her students to analyze the narrative background of a piece before they grasp its emotional core. "Emotion-driven performances are more touching," Li says.
Once, during a class, a Chinese student excitedly told Li that while playing a Fujian (a province in southeast China) folk song, Picking Tea and Catching Butterflies, on the pipa, her grandfather couldn't help but hum along. Li's student used music to foster the elderly man's nostalgia, while the grandfather passed on sentiments of the homeland to his younger generation. This intergenerational transmission gave Li a profound understanding of the cultural significance of music education.
The Amazonite Fushion Music Ensemble has participated in many local performances, including New Year's celebrations (organized by the local government), art festivals and New Year's events in downtown Sydney. The ensemble also participated in recording the soundtrack for a film that told the stories of overseas Chinese. The ensemble also appeared in the film. Moreover, Li has brought hanfu (a traditional Chinese attire) and the pipa into local schools' classrooms, allowing more children to experience the charm of Chinese folk music and traditional Chinese attire.
Li often leads her students as they participate in musical performances. "Cross-cultural exchanges not only allow students to appreciate the charm of Western instruments and create more opportunities for them to showcase and learn, but also help establish closer connections between Chinese folk music and Australia's local music," Li says.
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly April 2026)
Editor: Wang Shasha
