3 . As a child, Liu Wenwen disliked the suona, a “loud, high-pitched” traditional Chinese musical instrument, an ancestral heritage of her family that was to become her career.

Her peers at primary school laughed at her, saying her whole family was engaged only in “weddings and funerals.” Indeed, these are the two major occasions where the horn-like wind instrument is played in China’s rural areas. Liu felt ashamed. People admired things that were modern and international. “Suona, in comparison, was considered an art of the hillbilly.” Her father’s family has performed suona for seven generations.

The music is rooted in Liu’s DNA, but it takes time and hard work to become a skilled musician. The instrument was so loud that it annoyed the neighbors when she practiced at home. “So my parents would wake me up at 4 a.m. every day and take me to practice outside in a park.”

While she followed her parents to play the suona as a child, she only fell in love with the instrument at university. She found suona music beautiful for the first time in 2008, when she entered Shanghai Conservatory of Music to learn the instrument more systematically.

On China’s social media platforms, her name is often followed by a video of her live performance at a concert in Sydney, Australia, alongside award-winning composer Tan Dun in 2017. For her debut on the international stage, she was playing Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to Phoenix, a masterpiece that often represents excellence in suona performance.

Liu promoted the “hillbilly” music to an international audience, thanks to Tan and his team, who recomposed the traditional music and arranged the piece into an orchestra. “It was a smooth dialogue between a Chinese instrument and a Western orchestra, loved by the musicians and audience alike,” she said. “I felt my hard work had paid off. I trained for over 20 years, probably just to win cheers and applause for traditional Chinese music on the international stage.”

5 . Playing a musical instrument or singing could help keep the brain healthy in old age, UK researchers suggest. In their report, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. they say music should be considered as part of a lifestyle approach to maintaining the brain.

More than 1,100 people aged over 40, with a mean age of 68, were studied. Scientists observed their brain function data and looked at the effects of playing an instrument, singing. reading and listening to music, and musical ability. The researchers compared the cognitive (认知) data of those in the study who engaged in music in some way in their lives with those who never did.

Their results showed that people who played musical instrument s benefited the most, which may be because of the “multiple cognitive demands” of the activity. Playing the piano or keyboard appeared to be particularly beneficial, while simply listening to music did not appear to help cognitive health. The benefit seen with singing might be partly because of the known social aspects of being in a choir or group, the researchers say.

“Playing an instrument has a particularly big effect, and people who continue to play into an older are saw an additional benefit,” lead author Prof Corbett said. In the study, people who read music regularly had better numerical memory. “Our brain is a muscle like anything else and it needs to be exercised, and learning to read music is a bit like learning a new language — it’s challenging.” she said.

Researchers did not test potential benefits of taking up a music al hobby for the first time later in life, but Phof Corbett said she believed, based on current evidence, it would be “very beneficial”.

“The message is around how people can proactively reduce their risk of cognitive decline or dementia, and about engaging with music as a way of doing that.” However, Prof Corbett said, “It would be naive (幼稚的) to think taking up a musical instrument would mean you won’t develop dementia. It’s not as simple as that.”

9 . Over 30 years ago, I stood in the front row of a kindergarten performance, singing to all the parents of the elementary school. At the end of the performance, Mrs. Summers, whom I always tried to impress, made a statement that would impact me for nearly a lifetime. She walked up to my mom and stated, “She certainly was the most excited and eager student I had this year, but she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.”

From that day on, I was always insecure about my singing. Singing became an embarrassment for me and I didn’t want anyone to hear me. When I was home alone, I would belt out (大声唱) songs as if I was singing on the stage. Though I felt insecure, it made my heart dance and my soul get free.

When I started attending church regularly, a woman came up to me and asked why I didn’t join the choir. She stated that I had a beautiful singing voice and appeared to greatly enjoy singing. I laughed and said she must have been joking. With a look of surprise, she simply suggested that I should think about it because I would be a nice addition to the choir.

Why did I have such a hard time allowing others to hear me sing? It was because I had believed some words that came out of my teacher’s mouth as a child. Mrs. Summers was probably trying to be humorous, but as a child, her comment truly hurt me. So I made a decision to stop believing the words I held on to for so many years. The following week, I joined the choir, and I began to feel better. Now I sing in the streets, and I sing in the gym. It doesn’t matter if I can carry a tune in a basket; I carry it on my heart.