Enduring the stage

In traditional stage performances, music and acting are inseparable, especially with the genres of tuong, cheo, cai luong, bai choi... Music is one of the factors that determine the success of a play.

Each orchestra of the traditional stage is required to have from 7 to 10 people playing different traditional musical instruments. Each traditional musical instrument has its own characteristics, special sound, and carries the cultural, spiritual, aesthetic and artistic values ​​typical of the nation.

Artist Huynh Nhat Le - former Head of the Opera Troupe shared that in the past, the Quang Nam - Da Nang Opera Troupe had 14 musicians, and he was the conductor of the orchestra. There were full musical instruments such as organ, guitar, cymbal, concave guitar, trumpet, charinet, two-stringed fiddle and gourd, zither, two-stringed fiddle, three-stringed fiddle, three-stringed fiddle... Musicians who left a lasting impression on the audience were drummer Nguyen Thi Sinh, veteran artists Nguyen Chi, Tran Dung, Quoc Ho...

Up to now, Quang Nam Opera and Drama Troupe has been established and developed for 60 years, but the number of musicians is very small. Some musicians can play many instruments at the same time and devote their youth to this traditional art.

Artist Nguyen Tinh can play three musical instruments: monochord, two-stringed fiddle and guitar; Pham Ngoc Tan plays the organ; Le Van Ngoc Huy plays the drums; Bui Khac Huy plays the moon lute; Le Thi Vui and Nguyen Thanh play the zither... The two-stringed fiddle player must know how to blow the trumpet and play the drums, and vice versa, the drummer must know how to blow the trumpet...

Artist Nguyen Tinh is an experienced musician of the Quang Nam Opera Troupe, with over 30 years of experience in the Bai Choi opera genre.

He shared: “Only those who truly love the profession can pursue this job, because the income is low, and there are not many artists being awarded titles or medals at festivals... for musicians, but we musicians still stay with the profession, just to satisfy our passion for traditional art.”

Find a successor

Quang Nam Opera Troupe currently has a very young group of musicians, graduated from music universities such as Khac Huy - moon lute, Le Thi Vui - zither. They studied for nearly ten years to get a job, then only received a very low salary according to the state coefficient. But because they love the job, they constantly learn, update their knowledge from their predecessors, work seriously, and accept the lack of money in their career activities.

In Hoi An, at night, there are many stops in the old town that organize traditional music performances such as the zither, the moon lute... contributing to attracting tourists. From here, perhaps it will help locals and tourists understand more about traditional musical instruments and musicians will also have the opportunity to increase their income.

Artist Nguyen Tinh is currently teaching traditional musical instruments in many localities in the province. He said that following the trend, young people often choose to learn electronic music because it is easier to learn, while traditional musical instruments take a long time to learn, and the audience is picky. Therefore, those who pursue traditional musical instruments need to be more persistent and passionate.

Currently, many provinces and cities are implementing Decision No. 1909/QD-TTg dated November 12, 2021 of the Prime Minister on approving the Cultural Development Strategy to 2030. In which, it stipulates that musicians are trained in depth in methods of performing and performing traditional musical instruments in orchestras... finding appropriate solutions to inherit, promote, contribute to preserving and developing traditional Tuong art in the new period.

In Quang Nam, facing the shortage of traditional musical instruments, it is necessary to organize a course to teach traditional musical instruments to accompany Bai Choi singing to supplement the force for this art form.