HITTING THE RIGHT KEYS
At 82, accordion player Ren Shirong teaches the blind to play
It is 9 am on Wednesday on a cold and chilly winter morning in December in Beijing. Ren Shirong, 82, arrives at the China Braille Library near the Second Ring Road from his home near the city’s Fourth Ring Road.
Using crutches, he hobbles slowly into a classroom.
Then, with the help of volunteers, he takes off his jacket, revealing a military uniform.
He then smiles, opening a music book and prepares to take class.
In the classroom are more than 20 students, all with an accordion.
Their left hands fluently manipulate the bass button while their right hands press the black and white keys.
From Young Pines to Ah, goodbye to my friends, and from Shepherd Girl to February, they play the tracks with confidence.
It is hard to believe that these tracks are played by blind people.
They are so good that they have appeared on stage, and they have won many awards.
Their achievements all thanks to Ren, who was a first-class national accordionist at the Air Force Academy of Television Arts Center and the 2015 Beijing Model Winner.
He is one of China’s “accordion champions”, and is one of the musicians who played before leaders like Chairman Mao Zedong.
Now, he is devoted to teaching the blind, and thanks to him many blind people have found happiness and confidence through music.
The accordion class, which now has more than 30 blind students, was founded in 2007.
And Ren has been teaching it between 9 and 11 am every Wednesday for the past 10 years.
During each class, Ren guides the students and they then practice over and over.
The students cannot see the music scores or the keys. But from their expressions, you know they love music.
Ren’s first encounter with these blind people was about 20 years ago.
It was the day when Hong Kong was handed over to the motherland in 1997.
Then, Ren heard someone playing the accordion in Badachu Park in Beijing.
After listening for a while, he took the initiative and said to the blind person: “I can teach you.”
Unconvinced, the blind person said, “Show me your skills first.”
After Ren’s perfect solo of the Spanish Bullfighter, the blind person could tell that he must be a master.
The blind person however did not take up Ren’s offer.
Ten years later, at an accordion competition held in Beijing, Ren, who was a judge at the event, recognized the blind man Chen Guoyue.
After the competition, Ren told Chen to bring together all the blind people who wanted to learn the accordion in Beijing, and promised that he would teach them for free.
The task was not easy. But Ren first converted the five-line spectrum staves into numbered music notations, and also devised the “touch teaching method”.
He holds the blind students’ hands to teach them, helping them to touch the keyboard and the bellows. And if the blind students do not grasp the pace, he presses his feet on theirs to help them keep time.
During the classes Ren’s fingers jump countless times between the black and white keys, but despite the hard work he continues undaunted.
Many of the blind students were not born blind and excelled in various fields. But blindness often makes them extremely depressed.
However, Ren’s extraordinary belief and his understanding and love of the blind have opened a window for them. Many see the class as home. And the happiness they gain from playing the accordion gives them hope.
Over the years, Ren cannot remember how many holidays he has spent with them.
Now, every one of his blind students can play at least four or five tracks completely, and some of them often accompany choirs.
His blind students Chen Guoyue and Li Xiaomei have also performed for China Central Television and Beijing Television.
Ren says that these blind students are not just entertainers, because their confidence and dignity gives a whole new meaning to their life.
Meanwhile, many volunteers have joined in to help provide assistance to the blind students. Among them is Rong Yueling, a vocal instructor and taxi driver Yang Jianhua who drives Ren to the library every Wednesday.
Ren’s story with the accordion started when he was 14, when he joined the army. And, now, 68 years later, it still continues.