盲童“炼”成专业管乐团：我不需要同情与怜悯，我只是眼睛不方便而已 The orchestra of blind children

They can't see the music sheets, nor any of the instruments.

他们看不见乐谱，也看不见乐器上的按钮。

Yet they play grand music pieces together, almost flawlessly with their trumpets, flutes and clarinets.

但他们能拿着各自的小号、长笛与单簧管，彼此配合，奏出恢弘的乐章。

This is the miracle created by the Chongqing Yangfan Wind Band of Blind Children. 

这是重庆扬帆盲童管乐团创造的奇迹。

Founded in 2011 and consisting entirely of visually impaired children, the band is the largest of its kind in China, and the first to perform on the international stage. These children have performed with China National Symphony Orchestra and the PLA Military Band respectively at the National Center for the Performing Arts and the Chongqing Grand Theatre.

重庆扬帆盲童管乐团成立于2011年，是迄今为止国内规模最大的盲人管乐团，成员全部为失明儿童。同时，它还是首个登上国际管乐舞台的盲人乐团，曾在国家大剧院和重庆大剧院与中国国家交响乐团、中国人民解放军军乐团同台演出。

It all started with a show 8 years ago.

这个盲童乐团的诞生，源于8年前的一场演出。

Li Longmei was then the headmaster of Chongqing School for the Blind (now Chongqing Special Education Center). Back in 2010, she took all the 286 blind students of the school to a symphony concert at the Chongqing People's Auditorium. On their way back, those children couldn't wait to share their thoughts: "I recognized the sound of a trumpet," "The pianist wasn't that good."

李龙梅是重庆盲人学校（现重庆特殊教育中心）的校长。2010年，她带领全校286名失明儿童去重庆人民大礼堂听交响乐会。在回来的车上，孩子们就开始议论了，“我听出来小号了”，“那个钢琴弹得不怎么样”。

To Li's total surprise, the students had all heard of the western instruments, but never had the chance to play.  

这让李龙梅感到意外又惊喜。原来，孩子们早就听说过西洋乐器，只不过没有机会玩。

 "The visually impaired boys are basically loners, unwilling to cooperate," says Li. "So I thought playing music together may lead them to communication and coordination."

 “视力有缺陷的男孩子，基本没有与人合作的意愿，习惯了单打独斗。”李龙梅说，“我想，一起玩音乐或许能让他们学会沟通与合作”。

Bearing this in mind, the school set about building a wind band of blind children.

抱着这样的希望，学校开始组建盲童管乐团。

During that time, the out-of-tune sounds lingered all over the school, yet no one ever regarded them as an annoyance.   

那段时间，只要没课，学校到处都是“咿呀哇呀“这种不在调上的声音，但从没人觉得这是噪声。

"In the early days," Li recalls, "we had only 4 trumpets for the kids to play in turns. The few professional music teachers were at a loss teaching the blind students, and couldn't stand more than a couple of lessons." Indeed, the communication was far from satisfying in the collective teaching, as the children could not see the music sheets or the teachers' instructions.

李龙梅回忆说，“起初，学校只有三四把小号，孩子们换着吹，而专业老师因不知如何与盲人打交道，上过两次课后就要走”。实际上，在集体教学的过程中，因为失明的孩子看不到乐谱和老师的示范指挥，沟通十分困难。

"Is it feasible for all of our staff members to just sit beside the kids and teach them one to one?"

“有没有可能，学校里的老师有一个算一个，全部拿着乐器坐在孩子身边，去教他们？“

Everyone in the school was called up. Four of the teachers majored in music, but the rest of the 34 staff members could hardly read the numbered musical notation. Even the security section chief and the massage teachers were included.   

于是，在李龙梅的号召下，学校开启了全体总动员模式：34名老师中，除音乐专业毕业的4人，其余的大多连简谱都不认识；教按摩的老师和保卫科科长都拿起了乐器，上场执教。

The children cherished this opportunity very much. Although they couldn't see the sheets, they memorized the melodies in their minds and practiced whenever they could: they played their trumpets before the morning reading, flutes during the breaks, and organized ensembles after lunch.   

孩子们十分珍惜这个机会，看不见乐谱，就凭记忆去背，同时抓紧一切机会练习，早读前吹号，课间练长笛，午休就自发组织小合奏。

Unaware of the conductor's instructions, everyone tried to be the loudest at the beginning. After much practicing, they gradually managed to refrain, appreciate and coordinate, and thus began to play some melodious music.   

练习伊始，他们因为不懂配合，总把自己声部的音量吹到最大；后来不断磨合，逐渐学会了相互包容、欣赏与合作，终于奏出和谐的音乐。

"There's always a melody. You can't be a one-man orchestra in a band."

 “乐曲总是要有主旋律的，不合作，曲子就出不来“。

In Li's words, this intrinsic feature of music was crucial in building teamwork among the blind children.

李龙梅认为，音乐固有的这个关键特征，对锻炼失明儿童的合作能力至关重要。

Through playing instruments, interacting with others and performing successfully on stage, these children have gained great confidence. "I don't need your sympathy or your compassion. It's just poor eyesight."  

孩子们在学习乐器、与人配合到登上舞台的这一系列过程中，收获了自信：“我不需要同情与怜悯，我只是眼睛不方便而已’”。

According to 2016 statistics from China Association of the Blind, there are more than 17 million blind people in China – nearly one per cent of the entire population. Some of them are endowed with an acute sense of hearing, and a few may prove to be musical geniuses. In this regard, music could be a sort of outlet for their self-realization. Besides the Chongqing Yangfan band, the Yangzhou Jasmine Wind Band of the Blind is also one of the active music groups in China. 

据中国盲人协会数据统计，截至2016年，我国有1731万盲人，平均每100个人中就有一个盲人。因为看不见，他们对声音的感觉往往异常敏锐，部分人甚至展现出非凡的乐器天赋，音乐因而已成为盲人实现自我的某种途径。目前，除重庆扬帆外，我国还有扬州茉莉花等盲人管乐团。

Director：Qi Mantong

Editor：Qi Mantong, Gao Xingzi

Filmed by: Fan Xin

Designer：Yu Peng

Article Written by: Yao Xinyi

Copy Editor： Xuyen Nguyen

Producer：Wen Yaru

Chief Editor：Zhao Jianfu

Supervisor：Pang Xinhua

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