00:16:21-00:16:30 (9 seconds) During class my teacher would say, when you get to this bar or part you need to create a scenario in your head. Title: 00:17:48-00:17:55 (7 seconds) This part, my teacher said, you need to have the feeling of seeing a sunrise — it’s beautiful. During Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution the piano was a seen as a symbol of the bourgeoisie and pianos all across the country were destroyed. But today an estimated 40 million children are learning to play the instrument. By contrast, in America only 6 million study. “But for this piece, I’ve been playing it for such a long time that I mainly think about problems my teacher mentioned.” Du Ruizhe is practicing for a youth piano competition. 15,000 students auditioned for 145 spots. Ms. Du won one of those spots. 00:07:43-00:07:51 “So I play 4 or 5 hours per day. 00:07:51-00:07:54 On Saturdays and Sundays, probably around 6 hours. FATHER 00:26:06-00:26:11 The first time she participated in a competition, she was 7 years old. 00:26:16-00:26:23 I remember she won 3rd prize and was ranked 5th or 6th place at that time. 00:26:23-00:26:37 At this one competition, we were backstage and a staff came up to us and said a teacher wanted him to pass a word to us, that 00:26:37-00:26:46 your child was talented in music. He suggested if we had the ability, we should send her to Beijing or Shanghai to study. Although the family lives in Shaanxi Province, Ms. Du’s parents rented a flat over 1000 miles away in Beijing, so she could study with better teachers. Tonight, her grandparents are looking after her making her homemade noodles. 00:18:08-00:18:16 So now we are in three places. I work in Yan’an, Shaanxi, her mom works in Xi’an and our daughter studies in Beijing. — 00:16:48-00:16:55 The whole family has been separated into three places. Its affected our family’s harmony. The boom is driving piano makers to reevaluate where their future is and legacy piano companies from the West are trying to find a way into the Chinese market. Steinway & Sons is sponsoring the competition Du is performing at. 00:24:55-00:25:01 Whoever says they don’t want to win the game would be lying ... Everyone wants to win. FATHER 00:11:17-00:11:24 There are now many students who want to learn, so now there is a need for many music teachers. 00:11:24-00:11:28 So if you talk about employment opportunities, it’s really good to learn the piano. 00:11:28-00:11:32 If she studies this she will have good employment opportunities. 00:26:49-00:26:52 When I was little, I really wanted to be a pianist. 00:26:52-00:26:58 But now I don’t want to be a pianist, I prefer to be a piano teacher. 00:08:29-00:08:34 We think about this question based on survival angle, a more practical angle. COMPETITION CLIP FATHER: 00:02:54-00:03:04 One small flaw is nothing for daily practice, but in competitions like this, everyone is flawless. 00:03:04-00:03:09 Your mistake will be a problem, right? DAUGHTER: 00:03:09-00:03:24 There’s Group C’s result, and Group A ... wait this is Amateur Group A, I’m dying ... who’s the winner, I don’t know him/her. 00:03:24-00:03:30 I’m really ... (FATHER: speechless?) yes speechless. In the final round, Steinway disqualified Ru for playing 1 minute short of the required time. She received no formal recognition for her performances. UNUSED QUOTES GIRL 00:19:25-00:19:27 (2 seconds) Perhaps my fingers are moving but my mind is blank. GIRL 00:14:25-00:14:30 (5 seconds) Many years ago, I studied this piece. 00:14:30-00:14:38 (8 seconds) At that time, I didn’t study or play to a deeper level. I thought it was easy to play. 00:14:39-00:14:44 (5 seconds) Now I’m studying and playing it again, and now I feel it’s very difficult to play. GIRL 00:20:58-00:21:06 My mom is involved a lot and knows a lot; sometimes when I’m practicing, she will be there and give me suggestions all the time. 00:21:06-00:21:12 For example, if my techniques aren’t so good recently, so she might remind me of that several times a day. 00:21:12-00:21:14 So I feel a bit pressure. GIRL 00:11:46-00:11:53 As for me, my father studied piano, my grandfather knew how to play piano too, so I keep playing it too. 00:01:04-00:01:08 I think it was okay, but not as good as my normal practice. 00:01:13-00:01:18 Maybe because I was a little nervous, also it’s in a different place. 00:01:18-00:01:28 But there was a small mistake, maybe I played too fast and there was some ... but I guess it wasn’t too serious. FATHER: 00:02:47-00:02:54 There was a small regret, a small regret, competitions like this is, zero mistake.