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Abstract
For my program. I’m composing four violin pieces inspired by minority culture. I didn’t want to just follow sheet music I want to express my own thoughts and feelings. For a long time, I played strictly within the rules. But I realized the real challenge is finding your own voice within those structures. I know Violin isn’t a Bai instrument, so I had to figure out how to extract Bai melodies, singing styles, cultural elements and keep that spirit alive, but present it through violin and modern musical language. To make the music more flexible and interesting, I really want to learn violin improvisation and production. My goal is to use my own musical voice to carry forward the folk and ethnic music I love, I want the violin to “talk.” For me, this isn't just four pieces of music. It's a cultural conversation. It's my journey from being a 'classical player' to becoming a 'cross-cultural creator'. I hope when people listen, they don't just hear the structure. I want them to feel the unique logic of Bai culture, its human spirit, and even a bit of my own life story. There's another reason: In China, even Asia, just a few people use the violin for improvisation. Today's music world values collaboration, quick creative responses, and sparking new ideas together. This is a big opportunity and that's a big part of why I came to Berklee. Finally, I’m also trying to use livestreaming and cultural e-commerce to share this music. My idea is to put “complex music” into “simple settings”. for example, playing music while selling local products. This way, people can not only enjoy the music and learn the culture behind it but also help support the local economy. This whole project has three steps. First step: I collected materials in Yunnan, that means taking photos and recording sounds. Then, after I came to Berkeley created the music using those things. Second step: I asked people for their feedback on my music. Then, I made changes to improve it. The last step is to combine music with local farm products and do a livestream performance, using music and culture to promote local goods.
Publication Date
7-1-2025
Campus
Valencia (Spain) Campus
Recommended Citation
Cheng, Weilin. “Sound Wave: The Art of Blending Original Sound with the Cultural Pulse.” Master's thesis, Berklee College of Music, 2025. https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-contemporary-performance/323.