Thanks to Everyone Who Responded!

Class 621 at JHS 185 enjoyed your responses, and we had a great discussion period today about global communication now and in the hey-day of the Silk Road. Many students expressed surprise at how quickly their questions were answered. Thanks for talking with us from halfway around the world (a world that is "as small as a penny" now, in the words of one young man in class today). Bon voyage!

-Mr. Larkin

PS- Check your backs for luggage stickers.

Alex at JHS185 asked: What do you do like to do when you aren't performing?

Ensemble member Sandeep Das is from New Delhi, India. He plays tabla. Here is his answer to Alex's question. Well, the first thing that I love to do is spend time with my family. I have a wife and two daughters and my mother. I go swimming with them in the summers and in the winter we play badminton and go roller skating.

My other passion these days is playing golf. But I make it a point that I go there only when my girls are at school and my wife is at work. And I am back before they come back from school in the afternoon. That means no playing on Saturday and Sunday. This way no one misses anyone and I do not miss out on quality time with them.

Lastly, even if I am not performing I need to practice my drum and also a lot has to do with thinking at the same time. By thinking, I mean think about what all I did well in the concerts I have already played or the last one played. Or what I did which needs working on or should be totally omitted. Hope this makes sense to you. To hear my tabla, click here.



All the best,
Sandeep

Food in Asia

Elias, Sharon, Joe and Waheed at JHS185 asked:
What kind of food are you eating on your tour in Asia?
What kind of food do you enjoy most?

We eat lots of spicy foods and also fruits and sweet things, which are refreshing in a very hot climate. Wu Man got a snack at the Bangkok airport.

Posts from JHS 185

Hello!

One of our classes here at JHS185 had an opportunity to post some questions and comments during class today (thanks, Naomi!). I hope some of the musicians get a chance to see the posts and respond.

I think next time, I will let students post right after lunch- many of them seemed a little hungry today!

On Friday, we'll have a discussion period on cultural diffusion in the internet age, and talk about how we have used this blog in class.

Thanks to everyone who has posted here for the benefit of our 6th graders!

-Mr. Larkin, JHS 185

Your Life

Dear the silk road project people/musicans,

what do you do like to do when you aren't performing?


from alex at jhs185

Travel

Where did you travel to in Asia? Where have you been? Where are you going to go?

jang-go

Hi. My name is Yuna and I go to school at JHS185. I have always wanted to play the korean drum since I was little, but my mom never let me. I just wanted to ask ... is it hard to play the jang-go because when I saw you play it at our school, it looked really complicated but fun.

what is your fave?

Chirag, prabhjot,peter
If u had the choice between a daira and a ruan which would u choose?

what is the funnest thing u did on the tour?

why did you decide to tour around the world?

What was your favorite thing to do during your tour?

do you have a family? do you have to leave them in your home lands? if not then what happened to them? if yes, then how does it feel?

Food

What kind of food are you eating on your tour in Asia?
What kind of food do you enjoy most?
-Jhs 185 students
-Elias, Sharon, Joe, Waheed

Questions from students in 621

Brianna 621- Are you going to be homesick?

Christina 621- Aren't you tired of playing your instrument and going around the world?

Chris 621- What's the reason for this tour?

S 621- What kind of instruments are there in the place you're touring?

FOOD :D

so..... i was wondering....well WE were wondering.... what type of foods are you eating in asia? do they taste good? *hint hint* eunice is korean :)they're different from what you are used to eating right? <(")-that's a penguin done by alexander!^^ (random)
-susanna, eunice, & alexander, jhs 185 :D

Questions for Musicians

What is your favorite food in Taiwan?

Did Taiwan look nicer,better, and cleaner than New York?

How did you manage to communicate with people in Taiwan?

Whats your favorite place you ever been to?

- from dushi,amy,lydia, and amanda.

1.Where did you learn your music?
2.What inspired you to become muscians?
3.Where are you guys gonna go next?
4.How did you guys meet each other?

Why do you.....

Why do you play your instrument? Lucy from 185.

Taipei 101

Samantha Torres asked if there are big buildings like in New York.

Great question, Samantha. The Silk Road Ensemble is now in Taiwan. The second tallest building in the world is in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. It's way taller than the Empire State Building or any other sky scraper in New York. It's called Taipei 101.

Why do you think it's named that? Hint: Last night the Silk Road Ensemble had dinner on the 85th floor of the building.

If you know why the building is called Taipei 101, post a comment!

Wu Man

While waiting to catch a flight from Macau to Taipei yesterday, Wu Manpipa player: talked about how she became a

I play because I like to met people. I enjoyed music when I was little; through music I could travel to lots of places and make lots of new friends.

When I was 9 years old, my parents asked a friend who was a musician in my hometown of Hangzhou, China (near Shanghai) to teach me pipa. When I was 12, I went to the conservatory in Beijing, which is 1000 miles away from my home. It was like a boarding school. All the kids lived in a dorm, 12 girls to a room. We mainly studied music, but also Chinese, math and all the middle-school subjects. We practiced our instruments up to 8 hours a day.

I stayed in this conservatory through college. When I graduated at age 20, I was a professional musician and starting playing in concerts. I performed solo and with orchestras, and I also taught pipa.

What's my favorite instrument? Well, because I play pipa, of course I would say that's my favorite. It's a plucking instrument, so it has frets, like the guitar and banjo, and also like the oud - they all come from the same family. Here is what the pipa sounds like. But also, singing is one of my favorite "instruments."

Ko's answers

Ko Umezaki answered Connie's questions. Ko plays the shakuhachi. Here's what his instrument sounds like.

Ko said:
1. I play instruments, maybe not for a living, because a) it's a way for me to communicate with other people, b) for my instrument--the shakuhachi--it's a way for me to improve my breathing and general health, and c) it's a way for me to practice being creative.

2. I learned my instrument from my high school choir teacher in Tokyo.

3. I really like my instrument, of course! I am also trying to think of ways of using computer technologies as instruments. But, in all honesty, my favorite instrument changes from day to day. It really depends on the music that is created out of the instrument and how it attracts my attention. Each day has the potential to bring something new to my attention and interests.

Joe answers Connie's questions

Joe Gramley, a percussionist with the Silk Road Ensemble, responded to Connie's questions:

1. Why do you play instruments for a living? My first love has always been music, and I feel LUCKY to have the opportunity to make a living through music. Yo-Yo talks about a 'a life in music'. I think he means that even if you don't make their living from playing music, you can still have a musical presence in your life. I'm just lucky enough to have the opportunity to get make my living with my music. Since I began playing the drums at age 9, I've just not been able to live without music in my life.

2. Where or how did you learn to play? I'm from a small farm town in Oregon. I'm the youngest of 6 kids and my parents encouraged all of us to follow our interests. Since a very young age I played sports, acted in plays, worked on the farm, and took piano and percussion lessons.

3. What's your favorite instrument? As a percussionist, I really shouldn't choose! As percussionists, we have the opportunity to play many, many instruments. Percussionists play instruments that you shake, scrape or strike. My parents think my favorite is the marimba. I love the drums, but actually, my favorite instruments is the one I'm playing at the time you ask me!

First question: How did you learn to play your instruments?

The first questions we will answer were posed by Connie at JHS185 Class 621. She wants to know:

1. Why do you play instruments for a living?
2. Where or how did you learn to play instruments?
3. What's your favorite instrument?

Korean music

Two of the Silk Road Ensemble members live in South Korea. They play traditional instruments.

Ji-Hyun Kim (right), plays an instrument call kayagum.

Dong-Won Kim (above) plays a Korean drum called jang-go. He also sings and composes new music.

To hear more from Ji-Hyun and Dong-Won and to listen to their traditional Korean music, click here.

Seoul airport

The Seoul airport is very modern. It even has a robot. What do you think the robot is for? What country is Seoul in? What ocean is it near?

Colin takes a long trip

Colin plays violin with the Silk Road Ensemble. He left New York at 1:10pm on Thursday, April 15, and arrived in Seoul at 10:15pm on Friday, April 16. That's a really long trip! Do you know what time it is in Seoul right now?

Music video - Rustem

What kind of music does the Silk Road Ensemble play? Here's one example. It's called "Rustem" and it's inspired by gypsy music. Can you name all the instruments?

Silk Road Ensemble on tour in Asia

In April, 2010, the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma will go to Asia for a concert tour. They will travel to South Korea, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore. While traveling in these far-away places, members of the Ensemble will try to answer questions posed by sixth graders in the NYC Silk Road Connect program.