Black eyes： looking for light with music

　　Xinhua News Agency, Hefei, May 20th (Reporter Dai Wei): It is less than 48 hours before the first stage.

　　Mao played the strings with laughter and familiarity, and sang softly to the rhythm of the music. At this moment, the role of the 16-year-old girl from Suqian, Jiangsu Province is the guitarist of the rock band. "A little nervous, but more looking forward to it." For her stage debut, she is already eager to try.

　　Two days later, in the multi-function hall of Wuhu School for the Blind, Mao Xiaoxiao, who just joined the Black Eyes Band, will bring a performance to the teachers and students of the whole school together with other members of the band.

　　In 2021, Mao Xiaoxiao, who was born blind, came to Wuhu School for the Blind and didn’t miss any performance of the Black Eyes Band on campus.

　　On May 19th, Mao Xiaoxiao (front) was rehearsing. Photo courtesy of respondents

　　In 2016, in Wuhu, Anhui, several blind students spontaneously formed a rock band because of their love for music. The band was named "Black Eyes". Mao Xiaoxiao is the seventh member of this band.

　　Different from Mao’s stage debut, Wang Zinuo, a keyboard player two years younger than her, has already "experienced many battles".

　　This year, this young man from Guoyang, Anhui Province, is in the seventh year of Wuhu School for the Blind.

　　"When I was a child, I liked listening to music around the speakers. Every time the keyboard sounds, I feel my heart beat faster. " Wang Zinuo said that when he first came to school, he finally had the opportunity to learn the keyboard, but at that time he was too thin. "Standing is not as high as the keyboard, so the teacher can only lower the shelf."

　　Seven years have passed, and the once "little one" has grown into a big boy. Today, Wang Zinuo has been able to skillfully play the melody between black and white squares. "In the future, I want to be a performer." Wang Zinuo told reporters that he only told his grandmother who came to accompany him from his hometown about this dream. "She is very supportive and wishes me to realize my dream. I want to refuel! " Wang Zinuo looked serious.

　　On May 19th, Chu Haolan (front) was rehearsing. Photo courtesy of respondents

　　"The members of the band are always changing, and I am always there." Chu Haolan, a founding member of the band, said that in 2014, at the age of 17, he came to Wuhu School for the Blind to study. Previously, he was an athlete of Jiangsu Disabled Swimming Team and participated in the National Games. Chu Haolan said that he chose to leave the swimming pool because he always wanted to learn a skill to "support himself" when he retired, so he came to this school for the blind to study acupuncture and massage.

　　Chu Haolan, who began to learn erhu at the age of 6, would not have thought at that time. In the end, it was not acupuncture and massage that "supported himself", but music that I loved since childhood. Because of her demonstrated musical ability, Chu Haolan stayed in school after graduation and became a music teacher at her alma mater.

　　"I have taught the instruments of more than 30 players who have been in the band." Chu Haolan, who has mastered more than a dozen musical instruments, seems to be the "soul figure" of this band, grasping every detail of the band’s performance from song selection, division of labor and arrangement.

　　"Students can’t see, I can’t see, so I can only hold their hands and teach them by hand." Chu Haolan said that in recent years, in order to teach students to play musical instruments, he has tried everything except giving up.

　　In this way, groups of blind students took to the stage in the name of "black eyes". "Many people will call me after graduation and tell me that if they feel tired, they will sing and play the piano to relieve stress." Yan Haolan said.

　　"There are now more than 200 blind students in the school, and we want every child to master at least one music skill." Xi Weijing, president of Wuhu School for the Blind, said that in addition to the Black Eyes Band, the school has also established music clubs such as Heart Light Choir, Seven Hole Music Club and Happy Tambourine Team. "I hope that students can learn to get along with themselves through music and have the ability to get happiness."

　　Outside the rehearsal hall, the night is getting dark and the street lights are on. In the rehearsal hall, the members of the black eyes band are still practicing again and again.

　　What awaits them is one wonderful performance after another on the stage of life.