Teaching Strategies for Cultural Transmission: Adapting Bai Ethnic Folk Music for Modern Music Classrooms

Abstract

This study explores how Bai ethnic folk music from Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province, can be systematically integrated into a modern music curriculum while preserving its cultural significance and relevance. This study aims to define and develop teaching strategies that translate oral traditions into a structured pedagogical framework. This study further investigates how Western instructional methods, particularly piano-based training, can function as a pedagogical bridge to promote cultural sustainability rather than cultural assimilation. A qualitative case study approach was used, which included four steps: observing Bai folk performances in the field, analysing the music’s tones and modes, adapting it into a structured piano arrangement, and conducting a four-week teaching trial with ten undergraduate piano students. The primary data included field recordings, transcriptions, interviews with recognised inheritors of Bai folk music and specialist informants, and performance assessment rubrics. The analysis focused on the D Shang modal framework, pentatonic pitch structure, melodic contour, and rhythmic elasticity characteristics of the original 3/4 vocal version. These elements were translated into a 2/4 piano arrangement designed to provide rhythmic scaffolding while preserving the modal purity and stylistic features. The results show that a structured instrumental pedagogy can maintain modal consistency, pentatonic resonance, and characteristic ornamentation. The rhythmic scaffolding method helped students understand Bai modal identity better and made their performances more stable without using Western functional harmonies. This study proposes a Pedagogical Translation model, demonstrating that culturally sensitive adaptation can embed minority musical traditions into contemporary music education. The findings relate to wider conversations about keeping cultural traditions alive, understanding different musical modes, and creating educational programs that respect various cultures in diverse learning environments in the following ways. Future research should expand the participant sample, include longitudinal assessments of learning outcomes, and examine the applicability of the Pedagogical Translation model across additional Bai repertoires and other ethnic musical traditions to evaluate its broader transferability and long-term impact.