A piano class has been run free-of-charge for elderly people in Ho Chi Minh City for the past five years.
The class runs twice a week on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Each class has around 10 students aged between 50–80.
Teacher Dinh Le Hoang Tai, who has taught the class for more than four years, said that it was opened with an aim to create and share fun among the elderly people.
‘We want to bring some joy to the elderly people through music’, teacher Tai said. ‘The class provides lessons from basic to higher levels. Many students [have] said that they enjoyed the lessons and had improved a lot after attending the class’.
One student, Le Thi Phuc, said that she has attended the class for two years and found it a very meaningful activity.
‘I am the oldest student in the class’, the 84-year-old woman said. ‘I live alone and have a lot of free time. Learning a new skill at this age is helping both my body and my brain exercise. Thanks to the music class, I'm having a more joyful and relaxing time with my new friends’.
Another student, Vo Ngoc Duong, said that the music class has become his favourite place. ‘I've never missed a class over the past two years’, the man said. ‘I really enjoy the lessons and the relaxing time with my teachers and classmates’.
The teacher said that he faces some challenges in teaching the elderly students, but their determination and hard work has greatly motivated young teachers like him.
Besides learning to play the piano, the students also spend time learning to sing and dance.
In addition to students in Ho Chi Minh City, the music class has also attracted people from the neighbouring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.