A practice of an amateur singing club in Cao Lanh City.

An amateur singing club gathers on the evenings of the 15th and 30th of every month at District 2’s community house or at Hai Ba Trung Park, where its 12 members can practice the art form. The club’s chairman Huynh Thien Trung said that although it attracted very few members in the beginning, the club has enjoyed stable development over the past 15 years.

“Many young people from the local Youth Union and Women’s Union have asked to join our club to learn how to perform the music genre and practice a happy and healthy lifestyle together. In addition to being able to sing, those who want to join our club should be passionate and able to arrange their timetables to attend our practices regularly,” said Trung.

There are currently 47 amateur singing clubs with 530 artists and members in Cao Lanh city. Practices are held monthly or quarterly. The Dong Thap provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has devised long-term plans to promote amateur singing, including organizing training classes as well as festivals and competitions to encourage people to create new lyrics to traditional tunes.

A performance exchange of amateur singing held in 2018 in Cao Lanh city.

“We’ve asked the municipal People’s Committee to provide more support for the local amateur singing clubs. For example, many clubs are still in need of musical instruments and money to cover their operational expenses. Another way of support is to encourage the local businesses and enterprises to sponsor those clubs,” said Ngo Hoang Viet, Deputy Director of Cao Lanh city’s Center for Culture, Sports, and Radio.

According to Huynh Thien Trung, members of the younger generation need to become more educated about this important art form. 

“Performance exchanges and practices should be held on a more regular basis and in a more attractive way to capture young people’s interest in amateur singing in order to promote it in the long run,” added Trung.