About the Workshop
We are presenting the educational project "Design, Make, and Play — Intangible Cultural Heritage Instrument Yimeng (China) Clay Whistles" at the 2026 ISME World Conference. This project is primarily carried out in Shandong Province, China, where students, teachers, and their school principals learn and play together.
Participants are guided to "play with clay" with their hands and create clay whistle instruments that embody their ideas. In this process, not only is students' enthusiasm for hands-on creation ignited, but their creativity and imagination are also set free — they can let their minds run wild to design unique clay whistle shapes, and gain an understanding of the aesthetics of Chinese culture, art, and sound through practice.
After making the clay whistles, students learn how to play their instruments. They practice both the technique of playing the instruments and being ensemble players.
Interdisciplinary Learning
Making clay whistles is not just an artistic creation, but also an interdisciplinary exploration. Students need to investigate the physical and acoustic principles behind the sound production of clay whistles, including the relationship between shape, size, and volume, as well as the effects of the whistle reed's quality on timbre.
They also need to try different holding postures to find the most comfortable way to play — this is a vivid manifestation of ergonomics. Later, they can paint and decorate the surface of the clay whistles to realize secondary creation, enjoying both fun and gains in the process.
Moreover, the teaching extends to the performance of clay whistles, ranging from solo performances to group ensembles, cultivating students' musical skills, teamwork, and leadership.
International Cultural Exchange
Each year, the outstanding works, along with student and teacher clay whistle ensembles, have the opportunity to be showcased at the International Clay Whistle Festival in Italy, facilitating intangible cultural heritage exchanges within the context of the "Belt and Road Initiative".
This expands students' international horizons and enables this traditional craft to be presented internationally.
Workshop Activities
In this workshop, we will:
- Present the original clay whistles created by students
- Demonstrate the process of making and decorating clay whistles
- Play the clay whistle as a solo instrument and in ensembles
- Offer hands-on opportunities for the audience to design, make, and play with intangible cultural heritage instruments — specifically Yimeng (China) clay whistles
About ISME
The International Society for Music Education (ISME), founded in 1953 and operating under UNESCO, hosts the world's most prestigious and influential conference in music education. The ISME World Conference is:
- A global authority: The conference directly influences music education policies and curriculum reform worldwide, serving as a key channel for connecting with top-tier global resources
- A comprehensive professional event: Held biennially, it gathers educators, administrators, researchers, and students from dozens of countries
- Rigorously curated: With strict selection criteria, only the most innovative and impactful projects are accepted
Workshop Presenter
Zhang Zongpei is the designated inheritor of Yimeng Clay Whistle as a Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage. He is:
- Founder of the Belt and Road International Clay Whistle Cultural Exchange
- Co-drafter of China's national industry standards for ocarina and xun instruments
- Recipient of the 2014 Qilu Culture Star award
- Organizer of the First International Clay Whistle Festival (2014)