By Audrey Kim, Staff Reporter
Junior Sisi Xu plays piano covers of songs from various genres, including soundtracks from Chinese and Korean dramas, on her Youtube channel SisiPiano. Her channel has attracted nearly 500 subscribers since its launch in 2021, with her most popular video gaining more than 62,000 views. She initially posted her cover of Allen Ren’s “Youth Like You” on RED, a popular Chinese social media app. After the video received positive responses and requests for sheet music, Xu decided to create a YouTube channel to share her musical arrangements.
“For me, I wasn’t focused on making my channel popular,” Xu said. “I had different phases (of) songs I liked throughout the years, and I think (the songs) record the types of music I listen to along the way. When I look back, I can see that during this time, I really loved this song, so I made a cover of it.”
To arrange a song, Xu adapts the music and adjusts the notes to fit the piano. She uses MuseScore, a software that allows users to create, edit and share sheet music. After arranging the song, she records her performance, edits the video on her iPad and tailors the visuals to match the music’s mood.
“I didn’t really take lessons on arranging or anything,” Xu said. “Sometimes the original soundtrack I’m looking for doesn’t have sheet music online to find, and sometimes the song might be new. I decided to make my own arrangement, and now, I can make it sound how I want it to sound.”
Xu began playing the piano at 4 years old in China, but her family’s move to the United States in 2018 interrupted her hobby. A couple years later, she bought an electric piano, restoring her love for the instrument.
“I didn’t know what to do in my free time without having a piano in my house,” Xu said. “It was the first time I really felt that piano was something I wanted to continue doing.”
Xu plans to continue posting covers to her channel and pursuing her musical talents on other instruments, such as guitar and ukulele.
“I want to continue doing my channel,” Xu said. “Even if I might not have as much time as I had, I want to continue what I like to do.”
Audrey Kim can be reached at [email protected].
