Yo-Yo Ma on growing up, what sparked his interests

WASHINGTON — He's the world's greatest living cello player, but Yo-Yo Ma is also a good sport and a regular guy. Once, he appeared on the PBS cartoon "Arthur." Once, he left his $2.5 million cello on the seat of a New York cab. (Luckily, he got it back.)

Ma also has a way of making his wild ideas come to life. You can see one of them on the National Mall right now. It's the Silk Road Festival. Part of the Smithsonian's Folklife festival, it explores the music, crafts, painting, ceramics, fabrics, food, carpets and calligraphy of cultures along the famous trade route from Japan and China to Europe.

Surrounded by camels, yurts, Tuvan throat singers and Nepalese flutists, Ma discussed his career recently.

Q: Were you exposed to Asian music as a kid, or were you mostly focused on classical?

A: There was a lot of music around the house. My father played the violin, and my mother was an opera singer. As a kid you take in everything, and I was hearing a lot.

Q: You've explored Appalachian fiddle music, Argentine tango and now Asian and Central Asian music and culture. What started you down these paths?

A: In college, taking anthropology and archaeology, it got me interested in checking out all different kinds of people, their habits, their ideas. I realized cultures become cultures when people make priorities, choose what's important. It's the same in music. With certain music, melody is more important. In others it's rhythm, and so on. These same very basic decisions create cultures.

Q: How should kids approach the festival?

A: Like a giant game or like a micro-world, either way. I'm not going to tell kids, "Here's what you should think." Some kids like to watch, some like to try things, some like to ask questions, some like to taste and smell. You can do all those things here.

Q: Were you teased as a kid for being Chinese?

A: Sure. I grew up in the era of Chinese laundries. That was the stereotype. People thought that's what Chinese people did. Well, you could make a joke about that or be offended by it. If you're offended, if you focus on it, you're going to find it everywhere. And that's what you become. It's a waste of time.

Q: As a kid, did you find practicing came easy?

A: No! I hated practicing! I spent more time thinking about practicing and dreading it than actually practicing.

Q: Any advice on how to get past that?

A: Set yourself little goals with your instrument — sounds you want, that you can do, that are yours. The pleasure of the instrument comes from making a sound that nobody else can make.