English Version: Pedagogy - Play What You Know

從事敎學工作這些年來，深深感覺到適當運用正向思考對演奏能力的提升是很重要的。在個別課的敎學中最常碰到的其中一個課題是幫助學生克服吹奏樂器時所養成的壞習慣。習慣一旦養成就很難改變，剛開始敎書的我，雖然瞭解這個道理，還是滿腔熱血想盡各種辦法去幫助學生做改變。有不少學生因為配合度高，很快就可以改變，但是有些學生學習態度也很認真，卻在嘗試幾次失敗之後產生負面的想法，結論是這些習慣已經存在很久了所以改不掉。有一天當我聽到學生又告訴我說：「我已經習慣這樣吹很久了」，忽然靈光一閃，既然要他「改掉長久以來的吹奏習慣」這麼困難，何不換個角度要他從現在開始「建立新的吹奏習慣」呢？於是這個學生就因為建立新的吹奏習慣比較容易而成功得改變了原本的吹奏習慣。

近年來「正向思考」被廣泛地討論和應用，適當的運用對生活上或是音樂演奏能力都能有顯著的成效。最近我更想出一些口號來加深正向思考對演奏能力的提升。我發現當學生著重在演奏自己會的和做得好的，就能呈現令人滿意的結果。在法國號重奏團的排練中，每當遇到技巧困難的片段時，學生的演奏就會從原本飽滿的音色轉變成沒自信的音色。這種時候，我會要求他們先辨認熟悉的音樂元素，通常是音階、音程和節奏，然後要求他們用最飽滿的音色去演奏這些元素。當學生瞭解到利用最棒的音色去演奏熟識的元素其實是容易做到的，自然就會更願意用同樣的方式持續演奏下去。這個方式也適用於調音，每當和弦有音不準，學生也是立刻轉成虛弱的音色，這樣反而使得和弦的屬性難以辨認。同樣地，當整個和弦用飽滿的音色吹奏時，不但屬性變得比較容易辨認，接下來的調整也變得容易許多。

所以現在我在個別課和重奏團排練時常説的兩句口號就是“把你會的吹出來”和“用最棒的音色吹”！

台灣出生的旅美法國號演奏家蘇毓婷，由母親啓蒙鋼琴，後隨莊思遠學習法國號，曾獲台灣區音樂比賽法國號冠軍。在台灣國立師大附中畢業後取得張榮發基金會獎學金赴美國伊士曼音樂院隨法國號名師Verne Reynolds及Peter Kurau學習，以優異的成績畢業，並榮獲演奏家證書的殊榮。隨後取得茱莉亞音樂院碩士及紐約州立大學石溪分校博士，皆隨William Purvis學習。現任美國北愛荷華州立大學音樂系法國號專任副教授，帶領UNI 法國號重奏團，為Northern Brass Quintet 的成員。蘇毓婷曾擔任台北市立交響樂團專任法國號團員，多次擔任台北愛樂法國號首席到世界各地巡迴演出。蘇毓婷致力於拓展法國號的演奏曲目，除了委託作曲家量身創作樂曲，還親自編曲。2011年由Veritas Musica Publications出版改編給法國號和鋼琴的比才的三首歌曲，2014年發行的個人專輯Watercolors 收錄了由蘇毓婷改編給法國號和鋼琴的藝術歌曲 ，在和iTunes 和CD baby網站上均有販售。

Kristina Mascher-Turner: Dear Nancy, let’s start right off with the color purple! How did your love affair with this hue start, and what does it symbolize for you? 

Nancy Joy: Kristina, this question made me literally laugh out loud…

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away when I was a little child, I was absolutely mesmerized by the color purple. This enchantment led me to wanting to surround myself completely with the color, much to my parents‘ surprise. They thought it was odd that their little girl was so adamant about the color purple and told me I needed to wear other colors. As you would guess, that thought process only “fueled my fire.” The color purple makes me smile and makes me very happy!!

KMT: How and when did you first become involved with the IHS? 

NJ: My first IHS symposium was in 1980 at The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. It changed my life forever, for the better. The camaraderie, sessions, concerts and playing in the Grand Finale with 500 horn players, was an incredible memory that I will always treasure. The IHS became “a family” to me that year, inspiring me to continue to share the love of horn with many people! 

KMT: Every international symposium has its own special vibe. What’s unique about IHS 51? 

NJ: IHS 51 will truly be an inspiring, historically exceptional experience for all of us. From all that I have learned in working with our fabulous IHS 51 host, Jeroen Billiet, we will be even more connected to each other, when we experience the Ghentian Horn traditions. Also, IHS 51 is being held in a beautiful and historical location that will add even more ambience to the week of activities!! As you know, the architecture is absolutely incredible and our hosts, Jeroen & Rik, have planned a week of Featured Artist concerts and activities that will inspire everyone. 

Let’s Wake that Dragon together and break the Guinness Book of World Records!!

KMT: On my way to Brazil for IHS 49, I remember texting you for some contact information. You casually sent a photo from your hotel room there, where water was gushing down from the ceiling! What are some of the strangest things you’ve had to deal with on-site as coordinator?

by Tina Su

One of the most important things I have found in my career of teaching and playing horn is using positive reinforcement to help students build on what they already do well. 

At some point almost every student I have worked with has said “Oh, that’s just my old habit” to excuse a tendency in their playing that is less desirable. Once they realize the tendency does not go away after a few attempts, they often jump to the conclusion that “it’s hard to break an old habit.” When I first started teaching I made it a priority to come up with the best way to help them to “break their old habits.” I was successful with some students who were already prepared to break their habits, but not successful with other some students, who worked equally hard, or sometimes harder, towards breaking their habits. No matter how many different approaches I tried, we would make little progress and the old habits would remain unchanged in the end. It finally hit me one day in a student’s lesson, when we were not having success changing the old habit, and I suggested that the student “try building a new habit instead of breaking an old habit.” With this new goal, the student had an easier time focusing on building the new habit. 

Most of us are familiar with the power of positive thinking and how that affects our playing or life in general. I have decided to take this to the next level by reinforcing the elements in horn playing that the students already know and do well. In horn choir rehearsals, students often play with a timid tone when they encountered with a technical passage. I found it effective to help them identify what they already know first, which could be the scale patterns, intervals or rhythmic patterns, to establish the new/healthier habit, and then have them apply what they know with their best tone. By reinforcing what they know with the best tone quality they are capable of, students are more confident and are more likely to make the new habit stick. Tuning chords in horn choir rehearsals has also benefited from positive reinforcement. The quality of the chords is usually easier to identify when students play the chords with their best tone. I then proceed the normal tuning procedure by building the chords from the root following the fifth and the third. 

I found myself saying “play what you know” and “play  with your best tone” a lot more now in horn choir rehearsals and in lessons and the students responded to these comments with much more positive results in their playing. 

A native of Taiwan, Dr. Yu-Ting (Tina) Su is Associate Professor of Horn at the University of Northern Iowa and directs the UNI Horn Choir.  Prior to her teaching position, she was the third horn with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan. As an active chamber musician, Su is a co-founder of the Wonder Horns (Taiwan), a member of the Northwind Quintet and the Northern Brass Quintet. She studied with William Purvis at SUNY at Stony Brook and the Juilliard School, Verne Reynolds and Peter Kurau at the Eastman School of Music. Passionate about expanding the horn repertoire, Su has premiered pieces for horn and other instruments composed by Reynolds, Tsai, Lu, Schwabe, and Askim.  She also arranged several volumes of art songs for horn and piano; the first volume, Three Bizet Songs for Horn and Piano, was published through Veritas Musica in 2011.  Her solo album Watercolors:Art Songs for Horn and Piano was released in 2014.