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Possible Influence of Language on Music and Performers: Surveys of Chinese- Speaking Pianists, English-Speaking Pianists, and Piano Professors

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Possible Influence of Language on Music and Performers: Surveys of Chinese- Speaking Pianists, English-Speaking Pianists, and Piano Professors Possible Influence of Language on Music and Performers: Surveys of Chinese- Speaking Pianists, English-Speaking Pianists, and Piano Professors C. Eliza Tsai-Lin, B.E., M.M. Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY FINE ARTS-MUSIC Approved William Westney Chair of Committee Carla Davis Cash Co-chair of Committee Janice Killian Linda Donahue Katsura Aoyama Peggy Gordon Miller Interim Dean of the Graduate School August 2011 Copyright 2011, C. Eliza Tsai-Lin Texas Tech University, C. Eliza Tsai-Lin, August 2011 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my most heartfelt gratitude to Dr. William Westney, my dissertation chairperson and piano professor throughout my doctoral study. Your wisdom, guidance, mentorship, and encouragement have been a wellspring of great dynamism, and your influence upon my life will be cherished always. Thank you for imparting me with the tools to be a better performer and scholar. And thank you for walking through both macro and micro aspects of the entire dissertation process. I am tremendously honored to have studied with you in the past five years. Without you, I could not have made it this far in my academic career. I also would like to thank Dr. Carla Davis Cash, the co-chair of my dissertation committee. Thank you for introducing me to how wonderful and fascinating the research world is. You have patiently shown me what it is to be a researcher, how to ask meaningful questions and explain focal points of my ideas and study. Your guidance has helped me to have a better understanding of research, which will carry me forth into exciting new areas of inquiry for years to come. Thank you to all my committee members for your valuable suggestions and input. Thank you all for always making yourselves available in this whole process. I felt extremely lucky to have such an amazing team during this adventure. I also would like to thank all my survey respondents for their generosity of time in responding to my surveys. It would be difficult to complete my study without your participation. I would also like to thank my friends Dr. John Pekowski, Dr. Allison Boye, Dr. Melody Fried, Dr. Jane Ann Wilson, Dr. Amy Cheng, Kerry Chen, Carol Chiang, Grace ii Texas Tech University, C. Eliza Tsai-Lin, August 2011 Chang and Ginny Hill for their moral support. Your invaluable input helped me to refine my ideas further. Finally, I dedicate this project to my family, whom I owe everything to. To my loving husband Enoch and son Caleb, this dissertation would never have been completed without your support, company, understanding, and love. WE DID IT! And to my dear parents Titus and Prisca, thank you for your prayers and loving spirit that have sustained me all the way. Thank you God the Father for Your bountiful supply and all-sufficient grace! iii Texas Tech University, C. Eliza Tsai-Lin, August 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................viii CHAPTER I ...................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem and Justification .......................................................................................... 1 Limitations................................................................................................................................................ 3 Purpose of the Study................................................................................................................................ 3 CHAPTER II..................................................................................................................... 5 REVIEW OF LITERATURE.......................................................................................... 5 Elements of Language.............................................................................................................................. 6 Elements of Melody in Music and Language ........................................................................................ 8 Elements of Rhythm in Music and Language ....................................................................................... 9 Song ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Instrumental Music................................................................................................................................ 12 Differences between Music and Language........................................................................................... 24 Similarities between Second Language Acquisition and Music Learning........................................ 25 Effects of language on music perception.............................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................. 29 MEHTODOLOGY AND MATERIALS....................................................................... 29 Surveys .................................................................................................................................................... 29 Populations ............................................................................................................................................. 30 iv Texas Tech University, C. Eliza Tsai-Lin, August 2011 Procedure................................................................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER IV.................................................................................................................. 35 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 35 Demographic Information of Chinese-Speaking Pianists .................................................................. 35 Demographic Information of English-Speaking Pianists................................................................... 36 Piano Professors ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Comparison Questions........................................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER V ................................................................................................................... 56 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 56 BIBIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................. 72 APPENDIX A: LETTER OF APPROVAL—INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY ................................................................................ 80 APPENDIX B: LETTER OF INVITATION—EMAIL USED TO RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS............................................................................................................. 81 APPENDIX C: SURVEY INTRODUCTIONS FOR THE THREE POPULATIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX D: RESPONSES FOR PIANO PROFESSOR SURVEY....................... 87 APPENDIX E: RESPONSES FOR CHINESE-SPEAKING GRADUATE PIANO STUDENTS ..................................................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX F: RESPONSES FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING PIANO STUDENTS.. 97 v Texas Tech University, C. Eliza Tsai-Lin, August 2011 ABSTRACT This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between language and music, a rapidly growing area of inquiry. By way of surveys, I sought to (1) directly gauge the opinions of students whose primary languages are non-Western ones and who are actively engaged in the process of learning appropriate Western musical stylistic expression, and (2) compare these opinions with those of their peers and professors. It was hoped that the initial exploration of opinions and experiences of a limited group of learners with similar backgrounds would serve as an important starting point for further research. The research stemmed from my personal experiences as a foreign-born, Chinese- speaking piano student who once struggled in executing musical phrases in a manner that is acceptable and appropriate according to Western classical standards. The primary demographic in the study was Chinese-speaking students born in Asia, with English- speaking piano students and piano professors as comparison groups. Three surveys were designed to determine whether (1) foreign-born students whose first language is a tonally inflected one like Chinese struggle in learning Western classical repertoire, (2) these challenges are influenced by language differences, (3) these challenges differ from the
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