A Study of Jazz Piano Pedagogy in Malaysia and Taiwan

Graduate School of Music National Taichung University of Education Master’s Thesis Advisor: Professor Jessie H. S. Chen A Study of Jazz Piano Pedagogy in Malaysia and Taiwan Graduate Student: Low Ee Kee May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research had been a real growth experiences and the resulting study was my greatest achievement and something of which I was very proud of during the two and a half year study life in Taiwan. First of all, I would like to thank Prof. Jessie Chen for her guidance and insight. She had always pointed me into the right direction and my study wouldn’t have been completed without her. Second, I would like to thank my parents for their wonderful upbringing that shaped me into who I am today. To my four lovely siblings and in-laws for being there for me and went through all the hardship with me, being supportive and care. Tanny, thanks for pampering me. Third, I would like to thank my classmate, Double, Winnie, Tzu Yun, Jenny, Rosanne, Lucy and Win for assisting me all along. Knowing them was the happiest moment of my entire study life in Taiwan. To all of the influential music teachers that I have ever had in my life, Cher Siang, Justin, Juan, Alex, Adil for introducing me the joy of playing jazz music. I will never forget the piano jury and the crazy modern band exam. Finally, to PohSoon, thank you. Your love sustained me. I could not have seen this through without you. 摘要近年來的爵士音樂之地位在學術界中逐漸受到重視，因此對音樂教育者來說，深入了解爵士音樂教育亦成為一個重要的課題。雖然許多爵士音樂教育家和音樂家對現今的爵士音樂教育提供了個人的批判和哲學概念的反思，但仍少有人能針對其爵士音樂不同的教學模式及方法作進一步的探究。相較於美國，爵士音樂在馬來西亞及臺灣並非主流音樂。而馬來西亞及臺灣這兩個國家之人民皆由不同的種族、宗教和文化組成，因此其爵士音樂教育的概念呈現上也會有所不同。本研究的目的為比較馬來西亞和臺灣的爵士鋼琴教學，採文獻分析及訪談，針對六位馬來西亞和臺灣之爵士鋼琴教師進行研究。研究對象皆為當地之傑出教師及演奏者，並成功的建立了良好聲譽。本研究的结果如下： 1.兩國之爵士風氣皆為盛行，每年舉辦爵士音樂節。另外，兩國皆有爵士酒吧，其部份酒吧提供 live jamming sessions，為爵士音樂家互相交流的平台。 2.研究對象認為和聲，和弦，音階，調式和即興在爵士音樂學習中是相當重要之音樂技能，並鼓勵學生参加爵士樂隊和現場即興演奏。但因即興演奏無法事先準備，對其爵士樂鋼琴家來說是一項挑戰。 3.馬來西亞老師主要運用 The Real Book 作為爵士鋼琴之教材。臺灣老師大多使用自編教材，同時也運用本土音樂素材，通常選用爵士編曲的華語經典歌曲。最後，研究者根據研究結果提出建議，以提供後續研究及爵士鋼琴教學者參考。關鍵字：爵士樂，爵士鋼琴教學 i ii ABSTRACT Nowadays, jazz had gained a foothold in academia; so the need for a critical understanding of the subject had become a primary concern. While many jazz educators and musicians had called for the rethinking of jazz education through both personal critique and philosophical re-conceptualizing of current pedagogical trends, few had actually explored alternatives through the creation and exploration of varied pedagogical models. Jazz music was not as widely accepted as a part of mainstream music in Malaysia and Taiwan as compared to the United States. The people of both Malaysia and Taiwan were made up of different races, religions and cultures, their concepts in jazz music might be different from each other or other countries. This study aimed to examine the jazz scenes, jazz piano pedagogy and jazz learning in Malaysia and Taiwan. This research was a comparative case study employed analysis of literature and interviews. Six prominent teachers from Malaysia and Taiwan were recruited as research participants in this study. The teachers had established a reputation as successful teachers as well as performers. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. The jazz scene was vibrant in both countries. There were a few jazz festivals each year. Jazz bars could be easily found in both countries and some of the jazz bars provided jazz jamming sessions as a platform for jazz musicians to perform. 2. The research participants stated that harmony, chord tones, scales, modes and improvisation were found important in jazz music learning. They encouraged iii students to join jazz ensemble and live jam session. Jamming session was an important activity where jazz pianists were trained to improvise and accompany without preparation. 3. Malaysia used mostly The Real Book as teaching materials. The teachers in Taiwan used self-developed materials and also local Chinese oldies and pop songs books with jazz rearrangement. Finally, recommendations were made accordingly to the results in order to provide reference for relative researchers and jazz piano teachers. Keywords: Jazz, Jazz piano pedagogy iv Table of Contents 中文摘要........................................................................................................................i Abstract………………………………………………………………...……….…….iii Table of Contents .……………………..……………………………………………..v List of Tables..……………………………………………………………………….vii List of Figures.………………………………………………………...………………x Chapter I Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 Background of the Study ....................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................. 2 Delimitation and Limitation ................................................................................... 2 Definition of Terminology ..................................................................................... 3 Chapter II Review of Literature ................................................................................. 5 Jazz Music .............................................................................................................. 5 The Origins of Jazz Music ................................................................................. 5 The structure of Jazz .......................................................................................... 9 Jazz Education ..................................................................................................... 14 Importance of Jazz Education………………………………………………..15 Abilities Required in Jazz………………………………...………………… 17 Pedagogy of Jazz ................................................................................................. 24 Chapter III Methodology .......................................................................................... 31 Research method .................................................................................................. 31 Research Participants ........................................................................................... 32 Research Instruments ........................................................................................... 38 Data Collection and Analysis……………………………………………….….42 v Chapter IV Data Analysis and Results………………………………………….... 47 Status of Jazz in Malaysia and Taiwan………………………………………… 47 Pedagogy of Jazz……………………………………………………………... 106 Jazz Learning…………………………………………………………………. 119 Chapter V Conclusions and Recommendations ……………………………….. 125 Conclusions.………………………………………………………………….. 125 Recommendations …………………………………………………………… 127 References ................................................................................................................. 129 vi List of Tables Table 1 Chords Types ..……………………………………………………………....10 Table 2 Numeric Voicings Chart ………………………….…………………………11 Table 3 Professionals on interview outline validity checking ……………................40 Table 4 Coding for interview ………………………………………………………..43 Table 5 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2006……………..49 Table 6 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2007……………..49 Table 7 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2008……………..49 Table 8 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2009……………..50 Table 9 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2010……………..50 Table 10 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2011…………....50 Table 11 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2012....................51 Table 12 Performers list of Borneo International Jazz Festival for 2013…………….51 Table 13 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2004…………………..54 Table 14 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2005…….......................54 Table 15 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2006…………………...55 Table 16 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2007…………………..56 Table 17 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2008……......................57 Table 18 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2009…………………..58 Table 19 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2010………………….59 Table 20 Performers list of Penang Island Jazz Festival for 2011…………………..60 Table 21 Performers list of Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival for 2009………………….62 Table 22 Performers list of Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival for 2010………………….62 vii Table 23 Performers list of Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival for 2011…………………..63 Table 24 Performers list of Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival for 2012…………………63 Table 25 Performers list of Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival for 2013…………………..64 Table 26 Performers list of Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival for 2014…………………..64 Table 27 KILJF Ticketing 2013……………………………………………………...66 Table 28 Performers list of KL International Jazz Festival for 2012………………...68 Table 29 Performers list of KL International Jazz Festival for 2013………………...69 Table 30 Michael Veerapen's Discography...................................................................72 Table 31 Tay Cher Siang's Discograpy ………………………………………………73 Table 32 ABRSM Certificate Jazz Piano Assessment Fees………………………….77 Table 33 ABRSM Certificate Jazz Ensemble Assessment Fees……………………...77 Table 34 ABRSM Certificate Jazz Performance Assessment Fees…………………..77 Table 35 Rock School Certificate Piano Assessment Fees…………………………...78 Table 36 Rock School Certificate

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