Eastern Martial Arts Meet Piano Pedagogy: Bringing Taijiquan Insights and Practice to Piano Preparation and Performance
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Eastern Martial Arts Meet Piano Pedagogy: Bringing Taijiquan Insights and Practice to Piano Preparation and Performance by Meiling Jin, DMA A Thesis In Piano Pedagogy Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Approved Dr. Stacey Jocoy Dr. William Westney Dr. Lisa Garner-Santa Noel Zahler Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts April, 2018 Texas Tech University, Meiling Jin, May 2018 Copyright 2018, Meiling Jin ii Texas Tech University, Meiling Jin, May 2018 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my very great appreciation to Dr. Westney, who inspired me to explore Taijiquan from my own culture and integrate it to the piano playing. And Dr. Jocoy, my research supervisor, for her professional guidance, constant support, and assistance in keeping my progress on schedule. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Jones, for his enthusiastic encouragement and valuable critiques of this thesis. Special thanks should be given to Jean Caslin and the staff of Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for Arts, for offering me a Taijiquan instructor position enable me to practice Taijiquan with my studying and with the Lubbock community. My grateful thanks are also extended to Dr. Cash, Dr. Garner-Santa, Dr. Hollins, Dr. Shea, Dr. Ruth, Professor Anderson, Professor Decker, who helped me inspiring ideas and solutions while I have difficulties during the thesis process. Finally, I wish to thank my American parents, Danny Jackson, Tyron Jackson, and my American family Gary and Pam, my friends Jorge, Angela and Jonathan, for their support and encouragement throughout my study. iii Texas Tech University, Meiling Jin, May 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................v I. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1 Overview ............................................................................................................1 Justification ........................................................................................................1 Methodology ......................................................................................................4 Limitations .........................................................................................................4 Contributions......................................................................................................6 II. BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................7 How did Taijiquan begin? ..................................................................................7 What is Taijiquan? .............................................................................................9 The Philosophy of Taijiquan ............................................................................11 Its uses and benefits .........................................................................................16 III. THE FOUNDATION ....................................................................................18 Correct sitting position at the piano .................................................................18 Concept of Breathing and Qi ...........................................................................24 Qigong..............................................................................................................26 IV. JING................................................................................................................38 Li versus Jing ..................................................................................................38 How to generate Jing ......................................................................................41 1. Listening to Jing .....................................................................................43 2. Understanding Jing ................................................................................44 3. Generating Jing ......................................................................................44 V. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................46 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................50 APPENDIX ..........................................................................................................53 iv Texas Tech University, Meiling Jin, May 2018 ABSTRACT Taijiquan is a Chinese martial art based on developing internal power by accumulating and controlling energy. The practice of Taijiquan can be applied to piano playing and teaching. Specific emphasis is placed on sitting position, breathing, maintaining focus, locating tension, and effectively balancing harmful tension in the body. Studies in complementary and integrative medicine including those by Dr. Roger Jahnke emphasize the neurological benefits of the study of Taijiquan. Some psychological exercises emphasize related forms of visualization and breathing relaxation. Similarly, Alan Fraser integrates the sensation of sitting position on the piano bench with Taijiquan form. All of this points to aspects of Taijiquan toward increased effectiveness in the practice room. One of its primary philosophical concerns is the interrelationship and coexistence of Yin and Yang. Incorporating the Yin and Yang into piano performance can bring the practitioner into a more balanced state by redirecting harmful energy. The practice of Taiji Qigong—slow, rhythmic and powerful breathing exercises to help increase the body’s energy can bring focus to the mind and bring positive energy that maximizes the effectiveness and success in practice sessions. The use of the “push hands” Taijiquan exercise can prevent the accumulation of harmful physical tension in practice and performance. This project demonstrates the application of Taiji Qigong and the “push hands” Taijiquan to piano performance. This thesis uses Qigong breathing techniques and “push hands” Taijiquan-based, upper-body exercises, to argue that aspects of Taijiquan may be effectively integrated into the pianist’s repertoire of mental and physical preparation toward a more holistic approach. v Texas Tech University, Meiling Jin, May 2018 These techniques can introduce the integration of Eastern meditative practices that can have lifelong value, enabling one to experience a more calm and enjoyable experience. vi Texas Tech University, Meiling Jin, May 2018 CHAPTER I INTRODUTION Overview This study focuses on a piano pedagogical practice that can be developed from an Eastern Chinese philosophy. Taijiquan is regarded as a martial art, which can make people healthier and reduce their possibility of injury. Rooted in China, the practice of Taijiquan encourages the practitioner to focus on the understanding of its philosophical underpinnings to build self-awareness, which leads to healthy mental balance and stress relief. I will elucidate this Eastern Chinese philosophy with both theory and physical movements, explaining and indicating how to use it in practicing piano to accumulate positive practice habits and enjoyable performance experiences. The paper resulting from this research draws from my own experience as a Taijiquan practitioner, pianist, and a piano instructor as well as from scholarly sources. Justification Taijiquan is a form of meditation in motion. It is an ancient martial art appreciated around the world for promoting health, stress control, tension release, serenity and inner peace. Age, gender and physical disability do not obstruct one`s practice of it. Its gentle, flowing movements allow one to treat the entire body to a relaxing workout, relieving the stresses often experienced by the pianist in rehearsals and performances. One of the common experiences shared by pianists is practicing a difficult passage in a piece for a long time only to find the problem is still unresolved. We often think that 1 Texas Tech University, Meiling Jin, May 2018 we practiced well enough but discover we are still making the same mistakes on the same section. It becomes clear that something is wrong with the practice approach. Another experience is the problem of injury, such as tendonitis as well as neck and shoulder tension, which brings misery to many pianists. The list of famous pianists with injuries is much longer than many people might think. It includes Gary Graffman, Leon Fleisher, Wanda Landowska, Artur Schnabel, Alexander Scriabin, Ignaz Friedman, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Clara Schumann, Glenn Gould, Michel Béroff, Richard Goode and many others.1 A person who repeatedly moves in a stressful way over a long period of time is more likely to develop an injury and experience life-long pain. It is important to know a variety of techniques to prevent the harmful energy circulating in the body. How do we generate more effective practice techniques by using Taijiquan? There are many approaches, including Taiji Qigong, “push hand” exercises, and utilizing “Jing” to help pianists find more ways to practice piano successfully. The use of Jing refers to using Qi (energy flow) or concentration to lead muscles to do things. It centers on “character training” which implements learning to sense your body and your opponent’s