Piano Music Culture 鋼琴音樂文化

原著： David Tze Wan Wong導讀：陳美華（ Chern Meei-Hwa ） 南華大學宗教學研究所副教授

This chapter analysed the widespread interest in learning the piano amongst the Chinese community in Sabah. The initial interest in the 1970s and early 1980s soon led to a new group of semi-professional teachers and in turn more teachers became available.

The commercial music schools also gave more opportunities to the public to learn the piano. Most of the piano students were children and teenagers who were encouraged to learn by the parents.

Some piano teachers had voiced concerns that their students were not showing interest and practising as much as they should, but generally students did return to their regular practice to work for the examinations. (Wong 2009: 95)

本章分析沙巴華人社群對學習鋼琴的普遍興趣。 1970 年代至 1980 年代初期，此一萌發的興趣立即造就新一批的半專業鋼琴老師，轉而又產生更多新老師，商業性音樂學院也促使公眾有更多機會學鋼琴。

大部份的學生是孩童及青少年，被父母鼓勵學琴。某謝鋼琴老師關切，其實他們的學生並未顯示對練琴該有的興趣，大多數學生回歸到課業，準備考試的常規。（ Wong 2009 ： 95 ）

The piano’s position as a cultural icon in Sabah demonstrates a strong preference for Western music, confirming the observations about the attractions of Western music by non-Western consumers (Whiting, 1985) who colonise Western genres as their own (Dawe, 2003).

Many Sabahan Chinese parents strongly encouraged their children to learn the piano from a young age, and many of them aspired to work through the examination grades to reach Grade 8.

While piano music in the 20th century consisted of Western and Chinese compositions, the piano music in Sabah was almost entirely Western classical music.

Several teachers told me they had introduced some piano pieces composed by Chinese composers, but under the pressure of examination and schoolwork, many of these pieces became forgotten in a short time. (Wong 2009: 95)

在沙巴，鋼琴所具有的文化聖像地位，顯示對西樂的強調偏好，肯定了學者所觀察到的非西方消費者被西樂所吸引（ Whiting 1985 ），他們殖民化西方曲式為己用（ Dawe 2003 ）。許多沙巴華人父母從其子女幼年時期就強烈鼓勵其學琴，許多孩童可以通過測驗而達到第八級程度。

當鋼琴音樂在二十世紀包含了西方人及華人的作品，沙巴的鋼琴音樂幾乎全為西方古典音樂。許多老師告訴我他們也引介由華人作曲家所作的鋼琴曲，但在考試及學校課業的壓力下，許多曲子在短時間內就被遺忘。（ Wong 2009 ： 95 ）