Interviewed at 4:10pm, on December 27, 2012 Recorded by¡G Yu-hsien Hou
¡BYu-cheng
Nian ¡BYu-fang Huang
¡BYan-bo Huang
1. What instruments do you play? When did you begin to play these instruments?
I can play the lute, zhongruan, liuqin, ukulele, guzheng, and erhu. In third grade, my mom said that she loves the sound of the lute. Though she did not learn it when she was young, she wanted me to learn it.
2. Why did you want to learn these instruments?
In the beginning, my mom wanted me to learn Chinese instruments. I didn¡¦t like to learn them since learning these instruments are very troublesome and my fingers hurt when played for long. However, whenever I finished playing a song, I felt that I had achieved a big accomplishment, so I insisted on learning these instruments until now.
3. What kinds of frustration have you encountered in your learning process?
In the beginning of learning, I hated this instrument and I did not know what I was playing. The instructor scolded me very often. My fingers hurt and my instructor scolded me, so I always argued back. Later, I slowly practiced and my instructor encouraged me more, so my practices got better. Frustration cannot be avoided, but the skill becomes yours once you overcome that.
4. How many years have you learned these instruments?
Five years. I rested for a while since I have practiced too long and needed a break. First, I learned liuqin since I was too short in the third grade to hold a lute. I learned liuqin first, and then the zhongruan. Since the scales and parts of the liuqin and zhongruan are the same, I learned these two instruments first. Then I learned the lute after I grew bigger.
5. How did you balance your academics and interests?
If I had good academic grades while learning instruments, I could earn longer practice times and have less study time. Because of this, I would pay more attention to the classes and practice during class breaks or after class to prepare competition.
6. Which competitions have you participated in?
I started learning in 7th grade, and then participated in the Student Musical Competition and won first place. After that, I knew I needed to practice harder, and so I did. I participated in the national competition and won 7th place. In 9th grade, I went again and won first place. I performed in the National Concert Hall in Taipei in 9th grade. This was the first goal of my life.
7. What¡¦s your plan for the future?
After I graduate from middle school, I would like to go to the High School Ministry of Chinese Music Department at Tainan Arts University. Since I like music very much, and appreciate my mom¡¦s support to me, all I will do in the future will be music-related.
8. What did you gain from your learning process?
When learning Chinese music, I will certainly meet more people who are better. Knowing these people will expand my contacts, and earn me many more opportunities to perform. When I perform, I gain applause and recognition from the audience. This encourages me to continue to practice and continue to perform in more places.
