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VIII.
THE MUSIC TEACHING
The
teacher’s home is usually his studio. Here, on certain
days of the week, and for specified number of hours, he is
available for lesson. The problems of lesson scheduling do
not bother the traditional teacher. It is a matter of first
come, first served. This has an advantage in that the students
are never late for a lesson.Usually,
the students wait in an adjoining room where they may talk
or follow the course of the piece in progress.
The
lesson itself consists from twenty to thirty minutes playing
the particular composition under study that week. Neither
notation systems have a definite majority. The repertoire
is maintained entirely by memory and passed down through practice.
Usually, the teacher also plays, or sings as he plays, or
illustrates each note of the melody on the edge of his closed
fan. When all notes have been learned in order, the rhythm
is added. The entire melody is never played beforehand so
that one does not have any idea of the overall the piece.
There
are some students who do not read the notation and learn the
entire piece by imitating the teacher. The exact notation
system used and the resultant melody vary from teacher to
teacher as well in different pieces. The rote teaching method
sometimes is constantly in danger of producing automatons.
The
teacher has the right to expect loyalty from his student,
and the student, instinctively feels veneration towards him,
and calls him "Su Phu" The word "Su Phu"
in Vietnamese has far greater implication than the term teacher
does in English.
In 1956 a National School of Music was set up in Saigon. This
school chiefly teaches Western music, but does include a traditional
section where pupils are taught to play Vietnamese musical
instruments; classes of Western music are far more popular
than that in which traditional music is taught. Applications
for admission to the piano courses are numerous. Applicants
who fall short of the required marks are transferred to the
study of the traditional section.
In
recent years, however, the influence of Western music is very
strong, and is usurping the importance role of Vietnamese
traditional music.
