The nation’s first undergraduate program on the pop music industry is to be introduced by the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in February next year as part of an effort to support and grow the music industry.
According to the university’s preliminary plan, the program is to offer practical training courses on singing and performance, digital music composition and writing lyrics.
Several high-profile Taiwanese singers, such as pop diva Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹), also known as A-mei (阿妹). rock band Mayday (五月天) and Hoklo pop diva Jody Chiang (江蕙), are to be invited to give lectures on their experiences and share tips with the students.
Photo courtesy of B’in Music Co
“Popular music has long been regarded as a subculture and there are very few colleges in Taiwan that provide formal vocal training,” said Hope Lee (李和莆), chief executive officer of the university’s Center for the Research and the Business Development of Asia Popular Music and a professor in the music department.
“One of our students once participated in a singing competition and his performance received some harsh criticism from the judges. He was really frustrated and told one of my colleagues that [he did not sing well] because there had never been anyone who could teach him how to sing,” Lee said.
With popular music gradually becoming mainstream, universities should no longer ignore the development of the pop music industry, Lee added.
The university established its music development center in 2012 to collect, categorize and analyze different eras of Taiwanese pop music.
The center’s latest survey on Taiwan’s music industry that was released on Thursday showed that Mayday was the most popular band among Taipei’s senior-high school students, who listed the rock band’s Don’t Want You to be Alone (我不願讓你一個人), Cheers (乾杯), and Starry Night (星空) as their top three favorite Mandarin songs.
The students also rated Chinese singer Hu Xia’s (胡夏) Those Years (那些年) as the most popular and well-known song by a male artist.
“There has been a lack of qualitative and quantitative research on the pop music industry, so the center’s primary goal is to use statistics to analyze the nation’s cultural trends and music developments,” Lee said.
“We must understand the younger generation’s likes and dislikes before we can know how to support the industry,” Lee said.
In response, Mayday’s record company said the band’s members welcomed the inclusion of popular music in the school curriculum and would consider the university’s job offer after they reviewed its course arrangement.
Chang’s manager, Chen Chen-chuan (陳鎮川), said Chang was willing to share her experiences with young students if given the chance.
However, Chiang has politely declined, saying all that she could do was sing.
Additional reporting by Chang Yi-ling
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