Blind Musician Inspires Audiences through Music and FilmA(a)

Blind Musician Inspires Audiences through Music and Film

by Brian Foden

Huang Yu-siang hasn't let blindness stop him from achieving greatness.

　　It's a bit of an understatement to say that Huang Yu-siang is not the average blind Taiwanese person. If he were, he would likely be a masseur or perhaps a telemarketer instead of the successful pianist he is today. How did this extraordinary 25-year-old overcome a major disability to become an acclaimed Taiwanese musician? Huang's story is both heartwarming and inspiring.

　　Huang's talent for music began at a very early age, when as a visually impaired toddler he was easily able to play notes and melodies on the piano that he heard others play. Excited by her son's musical ability, Huang's mother searched for a piano teacher and eventually found one patient enough to teach her child. Due to Huang's disability, his teacher had to play notes over and over while holding his hands so that he could remember the location of the keys through touch. Understanding the placement of the keys through this type of repetition allowed for the next step in the blind musician's developmentearning songs by listening to them again and again.

　　In the belief that it would help their son better integrate into society, Huang's parents sent him to a regular elementary school rather than one specifically for the blind. However, after entering junior high school, he had trouble, so they transferred him to a school for visually impaired students. Later, Huang enrolled in the Department of Music at National Taiwan University of Arts and became the first blind person to earn a bachelor's degree in piano performance. Huang has gone on to earn many awards for his superb musicianship, and he has become a Taiwanese celebrity. In addition to writing film scores, he is the keyboard player for a band called Baba Band.

在音乐和电影中逆光飞翔的盲人音乐家

黄裕翔并未让看不见阻碍他迈向杰出之路。

　　要说黄裕翔不是一般的台湾盲人有点语带保留。如果他是一般盲人，他很可能会当个按摩师或是电话销售人员，而不是今天的成功钢琴家。这位现年 25 岁的杰出人士是如何克服重大残疾而成为受人赞扬的台湾音乐家呢？黄裕翔的故事既温暖又激励人心。

　　黄裕翔的音乐天份在很小的时候就已展现出来，他还是个不太会走路的视障幼童时，就能将他听过别人弹奏的曲调和旋律轻易地用钢琴弹出来。黄妈妈对儿子的音乐能力感到很兴奋，于是便去寻找钢琴老师，最后找到了一位够有耐心教导她儿子的老师。由于黄裕翔的残疾，老师必须不断地拉着他的手弹奏曲调，他才能够透过触摸而记住琴键的位置。藉由这种重复的方式来了解琴键的分布位置，使得这位盲人音乐家得以有下一步的发展──透过一遍又一遍的聆听来学习歌曲。

　　黄裕翔的父母相信就读一般学校会帮助儿子更能打入社会，于是便送他去就读一般小学，而不是盲人的专门学校。然而，进入国中之后，他遇到了麻烦，因此他的父母将他转学到了一所视障学生就读的学校。之后，黄裕翔进入了国立台湾艺术大学音乐系，成为首位获得钢琴学士学位的盲人。接着他由于一流的音乐才能而获得了许多奖项，而他也已成了台湾的名人。除了创作电影配乐之外，他还是『爸爸办桌乐团』的钢琴手。