Ben Holt
Guitar / Bass / Ukulele 吉他/電吉他/貝斯/烏克麗麗
【Language】 English
【Education】
Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas
美國北德州大學爵士吉他演奏碩士
Adjunct professor of guitar at Tarrant County College
美國德州塔蘭特大學兼任吉他教授
Guitar Teacher of Jazz Becuzz Arts Group and Center
美國達拉斯爵士音樂推廣中心之吉他教師
【Teaching Philosophy】
As a teacher, my number one priority is to inspire students to cultivate a love of music. I want to guide students in their exploration of music and help them find what they love about music and what moves them to study an instrument.
Music is fundamentally a human thing. It is meant to be enjoyed by everyone. I firmly believe that anyone can learn to play an instrument with a good plan, a supportive environment, and a little focused practice. Regardless of age or skill level, we can all grow with music and develop our skills and abilities.
After 15 years as a professional musician, I still practice my instrument daily, finding new inspiration, and working on new ways to grow and learn. I lead by example and encourage my students to find their own motivation and carve their own paths in music.
Being able to play an instrument is a gift both to yourself and to those around you. Through the study of music, we enrich our lives in so many ways. We learn to be diligent, determined, focused, solve problems, and work with others.
But more than that, music is a social activity. We play music with people and for people. In my lessons, we are constantly playing together and learning the language of music both verbally and musically through our instruments. We learn to work together, communicate, collaborate, and build connections with other people. The greatest reward for any musician, from the beginner to the seasoned professional, is the social bonds created through shared musical experience with fellow musicians and the audience.
【Bio】
Benjamin Holt is a Canadian guitarist who, after earning his Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies (Guitar Performance) from the University of North Texas, worked in many capacities within the DFW music scene. He was the music director at Cross Church Denton, and adjunct professor of guitar at Tarrant County College. He was also a busy freelance guitarist, seamlessly moving between jazz, pop, blues, rock, smooth jazz, and country genres. In 2020 his band Song Dynasty was nominated for best jazz group by the Dallas Observer. He currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan, where he is an active member of the Taiwanese music community where he works with some of the top acts including 壞特 and TPO big band. This fall he did a tour with his band Dallas Quartet. The group of international musicians played all the Taipei Jazz Festival, Taichung Jazz Festival, and Dadaocheng arts festival among many other venues around Taiwan. He teaches guitar and bass at BlastUp Arts Music School.
霍班是一位擅長演奏各式風格的吉他手，在許多樂團擔任過音樂總監一職，表演之餘也在美國的大學教授音樂。2013年從加拿大移居美國達拉斯沃斯堡地區(Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas)，他彈奏爵士、藍調、鄉村、流行、與教會福音等音樂風格，並與許多達拉斯當地的藝人與樂團合作，如美國鄉村歌手Jamie Richards、流行音樂Jordan Kahn Music Company、美國流行爵士樂團The Fingerprints、爵士歌手與教育家Candace Mohogany Miller、達拉斯爵士薩克斯風手Jason Davis等。
曾任職美國德州丹頓十字教會(Cross Church Denton)音樂總監，美國德州塔蘭特大學(Tarrnant County College)兼任吉他教授，以及達拉斯爵士音樂推廣中心之吉他教師(Jazz Becuzz Arts Group and Center)。目前除了是頌音爵代樂團(Song Dyasnty)的專任吉他手以及音樂總監之外，也是隔離之王藍調樂團(The Quarantine King Blues Band)的團長與吉他手。
美國北德州大學爵士吉他演奏碩士畢業的霍班(Master’s Degree of Jazz Studies at University of North Texas)，與台灣爵士歌手劉俐於2020年底回台後，積極學習中文與台灣文化，與頌音爵代樂團於2019年在美國發行專輯《尋覓 Searching》，2020年12月霍班抵台，在台北他迅速成為最受歡迎的吉他手之一，與許多知名的藝人、歌手合作，包括：金曲新人獎得主壞特？te、亞洲黑珍珠Zorina London、金曲最佳台語女歌手多次入圍張涵雅Hanya、澳洲籍女歌手凱琳Caitlin Magee、和爵士女歌手劉俐Li Liu。 霍班也是台灣首屈一指的踢霹歐爵士大樂隊(Taipei Professional Orchestra Big band, TPO)成員，曾與樂團演出台中爵士音樂節、台北爵士音樂節、大稻埕國際藝術節、台灣世界音樂節等。 2022年夏天，霍班與TPO的幾位成員受邀與吳曜宇指揮的國家交響樂團NSO，於國家音樂廳合作現場演出《樂來樂愛你(LaLa Land)》電影原聲帶，霍班並在此場演出中擔任特邀獨奏者。
一直對音樂教育充滿熱情的霍班，在台灣時也組織大坪林Jazz House Session，並任教於台北絲竹空爵士培訓音樂學校。 2022年春天，霍班受聘成為台南爵士基因營隊的吉他與合奏教師，與台灣首屈一指的爵士教育家如：Dr. Gene Aitken、輔大爵士教授李承育、爵士鼓王黃瑞豐等多位名師一起任教。
PG 翁培捷
Guitar / Ukulele 吉他 / 烏克麗麗
【Language】中文/ English
【Education】
美國伯克利音樂學院, 吉他演奏學位
Berklee College of Music, Guitar Performance
波士頓隆基音樂學院, 爵士及現代樂音樂碩士
Longy School of Music, Master of Jazz and Contemporary
Music
【Teaching Philosophy】
我相信學習吉他或是音樂會是每個人一生中最棒的經驗之一。透過自己從小開始學習古典樂的背景、加上多年對於爵士樂以及當代流行音樂的研究，我希望能帶給每一個學生在他們充滿可能性的音樂之路上所需要用到的工具。我也從多年的一對一以及團體課教學經驗開發了不同的課程，這些課程適用於不同年齡層（3-60以上）以及不同程度背景的學生。
吉他以及音樂的學習可以分成幾個重要的部分，但我的教學理念是從學生最有興趣的主題出發，根據學生的選擇結合基礎的技巧或是理論，同時也要針對學生常遇到的問題做解答，最終帶給學生一個紮實且享受過程的結果。我相信每個學生都是獨特的，所以我並沒有使用任何特定的教材或課本，但是有許多觀念以及樂器上的技巧是共通的，所以我針對這些主題開發出適合不同族群的課綱。如果你是一位五歲喜歡吉他的小朋友，我會藉由你喜歡的歌曲學習正確的技巧以及基本的樂器操作；如果你是想走職業路線的高中／大學生，我會著重在當代流行音樂的樂理、分析以及樂風以確保你有足夠的工具可以運用在你的彈奏或是創作；如果你已經是一位職業樂手知道如何彈奏吉他，但是希望了解爵士或是相關樂風，我很樂意分享我所學到的東西還有採譜以及如何應用，或是針對現有的彈奏做改善。無論來自什麼樣的背景，只要你對吉他有熱忱，我非常榮幸能夠分享我彈奏吉他一路上的各種經驗以及學習過的教學法，或是如何有效率地練習、如何用吉他編曲、最重要的是如何訓練獨立思考的能力來解決未來有可能遇到的問題。最重要的，希望各位能享受所有的付出帶來的成果。
在我多年的教學經驗裡，有些幼兒班的學生舉辦了他們的迷你獨奏音樂會，有些考上了知名的音樂學校像是Berklee、紐約大學等等，有些則成為了新興的樂手以及詞曲創作者和製作者。我並不覺得追求音樂等於一定要走向職業，但我會隨時鼓勵我的學生去思考是什麼動機或是想法支持他們繼續往前，並且享受音樂之路上每一階段的喜悅。
I believe that learning guitar and music is one of the most satisfying and enjoyable experiences in life. Coming from a classical-trained background and years of study of jazz and contemporary pop music, it is my goal to ensure that all my students have the necessary tools to achieve their own musical goals. No matter what backgrounds the students have or ages they are, I’ve developed a thorough, systematic yet easy-understandable learning path through years of teaching with students from ages 3-60+ in both private and classroom settings.
The guitar/music learning can be divided into elementary parts. My teaching philosophy is to focus on student’s current interest(s). I will cover the fundamental techniques or theories according to their choices at the same time, deal with the problems the students might have, and finally achieve a solid musical goal with an enjoyable process. I don’t use particular books because I believe that each student is unique, and their learnings need to be tailored for their pursuit of music. But since the common concepts and techniques are similar and crucially important to every learner, I’ve developed various curriculums for each specific group of students. If you’re a 5 years old kid who’s fascinated with guitar, I will show you how to execute the basic techniques on the instrument and have fun with the tunes you like; if you’re a high school or college student who’s looking for a musical career, I will navigate you through contemporary music theories, analysis and surveys of genres to make sure that you’ll be ready for your own music writings and playing; if you’re a professional player who already knows how to play but want to enhance your playing and discover other musical genres such as jazz or fusion, I would love to help you through some trouble-shootings, to share my insights of the genre and transcriptions or analysis with you. Last but not least, if you’re a person who’s just passionate about guitar, it’s my pleasure to share with you my method of learning, how to arrange and combine different topics to make your practice more efficiently, and most importantly, how do we train ourself as an independent thinker in music to overcome the problems we might have along the way and enjoy the results of your dedication.
After years of private and group teaching, some of my early stage students have held their own mini recital, some of them have gone on to study at Berklee, NYU, and other prestigious music programs around the world, some of them become uprising performers, songwriters and music producers. It’s not necessary to have music as a professional career, but I always encourage all of my students to discover what motivates them the most, and then enjoy what music can bring to each of us.
【Bio】
翁培捷(PG)，台灣台北人，是一位全職吉他手、即興者、作曲家和音樂教育家。幼時受藍調與搖滾樂的啟蒙，⻑期深受爵士、拉丁、古典以及重金屬樂的影響，結合成他獨特的音樂聲響。PG 於2015年在美國紐約開始了他的職業演出生涯，在許多著名的演出場地 像是Bona Fide、Cleopatra’s Needle和著名的 Merkin 音樂廳擔任樂團伴奏。接著他前往 中國上海，在上海的三年中持續致力於音樂演出和教學。受邀於各式音樂節，其中包括兩次最具盛名的上海國際爵士音樂節(Shanghai International Jazz Festival)，PG更展現了他對於不同樂風的演繹能力以及從二重奏到大樂隊編制的靈活度。PG 同時也是上海 JZ Club、麗茲卡爾頓 Auro 爵士酒吧、Coral bar 及 RT Jazz club 的固定班底。透過對於傳統搖擺爵士的語彙掌握，他也為上海音樂愛好者提供第一流的現場演奏。除了爵士以及流行樂團演出外，PG 也涉足古典交響樂團以及錄音室的世界。曾兩度受邀與上海交響樂團於著名電影配樂家 Alexandre Desplat 指揮下，在上海音樂廳為樂迷帶來一系列的電影配樂組曲。同時也出現在日本歌手 Yuko Kishi 的首張個人專輯以及許多錄音室作品中。PG在2019年回到美國波士頓攻讀音樂碩士學位，PG 持續在當地許多爵士酒吧像是 Lilypad 固定演出，並持續授課，在此期間發行個人專輯「I’ll see you」。在完成學位後回到台灣，於台南應用科技大學流行音樂系任教，並在台灣多所大學擔任講師。
在上海多所各級學校任教時，PG也找到了他對教學的熱忱。他相信所有人對於音樂的喜好是共通卻又獨特的，他的教學理念是希望每個學生都能享受自己對音樂的熱愛及投入。他的學生來自於各個年紀和程度，除了1對1的課程以外他也經常受邀於各音樂機構的大班課，講授音樂理論和音樂欣賞。
PG畢業於台灣國立清華大學動力機械工程學系以及美國伯克利音樂學院(Berklee College of Music)吉他演奏(Guitar Performance)學位、波士頓隆基音樂學院(Longy School of Music)爵士及現代樂音樂碩士(Master of Jazz and Contemporary Music)，曾師從 Eric Hofbauer、John Wilkins、Tim Miller 以及 Richie Hart。
PG Weng is a guitarist, improviser, composer, and music educator. Enlightened by blues and rock music in the young age, PG has been inspired and influenced by different genres such as jazz, latin music, classical and heavy metal since then. His musical voice as an improviser can be heard as a unique blend of these styles. PG started his professional career as a performer in New York City at 2015, at there he performed at the venues including Bona Fide, Cleopatra’s Needle, and the prestigious Merkin concert hall. Later he spent 3 years in Shanghai, China, dedicated to performance and music education. Invited by various music festivals, which includes the renowned Shanghai International Jazz Festival for 2 times, PG shows his versatility of playing either as band leader or sideman in various settings from duo to full orchestra and in many genres. He was also a regular band member of JZ club, Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Coral bar, and RT Jazz club. With his focus on traditional swinging vocabulary, he brought the first-class live jazz to jazz lovers in Shanghai. Other than jazz and pop music, PG also thrived in the classical and studio recording’s worlds. He was featured 2 times with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra performing film scores of Alexandre Desplat under his conducting in the concert hall. He appeared on the Japanese singer Yuko Kishi’s debut album and many others. PG went back to US to pursue his master degree in music in 2019. He performed and gave lessons in person and online regularly in Boston, made a debut album “I’ll see you” as leader. After the completion of his master degree, he settled back in Taiwan. PG is now an adjunct professor of Popular Music Department of Tainan University of Tech and lecturer of many universities in Taiwan.
PG has also found his passion for music education since he taught at schools in different levels at Shanghai. He believes the enjoyment of music is universal, yet unique to everyone. His teaching philosophy is to make sure that each of his student can enjoy their dedications to the instrument. He’s experienced with many kinds of student’s needs. He welcomes students from all ages with all levels. PG not only teaching in private studio but also invited as guest speaker in many institutions which specialize in jazz and contemporary music to share his love and knowledge of music.
PG holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in Performance from Berklee College of Music and another one in Mechanical Engineering from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, and a Master degree in Jazz and Contemporary Music at Longy School of Music. His teachers of guitar have included Eric Hofbauer, John Wilkins, Tim Miller and Richie Hart.
