ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Meklit Hadero - Singer-songwriter
Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter living the cultural in-between, both in her own luminous compositions and as a co-founder of the Nile Project.

Why you should listen

Meklit Hadero's music is imbued with poetry and multiplicity, from hybridized sounds of Tizita (haunting and nostalgic music) drawing from her Ethiopian heritage, to the annals of jazz, folk songs and rock & roll. Hadero describes her music as emanating from “in-between spaces,” and the result is a smoky, evocative world peopled by strong bass, world instruments and her soothing voice.

In the Nile Project, founded along with Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis, Hadero set out to explore the music of the Nile basin, pulling influences from countries along the river, from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and finally to Egypt. The project brings together hip-hop, traditional and contemporary music, with instruments and traditions old and new. As she says, "My work on a lot of levels is about multiplicity." Their new record is Aswan

About her own music, here's what people say:

“Soulful, tremulous and strangely cinematic, Meklit’s voice will implant scenes in your mind — a softly lit supperclub, a Brooklyn stoop, a sun-baked road. Close your eyes, listen and dream." -- Seattle Times

"Meklit… combines N.Y. jazz with West Coast folk and African flourishes, all bound together by her beguiling voice, which is part sunshine and part cloudy day.” -- Filter Magazine

More profile about the speaker
Meklit Hadero | Speaker | TED.com
TED Fellows Retreat 2015

Meklit Hadero: The unexpected beauty of everyday sounds

Filmed:
1,132,751 views

Using examples from birdsong, the natural lilt of emphatic language and even a cooking pan lid, singer-songwriter and TED Fellow Meklit Hadero shows how the everyday soundscape, even silence, makes music. "The world is alive with musical expression," she says. "We are already immersed."
- Singer-songwriter
Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter living the cultural in-between, both in her own luminous compositions and as a co-founder of the Nile Project. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
As a singer-songwriterşarkıcı-söz yazarı,
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Bir şarkıcı - söz yazarı olarak
00:15
people oftensık sık asksormak me about my influencesetkiler
or, as I like to call them,
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İnsanlar sıksık etkilerim ya da söz köküm
00:19
my sonicSonic lineagessoy.
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ile ilgili sorular sorar.
00:21
And I could easilykolayca tell you
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Size kolayca söyleyebilirim ki
00:23
that I was shapedbiçimli by the jazzcaz
and hipkalça hopHop that I grewbüyüdü up with,
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sesim Etiyopyalı atalarımın mirası jazz ve
00:26
by the EthiopianEtiyopya heritagemiras of my ancestorsatalarımız,
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hip hop ile şekillenmiştir,
00:29
or by the 1980s poppop
on my childhoodçocukluk radioradyo stationsistasyonlar.
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veya 80'lerin radyo istasyonundaki Popuyla
00:33
But beyondötesinde genreTür,
there is anotherbir diğeri questionsoru:
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Ancak çeşidin ötesinde,
başka bir soru daha vardır:
00:37
how do the soundssesleri we hearduymak everyher day
influenceetki the musicmüzik that we make?
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Her gün duyduğumuz o sesler yaptığımız
müzik üzerinde nasıl bir etki bırakır?
00:42
I believe that everydayher gün soundscapeses efektleri
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Inanıyorum ki her ses
00:44
can be the mostçoğu unexpectedbeklenmedik
inspirationilham for songwritingbeste,
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En beklemediğimiz ilham olabilir
söz-yazılarımız için.
00:48
and to look at this ideaFikir
a little bitbit more closelyyakından,
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Ve bu fikre biraz daha
yakından bakalım.
00:50
I'm going to talk todaybugün
about threeüç things:
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Bugün 3 şey hakkında konuşacağım:
00:52
naturedoğa, languagedil and silenceSessizlik --
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Doğa,dil ve sessizlik --
00:55
or ratherdaha doğrusu, the impossibilityimkansızlık
of truedoğru silenceSessizlik.
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ya da onun yerine
tam sessizliğin imkansızlığı.
00:59
And throughvasitasiyla this I hopeumut to give you
a senseduyu of a worldDünya
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ve bununla birlikte bir dünya
hissi vermeyi umuyorum
01:02
alreadyzaten alivecanlı with musicalmüzikal expressionifade,
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zaten müzik edasıyla canlı olan,
01:05
with eachher of us servingservis
as activeaktif participantskatılımcılar,
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hepimizin aktif bir eleman olarak
hizmet ettiği,
01:09
whetherolup olmadığını we know it or not.
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Biz bunu bilsekte bilmesekte
01:12
I'm going to startbaşlama todaybugün with naturedoğa,
but before we do that,
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01:14
let's quicklyhızlı bir şekilde listen to this snippetpasajı
of an operaopera singerşarkıcı warmingısınma up.
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01:18
Here it is.
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01:20
(SingingŞarkı)
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01:35
(SingingŞarkı endsuçları)
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01:37
It's beautifulgüzel, isn't it?
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01:40
GotchaYakaladım seni!
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01:41
That is actuallyaslında not the soundses
of an operaopera singerşarkıcı warmingısınma up.
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01:45
That is the soundses of a birdkuş
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01:47
slowedyavaşladı down to a pacehız
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that the humaninsan earkulak mistakenlyyanlışlıkla
recognizestanır as its ownkendi.
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01:54
It was releasedyayınlandı as partBölüm of PeterPeter SzSzöke'sKe'nın
1987 HungarianMacarca recordingkayıt
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"The UnknownBilinmiyor MusicMüzik of BirdsKuşlar,"
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02:01
where he recordskayıtlar manyçok birdskuşlar
and slowsyavaşlatır down theironların pitchessahalar
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02:05
to revealortaya çıkartmak what's underneathaltında.
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02:07
Let's listen to the full-speedtam hızlı recordingkayıt.
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02:11
(BirdKuş singingşan)
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02:15
Now, let's hearduymak the two of them togetherbirlikte
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so your brainbeyin can juxtaposeayrýlabilir them.
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02:20
(BirdKuş singingşan at slowyavaş then fulltam speedhız)
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02:38
(SingingŞarkı endsuçları)
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02:42
It's incredibleinanılmaz.
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02:43
PerhapsBelki de the techniquesteknikleri of operaopera singingşan
were inspiredyaratıcı by birdsongBirdsong.
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As humansinsanlar, we intuitivelysezgisel understandanlama birdskuşlar
to be our musicalmüzikal teachersöğretmenler.
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In EthiopiaEtiyopya, birdskuşlar
are considereddüşünülen an integralayrılmaz partBölüm
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of the originMenşei of musicmüzik itselfkendisi.
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03:00
The storyÖykü goesgider like this:
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1,500 yearsyıl agoönce, a younggenç man
was borndoğmuş in the Empireİmparatorluğu of AksumAksum,
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a majormajör tradingticari centermerkez
of the ancienteski worldDünya.
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His nameisim was YaredYared.
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When YaredYared was sevenYedi yearsyıl oldeski
his fatherbaba diedvefat etti,
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03:17
and his motheranne sentgönderilen him to go livecanlı
with an uncleamca dayı, who was a priestrahip
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03:21
of the EthiopianEtiyopya OrthodoxOrtodoks traditiongelenek,
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one of the oldesten eski churcheskiliseler in the worldDünya.
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Now, this traditiongelenek has an enormousmuazzam amounttutar
of scholarshipburs and learningöğrenme,
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and YaredYared had to studyders çalışma and studyders çalışma
and studyders çalışma and studyders çalışma,
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03:33
and one day he was studyingders çalışıyor underaltında a treeağaç,
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when threeüç birdskuşlar camegeldi to him.
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One by one, these birdskuşlar
becameoldu his teachersöğretmenler.
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They taughtöğretilen him musicmüzik -- scalesterazi, in factgerçek.
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And YaredYared, eventuallysonunda
recognizedtanınan as SaintSaint YaredYared,
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used these scalesterazi to composeoluşturmak
fivebeş volumeshacimleri of chantsChants and hymnsilahiler
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for worshipibadet and celebrationkutlama.
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And he used these scalesterazi
to composeoluşturmak and to createyaratmak
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an indigenousyerli musicalmüzikal notationgösterimi systemsistem.
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04:03
And these scalesterazi evolvedgelişti
into what is knownbilinen as kiñit,
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the uniquebenzersiz, pentatonicpentatonik, five-note5-Not,
modalkalıcı systemsistem that is very much alivecanlı
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04:13
and thrivinggelişen and still evolvinggelişen
in EthiopiaEtiyopya todaybugün.
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04:18
Now, I love this storyÖykü because
it's truedoğru at multipleçoklu levelsseviyeleri.
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SaintSaint YaredYared was a realgerçek, historicaltarihi figureşekil,
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04:24
and the naturaldoğal worldDünya
can be our musicalmüzikal teacheröğretmen.
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And we have so manyçok examplesörnekler of this:
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the PygmiesPigmeler of the CongoKongo Cumhuriyeti
tunenağme theironların instrumentsenstrümanlar
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to the pitchessahalar of the birdskuşlar
in the forestorman around them.
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MusicianMüzisyen and naturaldoğal soundscapeses efektleri
expertuzman BernieBernie KrauseKrause describesaçıklar
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how a healthysağlıklı environmentçevre
has animalshayvanlar and insectshaşarat
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takingalma up lowdüşük, mediumorta
and high-frequencyyüksek frekans bandsbantları,
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in exactlykesinlikle the sameaynı way
as a symphonySenfoni does.
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04:50
And countlesssayısız worksEserleri of musicmüzik
were inspiredyaratıcı by birdkuş and forestorman songşarkı.
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Yes, the naturaldoğal worldDünya
can be our culturalkültürel teacheröğretmen.
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05:00
So let's go now to the uniquelybenzersiz
humaninsan worldDünya of languagedil.
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05:05
EveryHer languagedil communicatesiletişim kurar
with pitchzift to varyingdeğişen degreesderece,
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05:08
whetherolup olmadığını it's MandarinMandarin ChineseÇince,
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where a shiftvardiya in melodicmelodik inflectiondönüm
givesverir the sameaynı phoneticFonetik syllablehece
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an entirelyBaştan sona differentfarklı meaninganlam,
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to a languagedil like Englishİngilizce,
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where a raisedkalkık pitchzift
at the endson of a sentencecümle ...
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05:19
(Going up in pitchzift) impliesanlamına gelir a questionsoru?
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05:21
(LaughterKahkaha)
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As an Ethiopian-AmericanEtiyopya asıllı womankadın,
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I grewbüyüdü up around the languagedil
of AmharicAmharca, AmhariAmhariña.
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05:27
It was my first languagedil,
the languagedil of my parentsebeveyn,
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one of the mainana languagesdiller of EthiopiaEtiyopya.
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05:32
And there are a millionmilyon reasonsnedenleri
to falldüşmek in love with this languagedil:
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its depthderinlik of poeticsPoetikası,
its doubleçift entendresentenders,
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its waxbalmumu and goldaltın, its humormizah,
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its proverbsAtasözleri that illuminateaydınlatmak
the wisdombilgelik and folliesrevü of life.
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But there's alsoAyrıca this melodicismmelodicism,
a musicalitymüzikalite builtinşa edilmiş right in.
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And I find this distilleddamıtık mostçoğu clearlyAçıkça
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in what I like to call
emphaticempatik languagedil --
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languagedil that's meantdemek
to highlightvurgulamak or underlinealt çizgi
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or that springsYaylar from surprisesürpriz.
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Take, for exampleörnek, the wordsözcük: "indeyindey."
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Now, if there are EthiopiansEtiyopyalılar
in the audienceseyirci,
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they're probablymuhtemelen chucklinggülerek to themselveskendilerini,
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because the wordsözcük meansanlamına geliyor
something like "No!"
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or "How could he?" or "No, he didn't."
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06:11
It kindtür of dependsbağlıdır on the situationdurum.
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But when I was a kidçocuk,
this was my very favoritesevdiğim wordsözcük,
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06:17
and I think it's because it has a pitchzift.
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It has a melodymelodi.
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You can almostneredeyse see the shapeşekil
as it springsYaylar from someone'sbirisi var mouthağız.
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"IndeyIndey" -- it dipsDips, and then raisesyükseltmeler again.
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And as a musicianmüzisyen and composerbesteci,
when I hearduymak that wordsözcük,
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something like this
is floatingyüzer throughvasitasiyla my mindus.
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(MusicMüzik and singingşan "IndeyIndey")
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06:45
(MusicMüzik endsuçları)
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06:48
Or take, for exampleörnek, the phraseifade
for "It is right" or "It is correctdoğru" --
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"LickihLickih nehunehu ... LickihLickih nehunehu."
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It's an affirmationolumlama, an agreementanlaşma.
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"LickihLickih nehunehu."
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When I hearduymak that phraseifade,
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something like this startsbaşlar rollingyuvarlanan
throughvasitasiyla my mindus.
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(MusicMüzik and singingşan "LickihLickih nehunehu")
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07:11
(MusicMüzik endsuçları)
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07:14
And in bothher ikisi de of those casesvakalar,
what I did was I tookaldı the melodymelodi
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and the phrasingphrasing
of those wordskelimeler and phrasesifadeler
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and I turneddönük them into musicalmüzikal partsparçalar
to use in these shortkısa compositionsbesteleri.
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And I like to writeyazmak bassbas lineshatlar,
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so they bothher ikisi de endedbitti up
kindtür of as bassbas lineshatlar.
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07:29
Now, this is basedmerkezli on the work
of JasonJason MoranMoran and othersdiğerleri
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who work intimatelyyakından
with musicmüzik and languagedil,
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07:35
but it's alsoAyrıca something I've had
in my headkafa sincedan beri I was a kidçocuk,
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how musicalmüzikal my parentsebeveyn soundedkulağa
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when they were speakingkonuşuyorum
to eachher other and to us.
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It was from them
and from AmhariAmhariña that I learnedbilgili
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that we are awashsuda yüzen in musicalmüzikal expressionifade
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with everyher wordsözcük,
everyher sentencecümle that we speakkonuşmak,
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everyher wordsözcük, everyher sentencecümle
that we receiveteslim almak.
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PerhapsBelki de you can hearduymak it
in the wordskelimeler I'm speakingkonuşuyorum even now.
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08:00
FinallySon olarak, we go to the 1950s UnitedAmerika StatesBirleşik
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and the mostçoğu seminalSeminal work
of 20thinci centuryyüzyıl avant-gardeAvant-garde compositionbileştirme, kompozisyon:
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08:06
JohnJohn Cage'sKafes'ın "4:33,"
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writtenyazılı for any instrumentEnstrüman
or combinationkombinasyon of instrumentsenstrümanlar.
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08:12
The musicianmüzisyen or musiciansmüzisyenler are inviteddavet
to walkyürümek ontoüstüne the stageevre
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08:16
with a stopwatchKronometre and openaçık the scoreGol,
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whichhangi was actuallyaslında purchasedsatın alındı
by the MuseumMüze of ModernModern ArtSanat --
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the scoreGol, that is.
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And this scoreGol has not
a singletek noteNot writtenyazılı
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and there is not a singletek noteNot playedOyunun
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for fourdört minutesdakika and 33 secondssaniye.
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And, at oncebir Zamanlar enragingsinirlendiren and enrapturingenrapturing,
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CageKafes showsgösterileri us that even
when there are no stringsdizeleri
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beingolmak pluckedkoparıp by fingersparmaklar
or handseller hammeringçekiç pianopiyano keysanahtarları,
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still there is musicmüzik,
still there is musicmüzik,
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still there is musicmüzik.
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And what is this musicmüzik?
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It was that sneezehapşırma in the back.
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(LaughterKahkaha)
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It is the everydayher gün soundscapeses efektleri
that arisesortaya çıkan from the audienceseyirci themselveskendilerini:
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09:03
theironların coughsöksürük, theironların sighsiç geçiriyor, theironların rustleshışırtılar,
theironların whispersFısıltılar, theironların sneezeshapşırma,
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09:08
the roomoda, the woodahşap
of the floorskatlar and the wallsduvarlar
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09:10
expandinggenişleyen and contractingmüteahhitlik,
creakinggıcırdayan and groaninginleyen
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09:13
with the heatsıcaklık and the coldsoğuk,
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the pipesborular clankingtaşımıyorlar and contributingkatkı.
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09:19
And controversialtartışmalı thoughgerçi it was,
and even controversialtartışmalı thoughgerçi it remainskalıntılar,
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Cage'sKafes'ın pointpuan is that there is no
suchböyle thing as truedoğru silenceSessizlik.
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Even in the mostçoğu silentsessiz environmentsortamları,
we still hearduymak and feel the soundses
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of our ownkendi heartbeatssinyal.
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09:34
The worldDünya is alivecanlı
with musicalmüzikal expressionifade.
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We are alreadyzaten immerseddalmış.
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Now, I had my ownkendi momentan of,
let's say, remixingRemixing JohnJohn CageKafes
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a coupleçift of monthsay agoönce
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when I was standingayakta
in frontön of the stovesoba, fırın, ocak cookingyemek pişirme lentilsMercimek.
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09:50
And it was lategeç one night
and it was time to stirheyecan,
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so I liftedkaldırdı the lidkapak off the cookingyemek pişirme pottencere,
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09:55
and I placedyerleştirilmiş it ontoüstüne
the kitchenmutfak countersayaç nextSonraki to me,
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09:58
and it startedbaşladı to rollrulo back and forthileri
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10:00
makingyapma this soundses.
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10:04
(SoundSes of metalmetal lidkapak
clankingtaşımıyorlar againstkarşısında a countersayaç)
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10:10
(ClankingTaşımıyorlar endsuçları)
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10:13
And it stoppeddurduruldu me coldsoğuk.
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10:15
I thought, "What a weirdtuhaf, coolgüzel swingsalıncak
that cookingyemek pişirme pantava lidkapak has."
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10:22
So when the lentilsMercimek were readyhazır and eatenyemiş,
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10:26
I hightailedhightailed it to my backyardarka bahçe studiostüdyo,
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10:30
and I madeyapılmış this.
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(MusicMüzik, includingdahil olmak üzere the soundses
of the lidkapak, and singingşan)
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(MusicMüzik endsuçları)
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10:52
Now, JohnJohn CageKafes
wasn'tdeğildi instructingtalimat musiciansmüzisyenler
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to mineMayın the soundscapeses efektleri
for sonicSonic texturesdokular to turndönüş into musicmüzik.
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He was sayingsöz that on its ownkendi,
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the environmentçevre is musicallymüzikal generativeüretken,
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11:05
that it is generouscömert, that it is fertilebereketli,
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11:09
that we are alreadyzaten immerseddalmış.
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11:12
MusicianMüzisyen, musicmüzik researcheraraştırmacı, surgeoncerrah
and humaninsan hearingişitme expertuzman CharlesCharles LimbBacak
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is a professorprofesör at JohnsJohns HopkinsHopkins UniversityÜniversitesi
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11:20
and he studiesçalışmalar musicmüzik and the brainbeyin.
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11:24
And he has a theoryteori
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11:27
that it is possiblemümkün -- it is possiblemümkün --
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11:30
that the humaninsan auditoryişitsel systemsistem
actuallyaslında evolvedgelişti to hearduymak musicmüzik,
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11:36
because it is so much more complexkarmaşık
than it needsihtiyaçlar to be for languagedil aloneyalnız.
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11:41
And if that's truedoğru,
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11:43
it meansanlamına geliyor that we're hard-wiredsabit kablolu for musicmüzik,
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11:46
that we can find it anywhereherhangi bir yer,
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11:48
that there is no suchböyle thing
as a musicalmüzikal desertçöl,
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11:51
that we are permanentlykalıcı olarak
hangingasılı out at the oasisOasis,
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11:55
and that is marvelousharika.
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11:58
We can addeklemek to the soundtrackfilm müziği,
but it's alreadyzaten playingoynama.
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12:02
And it doesn't mean don't studyders çalışma musicmüzik.
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12:04
StudyÇalışma musicmüzik, traceiz your sonicSonic lineagessoy
and enjoykeyfini çıkarın that explorationkeşif.
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12:09
But there is a kindtür of sonicSonic lineagesoy
to whichhangi we all belongait.
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12:14
So the nextSonraki time you are seekingarayan
percussionperküsyon inspirationilham,
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12:16
look no furtherayrıca than your tireslastikler,
as they rollrulo over the unusualolağandışı groovesoluklar
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12:20
of the freewayçevre yolu,
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12:22
or the top-rightsağ üst burnerbrülör of your stovesoba, fırın, ocak
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12:24
and that strangegarip way that it clickstıklama
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12:25
as it is preparinghazırlamak to lightışık.
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12:28
When seekingarayan melodicmelodik inspirationilham,
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12:30
look no furtherayrıca than dawnşafak
and duskakşam karanlığı aviankuş orchestrasorkestralar
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12:33
or to the naturaldoğal liltkıvraklık
of emphaticempatik languagedil.
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12:37
We are the audienceseyirci
and we are the composersbesteciler
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12:40
and we take from these piecesparçalar
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we are givenverilmiş.
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12:43
We make, we make, we make, we make,
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12:45
knowingbilme that when it comesgeliyor to naturedoğa
or languagedil or soundscapeses efektleri,
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12:49
there is no endson to the inspirationilham --
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if we are listeningdinleme.
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Thank you.
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12:56
(ApplauseAlkış)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Meklit Hadero - Singer-songwriter
Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter living the cultural in-between, both in her own luminous compositions and as a co-founder of the Nile Project.

Why you should listen

Meklit Hadero's music is imbued with poetry and multiplicity, from hybridized sounds of Tizita (haunting and nostalgic music) drawing from her Ethiopian heritage, to the annals of jazz, folk songs and rock & roll. Hadero describes her music as emanating from “in-between spaces,” and the result is a smoky, evocative world peopled by strong bass, world instruments and her soothing voice.

In the Nile Project, founded along with Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis, Hadero set out to explore the music of the Nile basin, pulling influences from countries along the river, from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and finally to Egypt. The project brings together hip-hop, traditional and contemporary music, with instruments and traditions old and new. As she says, "My work on a lot of levels is about multiplicity." Their new record is Aswan

About her own music, here's what people say:

“Soulful, tremulous and strangely cinematic, Meklit’s voice will implant scenes in your mind — a softly lit supperclub, a Brooklyn stoop, a sun-baked road. Close your eyes, listen and dream." -- Seattle Times

"Meklit… combines N.Y. jazz with West Coast folk and African flourishes, all bound together by her beguiling voice, which is part sunshine and part cloudy day.” -- Filter Magazine

More profile about the speaker
Meklit Hadero | Speaker | TED.com