ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Beardyman - Beatboxer and inventor
Beardyman, “ruler of beats and destroyer of dance floors,” has developed a real-time music-production system that places live looping at the center of a new musical paradigm.

Why you should listen

Beardyman, AKA Darren Foreman, was studying product design at Brighton University in the UK when he started beatboxing. After winning two consecutive UK Beatbox Championships, he turned to live looping (recording and playing back audio samples in real time) as a way to layer his vocal ablutions into dance-floor-rocking hour-long sets. He released his debut album in 2011 and has been rocking stages all over the world ever since.

Working with DMGAudio, Beardyman built what he calls the "Beardytron_5000 mkII," a real-time music-production system that could be the solution to the problem of how to smash a dance floor using only your voice -- and how to compose and produce complex and highly nuanced electronic dance music in real time. “There was nothing available that does what I need, so I was forced to make it myself," he says.

More profile about the speaker
Beardyman | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

Beardyman: The polyphonic me

Darren Foreman 达伦·福尔曼(艺名Beardyman): 声音千变万化的我

Filmed:
2,587,846 views

为了克服人不能同时发出两个音符的局限,音乐发明家达伦·福尔曼造出了一台机器。籍此,他能仅用自己的声音进行声音循环和声音层叠。因为他能轻轻松松模仿许多声音,从啼哭的婴儿到嗡嗡叫的苍蝇,更别提模仿那些你能想象到的乐器,所以请坐好,让这次炫目的表演对你进行一次声音的洗涤。
- Beatboxer and inventor
Beardyman, “ruler of beats and destroyer of dance floors,” has developed a real-time music-production system that places live looping at the center of a new musical paradigm. Full bio

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

00:13
I'd like you all
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我希望你们
00:15
to ask yourselves你自己 a question
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先问你们自己一个问题
00:17
which哪一个 you may可能 never have asked yourselves你自己 before:
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这个问题可能你们从没问过自己
00:21
What is possible可能 with the human人的 voice语音?
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人的声音能干些啥
00:25
What is possible可能 with the human人的 voice语音?
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人的声音能干些~啥~
00:33
(Beatboxing口技)
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(B-Box)
00:57
Ooh baby宝宝
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呜~~宝贝儿~
01:00
baby宝宝
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宝贝儿~
01:03
baby宝宝
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宝贝儿~
01:05
baby宝宝 ♪ (Baby宝宝 crying哭了)
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宝贝儿~(婴儿哭)
01:07
baby宝宝 ♪ (Baby宝宝 crying哭了)
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宝贝儿~(婴儿哭)
01:10
baby宝宝 ♪ (Cat meowing喵喵叫)
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宝贝儿~(猫叫)
01:15
(Dog barking叫声)
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(犬吠)
01:22
Yeah.
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好了
01:24
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
01:31
(Boomerang回旋镖 noises噪音)
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(飞去来器声音)
01:39
It was coming未来 straight直行 for me. I had to. It was, yeah.
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它直接朝我飞过来,打到我了,疼啊
01:43
As you can probably大概 well imagine想像,
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你们大概能想到
01:46
I was a strange奇怪 child儿童.
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我原先是个怪小孩儿
01:48
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:55
Because the thing is, I was constantly经常 trying
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因为我时常尝试
01:58
to extend延伸 my repertoire剧目 of noises噪音 to be
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把我的声音技能
02:02
the very maximum最大值 that it could be.
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发挥到极限
02:05
I was constantly经常 experimenting试验 with these noises噪音.
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我时常用这些声音做实验
02:07
And I'm still on that mission任务.
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现在我仍在干那事儿
02:09
I'm still trying to find every一切 noise噪声
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我仍希望找到
02:11
that I can possibly或者 make.
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自己能够制造出的声音
02:13
And the thing is, I'm a bit older旧的 and wiser聪明 now,
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但是,我现在年龄大了
也变聪明了
02:15
and I know that there's some noises噪音
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因为身体构造的局限性
02:17
I'll never be able能够 to make because I'm hemmed包围 in
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我知道有些声响
是我永远都发不出来的
02:19
by my physical物理 body身体, and there's things it can't do.
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总有事情是它做不了的
02:23
And there's things that no one's那些 voice语音 can do.
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有些声响没有人的嗓音能够完成
02:24
For example, no one can do two notes笔记 at the same相同 time.
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比如说,人声不能同时发出两个音符
02:28
You can do two-tone双色 singing唱歌,
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但你可以同时发出双音调
02:30
which哪一个 monks和尚 can do, which哪一个 is like...
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和尚们就能做到,像这样
02:33
(Two-tone双色 singing唱歌)
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(双音调演示)
02:43
But that's cheating作弊.
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但那是作弊
02:46
And it hurts伤害 your throat.
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而且会伤到喉咙
02:48
So there's things you can't do, and these limitations限制
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所以说,总有声响是你发不出来的
02:51
on the human人的 voice语音 have always really annoyed懊恼 me,
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这些人声的局限总是困扰我呀
02:54
because beatbox口技 is the best最好 way of getting得到
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因为B-Box是把你脑子里的音乐想法
02:58
musical音乐 ideas思路 out of your head and into the world世界,
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发挥出来并走向世界的最好的办法
03:01
but they're sketches素描 at best最好,
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但它们最多算得上草稿
03:03
which哪一个 is what's annoyed懊恼 me.
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那就是困扰我的地方
03:05
If only, if only there was a way
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要是有一个方法
03:07
for these ideas思路 to come out unimpeded畅通
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可以让这些想法不受身体限制
03:10
by the restrictions限制 which哪一个 my body身体 gives it.
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并顺畅的表达出来就好了
03:15
So I've been working加工 with these guys,
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所以,我一直和这些家伙合作
03:17
and we've我们已经 made制作 a machine.
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我们成功造出了一台机器
03:21
We've我们已经 made制作 a system系统 which哪一个 is basically基本上
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我们制造了一个系统
03:23
a live生活 production生产 machine,
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一台实时的创作机器
03:26
a real-time即时的 music音乐 production生产 machine,
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一台实时的音乐创作机器
03:30
and it enables使 me to, using运用 nothing but my voice语音,
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它能让我只用自己的声音
03:34
create创建 music音乐 in real真实 time as I hear it in my head
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即时创作我脑袋里听到的音乐
03:38
unimpeded畅通 by any physical物理 restrictions限制
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不受任何我身体构造
03:41
that my body身体 might威力 place地点 on me.
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可能对我造成的限制
03:43
And I'm going to show显示 you what it can do.
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接下来我就给你们演示一下
03:47
And before I start开始 making制造 noises噪音 with it,
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在我用它制造噪音
03:51
and using运用 it to manipulate操作 my voice语音,
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和用它控制我的声音之前
03:53
I want to reiterate重申 that everything that you're about to hear
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我想重申一下
待会儿你们听到的所有声音
03:56
is being存在 made制作 by my voice语音.
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都是我的声音
04:00
This system系统 has --
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这个系统······
04:03
thank you, beautiful美丽 assistant助理 --
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谢谢你,美丽善良的助手
04:05
this system系统 has no sounds声音 in it itself本身
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在我往这个系统里录音之前
04:10
until直到 I start开始 putting sounds声音 in it,
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它本身是没有任何声音的
04:12
so there's no prerecorded预录 samples样本 of any kind.
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所以,没有任何形式的事先录音
04:16
So once一旦 this thing really gets得到 going,
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一旦系统开始运作
04:18
and it really starts启动 to mangle撕裂 the audio音频 I'm putting into it,
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它就会把我录进去的声音切成片段
04:21
it becomes not obvious明显 that it is the human人的 voice语音,
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人声的特点就不会那么明显了
04:24
but it is, so I'm going to take you through通过 it bit by bit
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所以我先一点一点的带你们体验一下
04:27
and start开始 nice不错 and simple简单.
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来点儿简单易懂的
04:29
So the polyphony复音 problem问题: I've only got one voice语音.
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有一个多声部的问题:
我只有一个声音
04:31
How do I get around the problem问题
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我该怎样克服
04:33
of really wanting希望 to have as many许多 different不同 voices声音
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希望它同时演奏很多不同声音
04:35
going on at the same相同 time.
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这个问题呢
04:37
The simplest简单 way to do it is something like this.
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最简单的方法是这样
04:39
(Beatboxing口技)
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(B-Box)
04:45
By dancing跳舞. It's like this.
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跳舞,像这样
04:47
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
05:19
Thanks谢谢.
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谢谢
05:20
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
05:22
So that's probably大概 the easiest最简单的 way.
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这可能是最简单的方法
05:26
But if you want to do something a little bit more immediate即时,
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但如果你想做点更直接的
05:29
something that you can't achieve实现 with live生活 looping循环,
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用实时循环功能都不能实现的事
05:31
there's other ways方法 to layer your voice语音 up.
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还有其他办法实现声音层叠
05:33
There's things like pitch-shifting音高移位,
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比如说音调转变
05:35
which哪一个 are awesome真棒,
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酷极了
05:36
and I'm going to show显示 you now what that sounds声音 like.
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现在我就给你们演示音调转变
05:38
So I'm going to start开始 another另一个 beat击败 for you, like this.
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我以另一个节拍开始,像这样
05:41
(Beatboxing口技)
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(B-Box)
05:49
There's always got to be a bit of a dance舞蹈 at the start开始,
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开始总会先跳点儿小舞
05:50
because it's just fun开玩笑, so
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只是因为好玩儿
05:52
you can clap along沿 if you want.
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你们可以跟着节拍拍手
05:54
You don't have to. It's fine. Check检查 it out.
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不一定非得拍,没关系,看着
05:57
I'm going to lay铺设 down a bass低音 sound声音 now.
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现在我要加入一个男低音
06:01
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
06:11
And now, a rockabilly乡村摇滚乐 guitar吉他.
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接下来,乡村摇滚吉他
06:27
Which哪一个 is nice不错. But what if I want to make, say, a -- (Applause掌声) --
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很好听,但如果我想加入······
06:31
Thanks谢谢. What if I want to make, say, a rock organ器官?
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谢谢,我想加入摇滚风琴呢
06:33
Is that possible可能? Yes, it is,
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能行吗?当然
06:36
by recording记录 myself like this.
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把我自己的声音录进去,像这样
06:38
(Organ器官 sound声音)
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(风琴声)
06:41
And now I have that, I have that recorded记录.
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现在有了,我已经把它录进去了
06:46
Assign分配 it to a keyboard键盘.
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现在把它转换到键盘上
06:47
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
06:51
So that's cool.
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非常棒
06:53
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
06:55
But what if I wanted to sound声音 like the whole整个 of Pink Floyd弗洛伊德?
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但如果我想听起来像Pink Floyd乐队呢
07:01
Impossible不可能, you say. No.
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你说不可能,错了
07:03
It is possible可能, and you can do it very simply只是
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是可能的
有了这个机器,做起来小菜一碟
07:06
using运用 this machine. It's really fantastic奇妙. Check检查 it out.
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真的很不可思议,看着啊
07:10
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
07:44
So every一切 noise噪声 you can hear there is my voice语音.
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所以说,你们听到的所有声响
都是我的声音
07:47
I didn't just trigger触发 something which哪一个 sounds声音 like that.
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我并没有触发一个那样的装置
07:52
There's no samples样本. There's no synthesizers合成.
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根本没有样本
没有音响合成器
07:53
That is literally按照字面 all my voice语音 being存在 manipulated操纵,
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只是我在控制我的声音
07:57
and when you get to that point, you have to ask, don't you,
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当你意识到那个的时候,你就会问
08:01
what's the point?
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那有什么意义啊
08:02
Why do this? (Laughter笑声)
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为什么这样做呢
08:06
Because it's cheaper便宜 than hiring招聘 the whole整个 of Pink Floyd弗洛伊德,
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因为这比雇Pink Floyd乐队便宜呀
08:09
I suppose假设, is the easy简单 answer回答.
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我想这个答案比较简单
08:11
But in actual实际 fact事实, I haven't没有 made制作 this machine
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但事实上,我们造出这个机器
08:15
so that I can emulate仿真 things that already已经 exist存在.
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不是为了模仿已经存在的声音
08:17
I've made制作 this so that I can make
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我制造这个机器是为了
08:20
any noise噪声 that I can imagine想像.
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演奏我能想象到的所有声音
08:21
So with your permission允许, I'm going to do
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接下来,如果你们允许的话
08:24
some things that are in my mind心神,
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我就演奏一些我脑子里的声音
08:26
and I hope希望 you enjoy请享用 them,
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希望你们喜欢
08:28
because they're rather unusual异常,
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因为它们相当与众不同
08:30
especially特别 when you're doing things which哪一个 are
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尤其是当你们在做这类不寻常的事情时
08:33
as unusual异常 as this, it can be hard to believe
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你很难相信那都是我的声音
08:37
that it is all my voice语音, you see.
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你们瞧着啊
08:38
(Voice语音 effects效果)
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(音效)
08:52
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
09:13
Like this.
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像这样
09:15
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
10:46
So, loosely松弛地 defined定义,
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所以,简单说来
10:50
that is what's possible可能 with the human人的 voice语音.
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这就是人声能干的事儿
10:54
Thank you very much, ladies女士们 and gentlemen绅士.
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谢谢,女士们先生们
10:56
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Shengwei Cai
Reviewed by Psycho Decoder

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Beardyman - Beatboxer and inventor
Beardyman, “ruler of beats and destroyer of dance floors,” has developed a real-time music-production system that places live looping at the center of a new musical paradigm.

Why you should listen

Beardyman, AKA Darren Foreman, was studying product design at Brighton University in the UK when he started beatboxing. After winning two consecutive UK Beatbox Championships, he turned to live looping (recording and playing back audio samples in real time) as a way to layer his vocal ablutions into dance-floor-rocking hour-long sets. He released his debut album in 2011 and has been rocking stages all over the world ever since.

Working with DMGAudio, Beardyman built what he calls the "Beardytron_5000 mkII," a real-time music-production system that could be the solution to the problem of how to smash a dance floor using only your voice -- and how to compose and produce complex and highly nuanced electronic dance music in real time. “There was nothing available that does what I need, so I was forced to make it myself," he says.

More profile about the speaker
Beardyman | Speaker | TED.com