ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Applebaum - Composer
Mark Applebaum has built an instrument out of doorstops and combs, as well as composed a piece of music to be performed by a florist.

Why you should listen

Don’t ask Mark Applebaum the question, “Is this music?” A composer and performer, he takes great joy in challenging the conventional boundaries of musical ontology. His solo, chamber, choral, orchestral, operatic and electroacoustic work has been performed throughout the world. He is also an accomplished jazz pianist and the founding director of the Stanford Improvisation Collective.

An associate professor of composition at Stanford University, Applebaum received the Walter J. Gores Award for excellence in teaching in 2003. He was also recently named the Hazy Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education and the Leland & Edith Smith Faculty Scholar.

More profile about the speaker
Mark Applebaum | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxStanford

Mark Applebaum: The mad scientist of music

Mark Applebaum:音樂的瘋狂科學家

Filmed:
5,439,346 views

Mark Applebaum 創作歌曲,用不可思議的方式打破陳規,寫出一首給花店老闆的協奏曲,並用廢物和隨手可得的物品做成樂器。這場古怪的演講可能會激勵你去挑戰創意創作的「規矩」。(於TEDxStanford 拍攝)
- Composer
Mark Applebaum has built an instrument out of doorstops and combs, as well as composed a piece of music to be performed by a florist. Full bio

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

00:18
I thought if I skipped跳過 it might威力 help my nerves神經,
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我以為如果我跳一跳會比較不緊張
00:22
but I'm actually其實 having a paradoxical自相矛盾 reaction反應 to that,
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但我其實有種矛盾的感受
00:25
so that was a bad idea理念. (Laughter笑聲)
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所以那是糟糕的主意
(笑聲)
00:27
Anyway無論如何, I was really delighted欣喜的 to receive接收 the invitation請帖
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總之,我真的很開心接到邀請
00:30
to present當下 to you some of my music音樂 and some of my work
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來向你們展示一些我身為作曲家的音樂和作品
00:34
as a composer作曲家, presumably想必 because it appeals上訴
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我想這是因為
00:37
to my well-known知名 and abundant豐富 narcissism自戀狂. (Laughter笑聲)
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這滿足了我知名且嚴重的自戀傾向
(笑聲)
00:41
And I'm not kidding開玩笑, I just think we should just
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這並不是在開玩笑
我只是覺得我們應該
00:44
say that and move移動 forward前鋒. (Laughter笑聲)
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先開誠布公再繼續下去
(笑聲)
00:47
So, but the thing is, a dilemma困境 quickly很快 arose出現,
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但重點是,這產生一種矛盾
00:50
and that is that I'm really bored無聊 with music音樂,
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就是我已漸漸對音樂感到無聊
00:52
and I'm really bored無聊 with the role角色 of the composer作曲家,
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我也對我作曲家的身分感到無趣
00:55
and so I decided決定 to put that idea理念, boredom無聊,
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所以我決定將「無聊」這個想法
00:58
as the focus焦點 of my presentation介紹 to you today今天.
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成為我今天演講的主題
01:01
And I'm going to share分享 my music音樂 with you, but I hope希望
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我將會與你們分享我的音樂
01:04
that I'm going to do so in a way that tells告訴 a story故事,
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但我希望使用說故事的方式
01:06
tells告訴 a story故事 about how I used boredom無聊 as a catalyst催化劑
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告訴你們一個故事
有關我如何使用「無聊」
01:09
for creativity創造力 and invention發明, and how boredom無聊
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來當創意和創造力的催化劑
01:12
actually其實 forced被迫 me to change更改 the fundamental基本的 question
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和「無聊」如何迫使我改變
01:15
that I was asking in my discipline學科,
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我在這個領域的基本問題
01:17
and how boredom無聊 also, in a sense,
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還有「無聊」如何
01:19
pushed me towards taking服用 on roles角色 beyond the sort分類 of
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促使我讓作曲家這角色
01:24
most traditional傳統, narrow狹窄 definition定義 of a composer作曲家.
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超越傳統、狹隘的定義
01:26
What I'd like to do today今天 is to start開始 with an excerpt摘抄
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我今天要以一首
01:29
of a piece of music音樂 at the piano鋼琴.
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短短的鋼琴節錄作品作為開始
01:32
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
01:41
Okay, I wrote that. (Laughter笑聲)
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對,這是我寫的
(笑聲)
01:44
No, it's not — (Applause掌聲) Oh, why thank you.
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不,這不是(掌聲)
謝謝
01:46
No, no, I didn't write that.
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不,這不是我寫的
01:48
In fact事實, that was a piece by Beethoven貝多芬,
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事實上,這是貝多芬的曲子
01:50
and so I was not functioning功能 as a composer作曲家.
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而我並不是擔任作曲家的身分
01:53
Just now I was functioning功能 in the role角色 of the interpreter翻譯員,
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我只是作為一位詮釋者
01:56
and there I am, interpreter翻譯員.
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所以我作為一位作品詮釋者
01:58
So, an interpreter翻譯員 of what? Of a piece of music音樂, right?
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詮釋什麼?一首曲子對吧?
02:00
But we can ask the question, "But is it music音樂?"
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但我們可以問:"這是音樂嗎?"
02:05
And I say this rhetorically修辭, because of course課程
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而我是故意這麼說
02:06
by just about any standard標準 we would have to concede承認
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因為當然,用任何標準
我們必須勉強承認
02:09
that this is, of course課程, a piece of music音樂,
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這當然是一首樂曲
02:11
but I put this here now because,
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但是我這麼說是因為
02:14
just to set it in your brains大腦 for the moment時刻,
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我想讓你的腦中停留著這個問題
02:16
because we're going to return返回 to this question.
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因為我們晚一點會回到這問題
02:18
It's going to be a kind of a refrain副歌
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這會是這場演講中
02:19
as we go through通過 the presentation介紹.
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我們要不斷檢視的問題
02:21
So here we have this piece of music音樂 by Beethoven貝多芬,
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我們在這聽這首貝多芬的曲子
02:23
and my problem問題 with it is, it's boring無聊.
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而我的問題是,這好無趣
02:27
I mean, you — I'm just like, a hush, huh -- It's like -- (Laughter笑聲)
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我的意思是,這就像...
(笑聲)
02:33
It's Beethoven貝多芬, how can you say that?
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這是貝多芬,你怎麼能這麼說呢?
02:35
No, well, I don't know, it's very familiar to me.
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我也不知道,我對這首曲子十分熟悉
02:37
I had to practice實踐 it as a kid孩子, and I'm really sick生病 of it. So -- (Laughter笑聲)
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我小時候必須練這首曲子,而我真的很厭倦
(笑聲)
02:40
I would, so what I might威力 like to try to do is to change更改 it,
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所以我想試著改變它
02:43
to transform轉變 it in some ways方法, to personalize個性化 it,
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讓它個人化
02:45
so I might威力 take the opening開盤, like this idea理念 --
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所以我可能會把開頭
02:48
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
02:50
and then I might威力 substitute替代 -- (Music音樂)
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改成這樣(音樂)
02:55
and then I might威力 improvise湊合 on that melody旋律
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然後隨興發揮這個旋律
02:56
that goes forward前鋒 from there -- (Music音樂)
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它就會變成這樣(音樂)
03:00
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
03:26
So that might威力 be the kind of thing -- Why thank you.
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所以基本就是這樣
謝謝
03:29
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
03:33
That would be the kind of thing that I would do,
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就會變成我改編的這樣
03:35
and it's not necessarily一定 better than the Beethoven貝多芬.
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雖然它不一定比貝多芬好
03:37
In fact事實, I think it's not better than it. The thing is -- (Laughter笑聲) --
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我覺得沒有比貝多芬好,但是
(笑聲)
03:41
it's more interesting有趣 to me. It's less boring無聊 for me.
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這對我而言比較有趣,不無聊
03:46
I'm really leaning into me, because I, because I have
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我一直強調「我」,因為我必須思考
03:49
to think about what decisions決定 I'm going to make on the fly
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當我的手飛快的彈奏貝多芬的曲目時
03:53
as that Beethoven貝多芬 text文本 is running賽跑 in time through通過 my head
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我要做什麼決定
03:56
and I'm trying to figure數字 out what kinds of transformations轉換
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我也必須搞清楚
03:58
I'm going to make to it.
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我將要做什麼樣的改變
04:00
So this is an engaging enterprise企業 for me, and
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所以這變成我目前致力的事業
04:02
I've really leaned湊近 into that first person pronoun代詞 thing there,
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這就是為什麼我必須一直強調「我」
這個第一人稱代名詞
04:07
and now my face面對 appears出現 twice兩次, so I think we can agree同意
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而我的臉已經出現兩次,所以我們可以同意
04:09
that this is a fundamentally從根本上 solipsistic唯我論 enterprise企業. (Laughter笑聲)
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這基本上是個「唯我論」的事業
(笑聲)
04:13
But it's an engaging one, and it's interesting有趣 to me
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但這真的是迷人的事情,我也覺得很有趣
04:16
for a while, but then I get bored無聊 with it, and by it,
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但過了一陣子,我又覺得無聊了
04:18
I actually其實 mean, the piano鋼琴, because it becomes,
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無聊的原因是鋼琴
04:21
it's this familiar instrument儀器, it's timbral音色 range範圍 is actually其實
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因為它是種常見的樂器
但它的音域是被限制的
04:24
pretty漂亮 compressed壓縮, at least最小 when you play on the keyboard鍵盤,
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至少當你彈琴時是這樣
04:26
and if you're not doing things like listening to it
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而如果你不去仔細聽它
04:29
after you've lit發光的 it on fire or something like that, you know.
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就像它被點上火之類的
04:32
It gets得到 a little bit boring無聊, and so pretty漂亮 soon不久
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它很快地也變得有些無聊
04:34
I go through通過 other instruments儀器, they become成為 familiar,
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我嘗試過其它樂器,也漸漸熟悉它們
04:36
and eventually終於 I find myself designing設計 and constructing建設
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最終我發現我在設計和打造我自己的樂器
04:38
my own擁有 instrument儀器, and I brought one with me today今天,
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而我今天有帶其中一種來
04:43
and I thought I would play a little bit on it for you
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而我會用它彈奏一小段給你聽
04:46
so you can hear what it sounds聲音 like.
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你就知道它聽起來是什麼樣子
04:48
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
04:59
You gotta總得 have doorstopsdoorstops, that's important重要. (Laughter笑聲)
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你必須要有門擋,這很重要(笑聲)
05:05
I've got combs梳子. They're the only combs梳子 that I own擁有. (Music音樂)
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我也有梳子,這是我唯一擁有的梳子
(音樂)
05:08
They're all mounted安裝 on my instruments儀器. (Laughter笑聲)
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它們全都在我的樂器之中(笑聲)
05:11
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
05:20
I can actually其實 do all sorts排序 of things. I can play
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我其實可以做很多事情
05:23
with a violin小提琴 bow. I don't have to use the chopsticks筷子.
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我可以用琴弓演奏
不用筷子
05:25
So we have this sound聲音. (Music音樂)
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所以我們有這樣的聲音(音樂)
05:33
And with a bank銀行 of live生活 electronics電子產品,
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若再加上一組電子儀器
05:35
I can change更改 the sounds聲音 radically根本. (Music音樂)
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我可以徹底的改變聲音(音樂)
05:39
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
05:48
Like that, and like this. (Music音樂)
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像這樣,和這樣(音樂)
05:55
And so forth向前.
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和其他類似這樣的
05:57
So this gives you a little bit of an idea理念 of the sound聲音 world世界
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所以這讓你稍稍了解這個樂器的各種聲音
05:59
of this instrument儀器, which哪一個 I think is quite相當 interesting有趣
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我覺得蠻有趣的
06:02
and it puts看跌期權 me in the role角色 of the inventor發明者, and the nice不錯 thing about —
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這讓我成為一位發明家
很棒的是
06:05
This instrument儀器 is called the MouseketeerMouseketeer ... (Laughter笑聲)
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這樂器叫做「鼠劍客」(笑聲)
06:09
and the cool thing about it is
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而很酷的事是
06:11
I'm the world's世界 greatest最大 MouseketeerMouseketeer player播放機. (Laughter笑聲)
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我是世界上「鼠劍客」最棒的演奏家(笑聲)
06:14
Okay? (Applause掌聲)
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OK?(掌聲)
06:16
So in that regard看待, this is one of the things,
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所以講到這,這是其中一件
06:19
this is one of the privileges特權 of being存在,
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讓我感到榮幸
06:21
and here's這裡的 another另一個 role角色, the inventor發明者, and by the way,
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讓我成為發明家
順道一提
06:24
when I told you that I'm the world's世界 greatest最大,
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當我跟你說我是世界上最棒的人
06:26
if you're keeping保持 score得分了, we've我們已經 had narcissism自戀狂 and solipsism唯我主義
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如果你還記得,你知道我是很自戀和唯我論的
06:30
and now a healthy健康 dose劑量 of egocentricism自我中心.
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而現在我還是個自我中心的人
06:32
I know some of you are just, you know, bingo答對了! Or, I don't know. (Laughter笑聲)
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我知道你們有些人早就知道了(笑聲)
06:36
Anyway無論如何, so this is also a really enjoyable其樂融融 role角色.
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所以這是我很享受的一個角色
06:41
I should concede承認 also that I'm the world's世界 worst最差 MouseketeerMouseketeer player播放機,
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我也應該承認我是世界上最差的「鼠劍客」演奏家
06:44
and it was this distinction分別 that I was most worried擔心 about
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而這讓我擔憂,我跟我之前的角色
06:46
when I was on that prior side of the tenure保有 divide劃分.
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沒有太大的差別
06:49
I'm glad高興 I'm past過去 that. We're not going to go into that.
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我很高興我已經不再擔憂
我們就不繼續談這件事了
06:52
I'm crying哭了 on the inside. There are still scars傷疤.
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我的內心仍在哭泣,心中有疤
06:55
Anyway無論如何, but I guess猜測 my point is that all of these enterprises企業
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我猜我想說的是
所有這些事業
06:59
are engaging to me in their multiplicity多重, but as I've presented呈現 them
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都讓我對它們有不同的體驗
當我展示給你們看時
07:02
to you today今天, they're actually其實 solitary enterprises企業,
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他們的確是很孤獨的事業
07:06
and so pretty漂亮 soon不久 I want to commune公社 with other people, and so
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而很快的我會想再跟其他人交流
07:09
I'm delighted欣喜的 that in fact事實 I get to compose撰寫 works作品 for them.
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我會很開心能夠幫別人編曲
07:11
I get to write, sometimes有時 for soloists獨唱 and I get to work with one person,
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我開始寫曲,有時是幫獨奏家
所以我跟一個人合作
07:14
sometimes有時 full充分 orchestras樂團, and I work with a lot of people,
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有時候是跟整個樂團,會跟很多人合作
07:18
and this is probably大概 the capacity容量, the role角色 creatively創造性
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而或許這個能力,創意家的角色
07:21
for which哪一個 I'm probably大概 best最好 known已知 professionally專業.
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是我最知名的專業
07:24
Now, some of my scores分數 as a composer作曲家 look like this,
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現在,很多我寫的曲子看起來像這樣
07:27
and others其他 look like this,
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還有其他的像這樣
07:29
and some look like this,
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有些像這樣
07:32
and I make all of these by hand, and it's really tedious乏味.
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我都是用手填寫的,非常枯燥乏味
07:35
It takes a long, long time to make these scores分數,
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要花很多很多時間來填譜
07:37
and right now I'm working加工 on a piece
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而現在我正在寫一首曲子
07:39
that's 180 pages網頁 in length長度,
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譜總共有180頁
07:41
and it's just a big chunk of my life, and I'm just pulling out hair頭髮.
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占了我一大部分的生活,讓我抓頭髮
07:45
I have a lot of it, and that's a good thing I suppose假設. (Laughter笑聲)
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我有很多頭髮,所以我想這是件好事(笑聲)
07:48
So this gets得到 really boring無聊 and really tiresome煩人的 for me,
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這讓我感到很無聊且勞累
07:51
so after a while the process處理 of notating其中註明了 is not only boring無聊,
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所以過了一陣子填譜變得很無聊
07:54
but I actually其實 want the notation符號 to be more interesting有趣,
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但我其實希望這件事變得更有趣
07:57
and so that's pushed me to do other projects項目 like this one.
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所以那促使我著手其他像這樣的計劃
08:00
This is an excerpt摘抄 from a score得分了 called
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這是一段摘錄
08:02
"The Metaphysics形而上學 of Notation符號."
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從《填譜的形式學》這首曲子
08:05
The full充分 score得分了 is 72 feet wide.
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整首歌有72英呎長
08:07
It's a bunch of crazy pictographic象形 notation符號.
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全都是用怪異的符號寫成
08:10
Let's zoom放大 in on one section部分 of it right here. You can see
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讓我們放大檢視這個區塊,你可以看到
08:13
it's rather detailed詳細. I do all of this with drafting製圖 templates模板,
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它其實很詳細,我都是用有銳利手柄的模尺
08:17
with straight直行 edges邊緣, with French法國 curves曲線, and by freehand寫意,
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和曲線模板,用手畫
08:20
and the 72 feet was actually其實 split分裂
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而72英呎又分為
08:23
into 12 six-foot-wide六英尺寬 panels面板 that were installed安裝
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12個6英呎長的嵌板
08:26
around the Cantor領唱者 Arts藝術 Center中央 Museum博物館 lobby前廳 balcony陽台,
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裝在藝術中心大廳的台廊
08:31
and it appeared出現 for one year in the museum博物館,
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在那待了一年
08:35
and during that year, it was experienced有經驗的 as visual視覺 art藝術
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在那一年,大部分的時間,它被展示
08:37
most of the week, except, as you can see in these pictures圖片,
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就像一般視覺藝術那樣,除了,如你所見的
08:39
on Fridays星期五, from noon中午 til胡麻 one, and only during that time,
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在星期五,中午到1點,只有在那段時間
08:42
various各個 performers表演者 came來了 and interpreted解讀 these strange奇怪
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不同的演奏家來詮釋這些怪異
08:46
and undefined未定義 pictographic象形 glyphs字形. (Laughter笑聲)
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無法定義的圖像
08:49
Now this was a really exciting扣人心弦 experience經驗 for me.
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這對我而言是個值得興奮的經驗
08:53
It was gratifying可喜 musically音樂, but I think
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它在音樂上使人滿足,但我想
08:54
the more important重要 thing is it was exciting扣人心弦 because I got to take on
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重要的是,我很興奮因為我又有其他的角色
08:57
another另一個 role角色, especially特別 given特定 that it appeared出現 in a museum博物館,
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特別是可以在藝術館展示那種
09:00
and that is as visual視覺 artist藝術家. (Laughter笑聲)
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我是視覺藝術家(笑聲)
09:03
We're going to fill up the whole整個 thing, don't worry擔心. (Laughter笑聲)
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我們會慢慢把這整個頁面填滿,別擔心(笑聲)
09:06
I am multitudes眾人. (Laughter笑聲)
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我很多才多藝的(笑聲)
09:08
So one of the things is that, I mean, some people
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所以有時候有些人會說
09:11
would say, like, "Oh, you're being存在 a dilettante外行,"
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"喔,你只是半調子的藝術家"
09:12
and maybe that's true真正. I can understand理解 how, I mean,
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也許的確如此,我可以了解為什麼
09:15
because I don't have a pedigree譜系 in visual視覺 art藝術
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因為我並非視覺藝術出身
09:17
and I don't have any training訓練, but it's just something
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我也沒受過任何相關訓練
但這只是種
09:19
that I wanted to do as an extension延期 of my composition組成,
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我希望我在編曲以外能做的事情
09:22
as an extension延期 of a kind of creative創作的 impulse衝動.
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像是某種創意強迫症的延伸
09:24
I can understand理解 the question, though雖然. "But is it music音樂?"
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我可以了解這個問題:"這是音樂嗎?"
09:28
I mean, there's not any traditional傳統 notation符號.
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因為那並不是傳統的樂譜
09:30
I can also understand理解 that sort分類 of implicit含蓄 criticism批評
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我也可以了解那些含蓄的批評
09:32
in this piece, "S-togS-TOG," which哪一個 I made製作 when I was living活的 in Copenhagen哥本哈根.
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這是我住在哥本哈根時創作的作品"鐵路"
09:35
I took the Copenhagen哥本哈根 subway地鐵 map地圖 and
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我用哥本哈根的地鐵地圖
09:37
I renamed改名 all the stations to abstract抽象 musical音樂 provocations挑釁,
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並將所有的車站重新命名為抽象的音樂術語
09:41
and the players玩家, who are synchronized同步 with stopwatches秒錶,
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而演奏家們都帶著同步的碼表
09:43
follow跟隨 the timetables時間表, which哪一個 are listed上市 in minutes分鐘 past過去 the hour小時.
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照著時刻表,是用幾時幾分顯示的
09:46
So this is a case案件 of actually其實 adapting適應 something,
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這例子就是真的改寫某種東西
09:49
or maybe stealing偷竊行為 something,
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或是偷某種東西
09:51
and then turning車削 it into a musical音樂 notation符號.
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然後將它轉化為樂譜
09:54
Another另一個 adaptation適應 would be this piece.
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另一個改編是這個作品
09:56
I took the idea理念 of the wristwatch手錶, and I turned轉身 it into a musical音樂 score得分了.
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我將手錶轉化成樂譜
09:59
I made製作 my own擁有 faces面孔, and had a company公司 fabricate製造 them,
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我自己製做錶面,請一間公司組裝
10:02
and the players玩家 follow跟隨 these scores分數.
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而演奏家照著這個譜
10:04
They follow跟隨 the second第二 hands, and as they pass通過 over
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他們照著秒針演奏,當秒針經過
10:07
the various各個 symbols符號, the players玩家 respond響應 musically音樂.
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不同的符號,演奏家也跟著做音樂性的回應
10:09
Here's這裡的 another另一個 example from another另一個 piece,
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這是另一個作品
10:12
and then its realization實現.
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而這是成品
10:14
So in these two capacities能力, I've been scavenger清道夫,
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所以在這兩種才能中,我是拾荒者
10:16
in the sense of taking服用, like, the subway地鐵 map地圖, right,
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蒐集像是地鐵地圖,沒錯
10:19
or thief maybe, and I've also been designer設計師,
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或也許像小偷,而我也是設計師
10:21
in the case案件 of making製造 the wristwatches手錶.
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像是設計這個手錶
10:23
And once一旦 again, this is, for me, interesting有趣.
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我再次說,這對我而言很有趣
10:27
Another另一個 role角色 that I like to take on is that of the performance性能 artist藝術家.
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我的另一個角色是表演藝術家
10:30
Some of my pieces have these kind of weird奇怪的 theatric的戲劇 elements分子,
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我有些作品有這些怪異、戲劇化的元素
10:33
and I often經常 perform演出 them. I want to show顯示 you a clip
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而我經常演奏它們,我想給你們看一段影片
10:35
from a piece called "Echolalia模仿言語."
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是一首叫《模仿他人言語》的曲子
10:37
This is actually其實 being存在 performed執行 by Brian布賴恩 McWhorterMcWhorter,
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這是Brian McWhorter所演奏的
10:40
who is an extraordinary非凡 performer演員.
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他是一位很棒的演奏家
10:41
Let's watch a little bit of this, and please notice注意 the instrumentation儀器儀表.
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我們來看一小段,請注意其演奏方式
10:45
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
11:14
Okay, I hear you were laughing nervously緊張 because
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我可以聽見你們不安的笑聲
11:15
you too could hear that the drill鑽頭 was a little bit sharp尖銳,
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因為你也聽到電鑽的聲音有些刺耳
11:18
the intonation腔調 was a little questionable可疑的. (Laughter笑聲)
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這首歌的音調似乎出了點問題(笑聲)
11:20
Let's watch just another另一個 clip.
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我們再看另一段影片
11:22
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
11:32
You can see the mayhem混亂 continues繼續, and there's, you know,
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你可以看到這破壞行動仍然持續進行
11:35
there were no clarinets單簧管 and trumpets小號
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而這裡並沒有豎笛、小喇叭
11:37
and flutes笛子 and violins小提琴. Here's這裡的 a piece that has
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長笛和小提琴
而這裡有另一段影片
11:39
an even more unusual異常, more peculiar奇特 instrumentation儀器儀表.
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更不尋常,有更怪異的演奏方式
11:41
This is "TlTLön," for three conductors導體 and no players玩家. (Laughter笑聲)
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這首是《Tlön》,有3個指揮但沒有演奏家
(笑聲)
11:58
This was based基於 on the experience經驗 of actually其實 watching觀看
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這是根據以下的經驗,觀看兩個人
12:00
two people having a virulent有毒 argument論據 in sign標誌 language語言,
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正在透過手語進行惡毒的爭吵
12:02
which哪一個 produced生成 no decibels分貝 to speak說話 of,
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完全沒有音量
12:04
but affectively情感上, psychologically心理, was a very loud experience經驗.
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但卻有影響力、心理層面的「震撼」經驗
12:07
So, yeah, I get it, with, like, the weird奇怪的 appliances家電
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所以我了解,這些怪異的器具
12:11
and then the total absence缺席 of conventional常規 instruments儀器
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沒有任何常見樂器
12:15
and this glut充斥 of conductors導體, people might威力, you know,
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太多的指揮
12:18
wonder奇蹟, yeah, "Is this music音樂?"
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你可能會想"這是音樂嗎?"
12:21
But let's move移動 on to a piece where clearly明確地 I'm behaving行為 myself,
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但讓我們在聽一首我很「安分」譜寫的曲子
12:25
and that is my "Concerto協奏曲 for Orchestra樂隊."
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這是我的《給交響樂團的協奏曲》
12:27
You're going to notice注意 a lot of conventional常規 instruments儀器
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你會看到很多一般常見的樂器
12:29
in this clip. (Music音樂)
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出現在這段影片中(音樂)
12:33
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
12:46
This, in fact事實, is not the title標題 of this piece.
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這不是這首曲子的名稱
12:48
I was a bit mischievous惡作劇. In fact事實, to make it more interesting有趣,
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我有一點調皮,只想讓它看更有趣
12:50
I put a space空間 right in here, and this is the actual實際 title標題 of the piece.
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我在這裡拿掉一個字,這才是真正的曲名
《給花店老闆和交響樂團的協奏曲》
12:55
Let's continue繼續 with that same相同 excerpt摘抄.
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我們再繼續聽這首
《給花店老闆和交響樂團的協奏曲》
12:57
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
《給花店老闆和交響樂團的協奏曲》
13:07
It's better with a florist花商, right? (Laughter笑聲) (Music音樂)
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我做花店老闆肯定不錯,對吧?(笑聲)
(音樂)
13:15
Or at least最小 it's less boring無聊. Let's watch a couple一對 more clips剪輯.
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或至少沒有這麼無聊
我們再多看幾個影片
13:17
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
13:31
So with all these theatric的戲劇 elements分子, this pushes me in another另一個 role角色,
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所以這些有戲劇性的元素
讓我又進入另一個角色
13:34
and that would be, possibly或者, the dramaturge劇作家.
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那就是戲劇家
13:37
I was playing播放 nice不錯. I had to write the orchestra樂隊 bits, right?
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我很安分吧?因為我必須為樂團譜曲
13:42
Okay? But then there was this other stuff東東, right?
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但這裡又有這個花店老闆
13:44
There was the florist花商, and I can understand理解 that,
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所以我可以理解
13:46
once一旦 again, we're putting pressure壓力 on the ontology本體論 of music音樂
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我們再度挑戰音樂的本質
13:49
as we know it conventionally傳統,
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不是像我們一般熟悉的那樣
13:52
but let's look at one last piece today今天 I'm going to share分享 with you.
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這是我今天要與你們分享的最後一首歌
13:56
This is going to be a piece called "Aphasia失語症,"
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它叫《失語症》
13:59
and it's for hand gestures手勢 synchronized同步 to sound聲音,
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它讓手勢跟聲響同步
14:03
and this invites邀請 yet然而 another另一個 role角色, and final最後 one
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而這又賦予我另一個角色,是最後一個
14:05
I'll share分享 with you, which哪一個 is that of the choreographer編舞.
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那就是編舞家
14:08
And the score得分了 for the piece looks容貌 like this,
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這首歌的譜看起來是這樣
14:10
and it instructs指示 me, the performer演員, to make
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它指導我這個表演者
14:15
various各個 hand gestures手勢 at very specific具體 times
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在特定的時間做不同的手勢
14:17
synchronized同步 with an audio音頻 tape膠帶, and that audio音頻 tape膠帶
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並與錄音帶同步,而那錄音帶
14:20
is made製作 up exclusively of vocal聲音的 samples樣本.
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是只用語音樣本所製成的
14:23
I recorded記錄 an awesome真棒 singer歌手,
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我錄下一位很棒的歌手的聲音
14:25
and I took the sound聲音 of his voice語音 in my computer電腦,
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而我將他的聲音放到電腦
14:27
and I warped扭曲 it in countless無數 ways方法 to come up with
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並用各種方式扭曲這個聲音
14:30
the soundtrack聲帶 that you're about to hear.
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做成你現在要聽到的這首歌
14:32
And I'll perform演出 just an excerpt摘抄 of "Aphasia失語症" for you here. Okay?
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而我將表演《失語症》的其中一段給你看
14:37
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
15:16
So that gives you a little taste味道 of that piece. (Applause掌聲)
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所以你們大概知道這首歌的樣子
(掌聲)
15:22
Yeah, okay, that's kind of weird奇怪的 stuff東東.
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這首歌的確很奇怪
15:24
Is it music音樂? Here's這裡的 how I want to conclude得出結論.
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它是音樂嗎?我將這麼結論
15:27
I've decided決定, ultimately最終, that this is the wrong錯誤 question,
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我最終決定,這問題是錯誤的
15:29
that this is not the important重要 question.
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因為這問題並不重要
15:31
The important重要 question is, "Is it interesting有趣?"
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重要的是:"它有趣嗎?"
15:34
And I follow跟隨 this question, not worrying令人擔憂 about "Is it music音樂?" --
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而我接續這個問題
不再擔憂「是不是音樂」這件事
15:37
not worrying令人擔憂 about the definition定義 of the thing that I'm making製造.
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也不擔憂到底該如何定義我的作品
15:39
I allow允許 my creativity創造力 to push me
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我讓我的創意引領我
15:42
in directions方向 that are simply只是 interesting有趣 to me,
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走向我感興趣的方向
15:44
and I don't worry擔心 about the likeness of the result結果
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我並不擔心結果如何
15:47
to some notion概念, some paradigm範例,
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是不是合乎一些講述樂曲應該如何構成
的見解和先例
15:49
of what music音樂 composition組成 is supposed應該 to be,
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是不是合乎一些講述樂曲應該如何構成
的見解和先例
15:52
and that has actually其實 urged敦促 me, in a sense,
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這某種程度促使我
15:54
to take on a whole整個 bunch of different不同 roles角色,
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身兼許多角色
15:56
and so what I want you to think about is,
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所以我希望你們思考的是
15:58
to what extent程度 might威力 you change更改 the fundamental基本的 question
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對於你領域的基本準則
你會做何種程度的改變
16:02
in your discipline學科, and, okay,
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對於你領域的基本準則
你會做何種程度的改變
16:04
I'm going to put one extra額外 little footnote腳註 in here,
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我要再註明一小件事
16:07
because, like, I realized實現 I mentioned提到
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因為,像我之前提到
16:08
some psychological心理 defects缺陷 earlier, and we also,
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我有些心理上的缺點
16:11
along沿 the way, had a fair公平 amount of obsessive強迫症 behavior行為,
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而我們在某些事情上都有不少的偏執行為
16:15
and there was some delusional妄想 behavior行為 and things like that,
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就像某些人有妄想的行為
16:17
and here I think we could say that this is an argument論據
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我認為我們可以這麼論定
16:20
for self-loathing自我厭惡 and a kind of schizophrenia精神分裂症,
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是自我厭惡
或用比較常見的說法
16:22
at least最小 in the popular流行 use of the term術語,
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是精神分裂症
16:24
and I really mean dissociative分離性 identity身分 disorder紊亂, okay. (Laughter笑聲)
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而我其實覺得這是自我認同分裂失調(笑聲)
16:26
Anyway無論如何, despite儘管 those perils危險, I would urge敦促 you
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但除此之外,我鼓勵你
16:29
to think about the possibility可能性 that you might威力 take on roles角色
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思考你可以扮演其他角色的可能性
16:32
in your own擁有 work, whether是否 they are neighboring鄰接
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在你的職場專業中,不管有關
16:34
or far-flung遙遠 from your professional專業的 definition定義.
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或是完全不相關
16:36
And with that, I thank you very much. (Applause掌聲)
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非常感謝(掌聲)
16:38
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Gina Wang
Reviewed by Yuguo Zhang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Applebaum - Composer
Mark Applebaum has built an instrument out of doorstops and combs, as well as composed a piece of music to be performed by a florist.

Why you should listen

Don’t ask Mark Applebaum the question, “Is this music?” A composer and performer, he takes great joy in challenging the conventional boundaries of musical ontology. His solo, chamber, choral, orchestral, operatic and electroacoustic work has been performed throughout the world. He is also an accomplished jazz pianist and the founding director of the Stanford Improvisation Collective.

An associate professor of composition at Stanford University, Applebaum received the Walter J. Gores Award for excellence in teaching in 2003. He was also recently named the Hazy Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education and the Leland & Edith Smith Faculty Scholar.

More profile about the speaker
Mark Applebaum | Speaker | TED.com