For many of us right now, our lives are quieter than normal. And quiet can be unnerving. It can make you feel lonely, or just all too aware of the things you're missing out on.
对于很多人来说,我们当前的生活 比平常安静了不少。 静默会让人感到不安, 让你感到孤独, 或者一门心思地专注于 你错过的事情。
I think about sound all the time. I'm a sound designer, and I host the podcast "Twenty Thousand Hertz." It's all about the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. But I think this is the perfect time to talk about silence. Because what I've come to understand is that there is no such thing as silence. And the person who opened my mind to this idea is one of the most influential composers in history.
我每分每刻都在思考声音。 我是一名音响设计师, 也是《两万赫兹》播客平台的主持人。 我们探索世界上最有辨识度, 也最有意思的声音。 但我觉得,现在也是 讨论静默的绝佳时机。 因为我渐渐认识到, 绝对的静默是根本不存在的。 让我对这个想法产生共鸣的, 是历史上最有影响力的音乐家之一。
(Piano music)
(钢琴曲)
John Cage has made an impact on artists in many genres, from avant-garde musicians, to modern dance, to pop music. Right now, we're listening to his 1948 piece called "In a Landscape." This version was recorded in 1994 by Stephen Drury.
约翰·凯奇(John Cage ) 影响了各种类型的艺术家, 从先锋音乐到现代舞, 再到流行音乐。 我们正在听的是他 1948 年的作品 《在风景里》。 这个版本是史蒂文·德鲁里 (Stephen Drury)在1949 年录制的。
(Piano music)
(钢琴曲)
This piece is actually not very typical of John Cage's writing. He's more known for his innovations and avant-garde techniques. But despite his reputation, no one was prepared for what he did in 1952, when he created the most daring piece of his career. It was called "4'33''," and it was a piece that some critics even refused to call "music," because for the entire duration of the piece, the performer plays nothing at all. Well, to be technical, the performer is actually playing rest. But to the audience, it looks like nothing is happening.
这个曲子并不属于 约翰·凯奇的经典创作风格。 人们更了解的是他的 创新和先锋技巧。 尽管如此, 人们还是难以接受 他在 1952 年创作的, 也是他事业中最冒险的一部作品: 《4 分 33 秒》。 某些评论家甚至 拒绝称这个曲子为 “音乐”, 因为自始至终, 表演者 什么都没演奏。 从技术上讲, 表演者其实在弹休止符。 但对于观众, 好像什么都没发生。
John Cage's "4'33''" was performed for the first time in the summer of 1952, by renowned pianist David Tudor. It was at the Maverick Concert hall in Woodstock, New York. This is a beautiful wooden building with huge openings to the outdoors. So, David Tudor walked out on stage, sat down at the piano, then closed the piano lid. He then sat in silence, only moving to open and close the piano lid between each of the three movements. After the time was up, he got up and walked off the stage.
约翰·凯奇的这首《4 分 33 秒》 首演是在 1952 年的夏天, 由著名的钢琴家 大卫·都铎( David Tudor) 进行了演绎。 表演是在纽约伍德斯托克的 小牛音乐厅, 一个非常美丽的木制建筑, 与室外空间完美融合。 大卫·都铎走上舞台, 坐到钢琴前, 合上了钢琴盖。 然后,他就那样静静地坐着, 只在三个乐章的间隙 打开琴盖,再合上。 时间到了, 他就站起来, 走下了舞台。
(Piano music)
(钢琴曲)
The audience had no idea what to think. It made people wonder if Cage is even taking his career seriously. A close friend even wrote to him, begging that he not turn his career into a joke. John Cage had, well, if you could call it, composed a piece of music that really challenged some very established ideas about music composition. It's something that musicians still debate today.
所有观众无不一头雾水。 这次首演让人们怀疑凯奇 是否在严肃地对待他的事业。 一位好友甚至写信给他, 求他不要把他的事业变成一个笑话。 约翰·凯奇创作的这个“曲子”; 它着实挑战了一些 约定俗成的 作曲理念。 直到今天,音乐家们 仍然对此争论不休。
To understand just what John Cage was thinking, let's back up to the 1940s. Back then, John Cage was making a name for himself composing for the prepared piano.
为了理解约翰·凯奇的创作初衷, 让我们回到 1940 年代。 当时, 约翰·凯奇因预置钢琴作曲 而为人所熟知。
(Piano music)
(钢琴曲)
To make music like this, John Cage would put objects inside the piano, between the strings. Things you just find lying around, like screws, tape and rubber erasers. So now, you've transformed the piano from a tonal instrument with high and low pitches into a collection of unique sounds. The music you're hearing is Cage's "Sonata V," from "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano." Probably his most famous work outside of "4'33''." This version was performed by Boris Berman. John Cage wrote incredibly detailed instructions about where to place each object in the piano. But it's impossible for every performer to get the exact same objects, so the sound you get is always different. Basically, it comes down to random chance. This was pretty bananas and pretty alien to the way most composers and musicians are taught to do things.
要创作出这样的音乐, 约翰·凯奇会把物件 塞进琴弦之间—— 都是些你可以随便看到的东西, 比如螺丝、胶带和橡皮。 这样,就把钢琴从一个 有高低音调的乐器 转变成了各种声响的集合。 你们现在听到的是 凯奇的《奏鸣曲 V》, 取自《预置钢琴奏鸣曲和插曲》。 除了《4 分 33 秒》, 这大概是他最有名的作品了。 这个版本是由鲍里斯·贝尔曼 (Boris Berman)演奏的。 关于物件在钢琴里的位置, 约翰·凯奇写了非常详细的说明。 不过,每个表演者 不可能找到完全一样的物件, 所以每次表演的声响效果也不一样。 都会很偶然、很随机。 这对于多数的作曲家和音乐家而言 即疯狂又陌生。
John Cage was becoming increasingly interested in chance and randomness and letting the universe provide the answer to the question "What note should I play next?" But to hear the answer to the question, first, you have to listen. And in the 1940s, listening to the universe was getting harder to do.
约翰·凯奇对随机性和偶然性 越来越感兴趣, 决定让宇宙来回答 “下个音符我该弹什么?” 首先,你必须倾听, 才能得到宇宙对这个问题的回答。 可是在 1940 年代, 倾听变得越来越难。
(Elevator music)
(电梯音乐)
The Muzak company was founded in the '30s. It really took off, and soon, there was constant background music nearly everywhere. It was almost impossible to escape. John Cage realized that people were losing the option to shut out the background music of the world. He worried that Muzak would prevent people from hearing silence altogether.
罐头音乐公司(Muzak) 成立于 1930 年代, 而且一下子就火起来了, 不久,几乎到处都能听到 它的背景音乐, 几乎避无可避。 约翰·凯奇意识到 人们越来越无法选择 关闭世俗背景音乐。 他担心罐头音乐 让人们无法再享受到静默。
In 1948, four years before he wrote "4'33''," John Cage mentioned that he wanted to write a four-and-a-half-minute-long piece of silence and sell it to the Muzak company. It started as something of a political statement or an offhand comment, but this idea struck a nerve and quickly evolved. John Cage was starting to think deeply about silence. And when he visited a truly quiet place, he made a startling discovery.
1948 年, 在他写《4 分 33 秒》的四年前, 约翰·凯奇提到他想写一首 四分半钟的静默曲, 卖给罐头音乐公司。 这一开始仅仅被当作 一种政治宣言 或者随意的玩笑, 但是,这个主意触动了他, 很快就延展了。 约翰·凯奇开始对静默 进行更深刻的思考。 他访问了一个真正安静的地方, 得到了一个触目惊心的发现。
John Cage visited an anechoic chamber at Harvard University. Anechoic chambers are rooms that are acoustically treated to minimize sound to almost zero. There are no sounds in these rooms, so John Cage didn't expect to hear anything at all. But he actually heard his own blood circulating.
约翰·凯奇来到了 哈佛大学的一个消声室。 消声室被做了消声处理, 音量被减少到几乎为零。 这些房间里没有任何声音, 所以,约翰·凯奇 不期待听到任何声音。 可是,他听到了自己的血液循环。
(Pulse)
(脉搏)
I've personally experienced an anechoic chamber, and it's a really wild experience that can completely change your perceptions about sound and silence. It really felt like my brain just turning up an amplifier, grasping for anything to hear. Just like John Cage, I could very clearly hear my blood pushing through my body.
我也亲身体验过消声室, 那真的是一段非常神奇的经历, 可以彻底改变 人们对声与静的观念。 我觉得我大脑里的扩音器被调高了, 试着抓取任何可听的东西。 同约翰·凯奇一样, 我可以清楚地听到 我的血液在身体里流动。
John Cage realized, in that moment, that no matter where we are, even our bodies are making sound. There's basically no such thing as true silence. As long as you are in your body, you're always hearing something.
那一瞬间,约翰·凯奇意识到, 无论我们在哪里, 连我们的身体都在发声。 基本上,绝对的静默是不存在的。 只要你处在一个内在的自我之中, 你总会听到什么。
This is where John Cage's interest in chance and randomness met his interest in silence. He realized that creating an environment with no distractions wasn't about creating silence. It wasn't even about controlling noise. It was about the sounds that were already there, but you suddenly hear for the first time when you're really ready to listen.
于是,约翰·凯奇对静默的兴趣与 对声音的随机性的兴趣 实现了完美的融合。 他意识到,创造一个毫无干扰的环境 并不意味着绝对的静默, 也与控制噪音无关。 而是,当你专心聆听时, 会突然第一次听到 那些早已存在的声音。
That's what's so often misunderstood about "4'33''." People assume it's a joke, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It sounds different everywhere you play it. And that's the point. What John Cage really wanted us to hear is the beauty of the sonic world around us.
那也正是为什么 《4 分 33 秒》经常被误解。 人们以为它是一个玩笑, 可是,事实绝非如此。 你听到什么取决于你在哪里演奏, 那才是关键。 约翰·凯奇真正想让我们听到的是 我们周围的这个有声的世界的美。
(Birds chirping)
(鸟鸣)
(Overlapping voices)
(叠加的声音)
(Church bell ringing)
(教堂的钟声)
(Crickets chirping and owl hooting)
(蟋蟀唧唧叫,猫头鹰鸮叫)
"4'33''" should be a mindful experience that helps you focus on accepting things just the way they are. It's not something that anyone else can tell you how you're supposed to feel. It's deeply personal. It also brings up some pretty big questions about our sonic world. Is "4'33''" music, is it sound, is sound music? Is there even a difference? John Cage reminds us that music isn't the only kind of sound worth listening to. All sounds are worth thinking about.
《4 分 33 秒》应该是 一个专注的体验, 帮助我们关注和接受 事物本身的样子。 这完全是因人而异的切身感受, 不可言传。 这也引发了对于我们这个有声世界的 很大的疑问。 《4 分 33 秒》属于音乐、声响, 还是声响音乐? 这些有任何区别吗? 约翰·凯奇提醒我们, 值得倾听的声响不止有音乐。 所有的声响都值得思考。
We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset our ears. And if we become more conscious of what we hear, we'll inherently make our world sound better. Quietness is not when we turn off our minds to sound, but when we can really start to listen and hear the world in all of its sonic beauty.
我们有一个千载难逢的机会 重置我们的耳朵。 如果我们对这个世界的声音 更加留心, 它们在我们内心深处 听起来就会更美妙。 静默并不是充耳不闻, 而恰恰是 可以领略声音之美的时候。
So in this spirit, let's perform "4'33''" together, wherever you are. It's three movements, and I'll let you know when they start. Listen to the texture and rhythm of the sounds around you right now. Listen for the loud and soft, the harmonic, the dissonant, and all the small details that make every sound unique. Spend this time as mindful and focused in this real-life sonic moment. Enjoy the magnificence of hearing and listening. So here comes the first movement. Starting ... now.
本着这种精神, 无论你们在哪里, 让我们一起来“演奏” 《4 分 33 秒》吧。 它有三个乐章, 我会让你们知道它们 什么时候开始。 现在,请你们仔细聆听 周围声音的质感和律动。 听那些强声和弱声, 那些和谐的、不和谐的, 和所有让每一个声响独特的小细节。 在这段时间内, 请全神贯注于周围真实的声音。 好好享受你所听所闻的华彩。 第一乐章, 现在…… 开始。
[I. Tacet]
[ I. 静默 ]
(No audio)
(无声)
And here's movement two. It will be two minutes and 23 seconds.
接下来是第二乐章, 长度为 2 分 23 秒。
[II. Tacet]
[ II. 静默 ]
(No audio)
(无声)
And here is the final movement. It will be one minute and 40 seconds.
接下来是最后的乐章, 长度为 1 分 40 秒。
[III. Tacet]
[ III. 静默 ]
(No audio)
(无声)
And that's it. We did it. Thanks for listening.
这就是这部《4 分 33 秒》, 我们已经听完了。 感谢大家的倾听。