What silence can teach you about sound | Dallas Taylor

翻译人员: Jennifer Y. 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

For many of us right now, our lives are quieter than normal.

对于很多人来说，我们当前的生活 比平常安静了不少。

And quiet can be unnerving.

静默会让人感到不安，

It can make you feel lonely,

让你感到孤独，

or just all too aware of the things you're missing out on.

或者一门心思地专注于 你错过的事情。

I think about sound all the time.

我每分每刻都在思考声音。

I'm a sound designer,

我是一名音响设计师，

and I host the podcast "Twenty Thousand Hertz."

也是《两万赫兹》播客平台的主持人。

It's all about the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

我们探索世界上最有辨识度， 也最有意思的声音。

But I think this is the perfect time to talk about silence.

但我觉得，现在也是 讨论静默的绝佳时机。

Because what I've come to understand

因为我渐渐认识到，

is that there is no such thing as silence.

绝对的静默是根本不存在的。

And the person who opened my mind to this idea

让我对这个想法产生共鸣的，

is one of the most influential composers in history.

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,

约翰·凯奇（John Cage ） 影响了各种类型的艺术家，

from avant-garde musicians, to modern dance, to pop music.

从先锋音乐到现代舞， 再到流行音乐。

Right now, we're listening to his 1948 piece

我们正在听的是他 1948 年的作品

called "In a Landscape."

《在风景里》。

This version was recorded in 1994 by Stephen Drury.

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.

这个曲子并不属于 约翰·凯奇的经典创作风格。

He's more known for his innovations and avant-garde techniques.

人们更了解的是他的 创新和先锋技巧。

But despite his reputation,

尽管如此，

no one was prepared for what he did in 1952,

人们还是难以接受 他在 1952 年创作的，

when he created the most daring piece of his career.

也是他事业中最冒险的一部作品：

It was called "4'33'',"

《4 分 33 秒》。

and it was a piece that some critics even refused to call "music,"

某些评论家甚至 拒绝称这个曲子为 “音乐”，

because for the entire duration of the piece,

因为自始至终，

the performer plays

表演者

nothing at all.

什么都没演奏。

Well, to be technical, the performer is actually playing rest.

从技术上讲， 表演者其实在弹休止符。

But to the audience, it looks like nothing is happening.

但对于观众， 好像什么都没发生。

John Cage's "4'33''" was performed for the first time

约翰·凯奇的这首《4 分 33 秒》 首演是在 1952 年的夏天，

in the summer of 1952,

由著名的钢琴家 大卫·都铎（ David Tudor）

by renowned pianist David Tudor.

进行了演绎。

It was at the Maverick Concert hall in Woodstock, New York.

表演是在纽约伍德斯托克的 小牛音乐厅，

This is a beautiful wooden building with huge openings to the outdoors.

一个非常美丽的木制建筑， 与室外空间完美融合。

So, David Tudor walked out on stage,

大卫·都铎走上舞台，

sat down at the piano,

坐到钢琴前，

then closed the piano lid.

合上了钢琴盖。

He then sat in silence,

然后，他就那样静静地坐着，

only moving to open and close the piano lid

只在三个乐章的间隙

between each of the three movements.

打开琴盖，再合上。

After the time was up,

时间到了，

he got up

他就站起来，

and walked off the stage.

走下了舞台。

(Piano music)

（钢琴曲）

The audience had no idea what to think.

所有观众无不一头雾水。

It made people wonder if Cage is even taking his career seriously.

这次首演让人们怀疑凯奇 是否在严肃地对待他的事业。

A close friend even wrote to him,

一位好友甚至写信给他，

begging that he not turn his career into a joke.

求他不要把他的事业变成一个笑话。

John Cage had, well, if you could call it,

约翰·凯奇创作的这个“曲子”；

composed a piece of music

that really challenged some very established ideas

它着实挑战了一些

约定俗成的

about music composition.

作曲理念。

It's something that musicians still debate today.

直到今天，音乐家们 仍然对此争论不休。

To understand just what John Cage was thinking,

为了理解约翰·凯奇的创作初衷，

let's back up to the 1940s.

让我们回到 1940 年代。

Back then,

当时，

John Cage was making a name for himself composing for the prepared piano.

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,

要创作出这样的音乐，

John Cage would put objects inside the piano,

约翰·凯奇会把物件

between the strings.

塞进琴弦之间——

Things you just find lying around,

都是些你可以随便看到的东西，

like screws, tape and rubber erasers.

比如螺丝、胶带和橡皮。

So now, you've transformed the piano

这样，就把钢琴从一个

from a tonal instrument with high and low pitches

有高低音调的乐器

into a collection of unique sounds.

转变成了各种声响的集合。

The music you're hearing is Cage's "Sonata V,"

你们现在听到的是 凯奇的《奏鸣曲 V》，

from "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano."

取自《预置钢琴奏鸣曲和插曲》。

Probably his most famous work outside of "4'33''."

除了《4 分 33 秒》， 这大概是他最有名的作品了。

This version was performed by Boris Berman.

这个版本是由鲍里斯·贝尔曼 （Boris Berman）演奏的。

John Cage wrote incredibly detailed instructions

关于物件在钢琴里的位置，

about where to place each object in the piano.

约翰·凯奇写了非常详细的说明。

But it's impossible for every performer to get the exact same objects,

不过，每个表演者 不可能找到完全一样的物件，

so the sound you get is always different.

所以每次表演的声响效果也不一样。

Basically, it comes down to random chance.

都会很偶然、很随机。

This was pretty bananas and pretty alien

这对于多数的作曲家和音乐家而言

to the way most composers and musicians are taught to do things.

即疯狂又陌生。

John Cage was becoming increasingly interested

约翰·凯奇对随机性和偶然性

in chance and randomness

越来越感兴趣，

and letting the universe provide the answer to the question

决定让宇宙来回答

"What note should I play next?"

“下个音符我该弹什么？”

But to hear the answer to the question,

首先，你必须倾听，

first, you have to listen.

才能得到宇宙对这个问题的回答。

And in the 1940s,

可是在 1940 年代，

listening to the universe was getting harder to do.

倾听变得越来越难。

(Elevator music)

（电梯音乐）

The Muzak company was founded in the '30s.

罐头音乐公司（Muzak） 成立于 1930 年代，

It really took off,

而且一下子就火起来了，

and soon, there was constant background music nearly everywhere.

不久，几乎到处都能听到 它的背景音乐，

It was almost impossible to escape.

几乎避无可避。

John Cage realized that people were losing the option

约翰·凯奇意识到 人们越来越无法选择

to shut out the background music of the world.

关闭世俗背景音乐。

He worried that Muzak would prevent people from hearing silence altogether.

他担心罐头音乐 让人们无法再享受到静默。

In 1948,

1948 年，

four years before he wrote "4'33'',"

在他写《4 分 33 秒》的四年前，

John Cage mentioned that he wanted to write

约翰·凯奇提到他想写一首

a four-and-a-half-minute-long piece of silence

四分半钟的静默曲，

and sell it to the Muzak company.

卖给罐头音乐公司。

It started as something of a political statement

这一开始仅仅被当作 一种政治宣言

or an offhand comment,

或者随意的玩笑，

but this idea struck a nerve and quickly evolved.

但是，这个主意触动了他， 很快就延展了。

John Cage was starting to think deeply about silence.

约翰·凯奇开始对静默 进行更深刻的思考。

And when he visited a truly quiet place,

他访问了一个真正安静的地方，

he made a startling discovery.

得到了一个触目惊心的发现。

John Cage visited an anechoic chamber at Harvard University.

约翰·凯奇来到了 哈佛大学的一个消声室。

Anechoic chambers are rooms that are acoustically treated

消声室被做了消声处理，

to minimize sound to almost zero.

音量被减少到几乎为零。

There are no sounds in these rooms,

这些房间里没有任何声音，

so John Cage didn't expect to hear anything at all.

所以，约翰·凯奇 不期待听到任何声音。

But he actually heard his own blood circulating.

可是，他听到了自己的血液循环。

(Pulse)

（脉搏）

I've personally experienced an anechoic chamber,

我也亲身体验过消声室，

and it's a really wild experience

那真的是一段非常神奇的经历，

that can completely change your perceptions

可以彻底改变

人们对声与静的观念。

about sound and silence.

It really felt like my brain just turning up an amplifier,

我觉得我大脑里的扩音器被调高了，

grasping for anything to hear.

试着抓取任何可听的东西。

Just like John Cage,

同约翰·凯奇一样，

I could very clearly hear my blood pushing through my body.

我可以清楚地听到 我的血液在身体里流动。

John Cage realized, in that moment,

那一瞬间，约翰·凯奇意识到，

that no matter where we are, even our bodies are making sound.

无论我们在哪里， 连我们的身体都在发声。

There's basically no such thing as true silence.

基本上，绝对的静默是不存在的。

As long as you are in your body,

只要你处在一个内在的自我之中，

you're always hearing something.

你总会听到什么。

This is where John Cage's interest in chance and randomness

于是，约翰·凯奇对静默的兴趣与 对声音的随机性的兴趣

met his interest in silence.

实现了完美的融合。

He realized that creating an environment with no distractions

他意识到，创造一个毫无干扰的环境

wasn't about creating silence.

并不意味着绝对的静默，

It wasn't even about controlling noise.

也与控制噪音无关。

It was about the sounds that were already there,

而是，当你专心聆听时，

but you suddenly hear for the first time

会突然第一次听到

when you're really ready to listen.

那些早已存在的声音。

That's what's so often misunderstood about "4'33''."

那也正是为什么 《4 分 33 秒》经常被误解。

People assume it's a joke,

人们以为它是一个玩笑，

but that couldn't be further from the truth.

可是，事实绝非如此。

It sounds different everywhere you play it.

你听到什么取决于你在哪里演奏，

And that's the point.

那才是关键。

What John Cage really wanted us to hear

约翰·凯奇真正想让我们听到的是

is the beauty of the sonic world around us.

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

《4 分 33 秒》应该是 一个专注的体验，

that helps you focus on accepting things just the way they are.

帮助我们关注和接受 事物本身的样子。

It's not something that anyone else can tell you how you're supposed to feel.

这完全是因人而异的切身感受，

It's deeply personal.

不可言传。

It also brings up some pretty big questions

这也引发了对于我们这个有声世界的

about our sonic world.

很大的疑问。

Is "4'33''" music, is it sound,

《4 分 33 秒》属于音乐、声响，

is sound music?

还是声响音乐？

Is there even a difference?

这些有任何区别吗？

John Cage reminds us

约翰·凯奇提醒我们，

that music isn't the only kind of sound worth listening to.

All sounds are worth thinking about.

所有的声响都值得思考。

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

我们有一个千载难逢的机会

to reset our ears.

重置我们的耳朵。

And if we become more conscious of what we hear,

如果我们对这个世界的声音 更加留心，

we'll inherently make our world sound better.

它们在我们内心深处 听起来就会更美妙。

Quietness is not when we turn off our minds to sound,

静默并不是充耳不闻，

but when we can really start to listen

而恰恰是

and hear the world in all of its sonic beauty.

可以领略声音之美的时候。

So in this spirit,

本着这种精神，

let's perform "4'33''" together,

无论你们在哪里，

wherever you are.

让我们一起来“演奏” 《4 分 33 秒》吧。

It's three movements,

它有三个乐章，

and I'll let you know when they start.

我会让你们知道它们 什么时候开始。

Listen to the texture and rhythm of the sounds around you right now.

现在，请你们仔细聆听 周围声音的质感和律动。

Listen for the loud and soft,

听那些强声和弱声，

the harmonic, the dissonant,

那些和谐的、不和谐的，

and all the small details that make every sound unique.

和所有让每一个声响独特的小细节。

Spend this time as mindful and focused in this real-life sonic moment.

在这段时间内， 请全神贯注于周围真实的声音。

Enjoy the magnificence of hearing and listening.

好好享受你所听所闻的华彩。

So here comes the first movement.

第一乐章，

Starting ...

现在……

now.

开始。

[ I. 静默 ]

[I. Tacet]

(No audio)

（无声）

And here's movement two.

接下来是第二乐章，

It will be two minutes and 23 seconds.

长度为 2 分 23 秒。

[II. Tacet]

[ II. 静默 ]

(No audio)

（无声）

And here is the final movement.

接下来是最后的乐章，

It will be one minute and 40 seconds.

长度为 1 分 40 秒。

[III. Tacet]

[ III. 静默 ]

(No audio)

（无声）

And that's it.

这就是这部《4 分 33 秒》，

We did it.

我们已经听完了。

Thanks for listening.

感谢大家的倾听。