What silence can teach you about sound | Dallas Taylor

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Val Zhang

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

對許多人而言， 此時生活比往常更安靜。

And quiet can be unnerving.

而安靜會讓人緊張不安。

It can make you feel lonely,

安靜會讓你感到孤獨，

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

或是讓你太清楚意識到 你所錯失的種種。

I think about sound all the time.

我時時刻刻都在想著聲音。

I'm a sound designer,

我是音效設計師，也是播客節目 《兩萬赫茲》的主持人。

and I host the podcast "Twenty Thousand Hertz."

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

談的都是世界上 最引人注意和有趣的聲音。

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

但，我想，此時最適合談論寂靜。

Because what I've come to understand

因為，我漸漸了解，

is that there is no such thing as silence.

並沒有所謂的「寂靜」存在。

And the person who opened my mind to this idea

啟發我產生此想法的人，

is one of the most influential composers in history.

是史上最有影響力的作曲家之一。

(Piano music)

（鋼琴音樂）

John Cage has made an impact on artists in many genres,

約翰凱吉影響了許多領域的藝術家，

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

從前衛音樂家， 到現代舞，到流行音樂。

Right now, we're listening to his 1948 piece

現在我們聽的是他在 1948 年的作品《在天地之間》，

called "In a Landscape."

This version was recorded in 1994 by Stephen Drury.

這個版本在 1994 年錄製， 由史蒂芬杜瑞演奏。

(Piano music)

（鋼琴音樂）

This piece is actually not very typical of John Cage's writing.

這件作品並不是約翰凱吉典型的風格。

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

他更為人所知的是 他的創新以及前衛技術。

But despite his reputation,

儘管有這樣的名聲，

no one was prepared for what he did in 1952,

沒有人料到他在 1952 年的舉動，

when he created the most daring piece of his career.

那時，他創作出職涯中最大膽的作品。

It was called "4'33'',"

叫做《四分三十三秒》，

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

有些評論家甚至拒絕稱之為「音樂」，

because for the entire duration of the piece,

因為在這件作品中，從頭到尾，

the performer plays

演奏者什麼都沒有彈奏。

nothing at all.

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

技術上來說，演奏者演奏的是休止符。

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

但對觀眾來說，什麼都沒有發生。

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

1952 年夏天，約翰凱吉的

《四分三十三秒》首次演出，

in the summer of 1952,

by renowned pianist David Tudor.

由知名鋼琴家大衛圖多爾演奏。

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

地點在紐約伍德斯托克的 梅福瑞克音樂廳。

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

這是棟漂亮的木製建築物， 空間對外大大敞開，十分開闊。

So, David Tudor walked out on stage,

大衛圖多爾走上台，

sat down at the piano,

坐在鋼琴前，

then closed the piano lid.

關上了琴蓋。

He then sat in silence,

接著，他靜靜地坐著，

only moving to open and close the piano lid

唯一的動作就是在三個樂章之間

between each of the three movements.

將琴蓋打開和關上。

After the time was up,

時間到了之後，

he got up

他站起來，

and walked off the stage.

走下台。

(Piano music)

（鋼琴音樂）

The audience had no idea what to think.

觀眾不知道該如何看待這個表演。

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

有人甚至懷疑凱吉 是否認真看待他的職涯。

A close friend even wrote to him,

一位密友甚至寫信給他，

begging that he not turn his career into a joke.

求他不要把他的職涯變成笑話。

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

約翰凱吉的這件作品，

若能稱之為音樂作品的話，

composed a piece of music

that really challenged some very established ideas

真正挑戰了音樂作品的基本觀念。

about music composition.

It's something that musicians still debate today.

音樂家至今都還會為此辯論。

To understand just what John Cage was thinking,

若要了解約翰凱吉在想什麼，

let's back up to the 1940s.

我們得回到 1940 年代。那時，

Back then,

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

約翰凱吉為預置鋼琴譜曲而成名。

(Piano music)

（鋼琴音樂）

To make music like this,

要創作出這樣的音樂，約翰凱吉 得把物體放入到鋼琴中，

John Cage would put objects inside the piano,

between the strings.

放在弦與弦之間。

Things you just find lying around,

放的是隨手可得的東西，如螺絲、

like screws, tape and rubber erasers.

膠帶、橡皮擦。

So now, you've transformed the piano

這麼一來，就會把鋼琴

from a tonal instrument with high and low pitches

從有高低音的音調樂器

into a collection of unique sounds.

轉變成為一系列獨特的聲音。

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

各位現在聽到的 是凱吉的《奏鳴曲 V》，

from "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano."

出自《預置鋼琴奏鳴曲及間奏》。

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

除了《四分三十三秒》， 這可能是他最有名的作品。

This version was performed by Boris Berman.

這個版本由鮑里斯貝爾曼演奏。

John Cage wrote incredibly detailed instructions

約翰凱吉寫了非常細節的指示，

about where to place each object in the piano.

說明每個物體要放在 鋼琴中的什麼地方。

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

但不可能每位表演者 都能取得完全一樣的物體，

so the sound you get is always different.

所以得到的聲音總是會有所不同。

Basically, it comes down to random chance.

基本上，這會涉及隨機偶然。

This was pretty bananas and pretty alien

就大部分作曲家和音樂家 所學的做法來說，

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

這一招相當瘋狂且另類。

John Cage was becoming increasingly interested

約翰凱吉變得對

in chance and randomness

偶然及隨機性越來越感興趣，

and letting the universe provide the answer to the question

希望讓宇宙來提供這個問題的答案：

"What note should I play next?"

「我接下來要彈奏哪個音符？」

But to hear the answer to the question,

但，若要聽見這個問題的答案，

first, you have to listen.

首先，你得要傾聽。

And in the 1940s,

在 1940 年代，

listening to the universe was getting harder to do.

傾聽宇宙變得越來越困難。

(Elevator music)

（電梯音樂）

The Muzak company was founded in the '30s.

穆扎克公司於 1930 年代成立。

It really took off,

它一飛衝天，很快的，

and soon, there was constant background music nearly everywhere.

幾乎到處都聽得到背景音樂。

It was almost impossible to escape.

根本想逃也逃不掉。

John Cage realized that people were losing the option

約翰凱吉發現大家沒有選擇，

to shut out the background music of the world.

無法將世界上的背景音樂關掉。

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

他擔心穆扎克會讓大家 再也無法聽見「寂靜」。

In 1948,

1948 年，他創作出 《四分三十三秒》的四年前，

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

John Cage mentioned that he wanted to write

約翰凱吉提到，他想要創作 一首四分半鐘的「寂靜」，

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

and sell it to the Muzak company.

賣給穆扎克公司。

It started as something of a political statement

一開始，這是種政治宣言，

or an offhand comment,

或者非正式的評論，

but this idea struck a nerve and quickly evolved.

但這個想法點到痛處，並很快地演化。

John Cage was starting to think deeply about silence.

約翰凱吉開始深入思考寂靜。

And when he visited a truly quiet place,

當他去造訪一個真正寧靜的地方，

he made a startling discovery.

他有了驚人的發現。

John Cage visited an anechoic chamber at Harvard University.

約翰凱吉造訪了 哈佛大學的無回聲室。

Anechoic chambers are rooms that are acoustically treated

無回聲室做過聲音處理，

to minimize sound to almost zero.

能將聲音降到最低，接近零。

There are no sounds in these rooms,

在這種房間內沒有聲音，

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

所以約翰凱吉並沒有 預期會聽見什麼。

But he actually heard his own blood circulating.

但他卻聽見了自己的血液循環。

(Pulse)

（脈動聲）

I've personally experienced an anechoic chamber,

我自己體驗過無回聲室，

and it's a really wild experience

那是種非凡的體驗，

that can completely change your perceptions

會顛覆你對聲音和寂靜的認知。

about sound and silence.

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

感覺就像我的大腦打開了擴大器，

grasping for anything to hear.

急切地想聽見一丁點什麼。

Just like John Cage,

就像約翰凱吉，

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

我也能非常清楚聽見 血液在我體內流動。

John Cage realized, in that moment,

在那一刻，約翰凱吉知道，

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

不論我們在那裡，

就連我們的身體也在製造聲音。

There's basically no such thing as true silence.

基本上，沒有所謂的真正寂靜存在。

As long as you are in your body,

只要你還活著，

you're always hearing something.

你就一定會聽到點什麼。

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

約翰凱吉對偶然隨機和寂靜的興趣，

met his interest in silence.

在此產生了交集。

He realized that creating an environment with no distractions

他了解到，要創造出 一個不會分心的環境，

wasn't about creating silence.

重點並不在於創造寂靜。

It wasn't even about controlling noise.

重點甚至不在於控制噪音。

It was about the sounds that were already there,

重點是：一直都存在的聲音，

but you suddenly hear for the first time

你突然初次能聽見它，

when you're really ready to listen.

唯有當你準備好去仔細聆聽時。

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

這就是《四分三十三秒》 經常被誤解之處。

People assume it's a joke,

大家會以為它是個玩笑，

but that couldn't be further from the truth.

但那實在和真相差太遠了。

It sounds different everywhere you play it.

在任何地方演奏它， 聽起來都會不同。

And that's the point.

那正是重點。

What John Cage really wanted us to hear

約翰凱吉真正希望我們聽見的，

is the beauty of the sonic world around us.

是我們週遭的聲音世界之美。

(Birds chirping)

（多種鳥叫聲、水聲）

(Overlapping voices)

（人聲、推車聲、機台按鍵聲）

(Church bell ringing)

（教堂鐘聲、車聲）

(Crickets chirping and owl hooting)

（蟋蟀叫、貓頭鷹叫）

"4'33''" should be a mindful experience

《四分三十三秒》 應該是個深切的體驗，

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

協助你專注在接受事物真正的樣貌。

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

這不是其他人可以告訴你， 你對此應該要有什麼感受。

It's deeply personal.

這是高度因人而異的。

It also brings up some pretty big questions

這也帶出了一些關於 聲音世界的大哉問。

about our sonic world.

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

《四分三十三秒》算是音樂嗎？ 是聲音嗎？聲音是音樂嗎？

is sound music?

Is there even a difference?

有差別嗎？

John Cage reminds us

約翰凱吉提醒我們，

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

值得聆聽的聲音不只有音樂而已。

All sounds are worth thinking about.

所有聲音都值得我們去思考。

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

我們有個難能可貴的機會，

to reset our ears.

可以重新設定我們的耳朵。

And if we become more conscious of what we hear,

如果我們更能意識到聽見了什麼，

we'll inherently make our world sound better.

我們自然就會讓世界聽起來更美好。

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

「安靜」並不是我們 關閉大腦不去聽聲音，

but when we can really start to listen

而是要能夠真正開始聆聽，

and hear the world in all of its sonic beauty.

聽見世界上所有的聲音之美。

So in this spirit,

本著這種精神，

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

讓我們一起來演奏 《四分三十三秒》，

wherever you are.

不論你身在何處。

It's three movements,

有三個樂章，我會告訴你何時開始。

and I'll let you know when they start.

聆聽你現在周圍聲音的質感和節奏。

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

Listen for the loud and soft,

聆聽那些大聲的、溫和的、 和諧的、不和諧的聲音，

the harmonic, the dissonant,

and all the small details that make every sound unique.

以及讓每個聲音獨特的所有小細節。

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

在這真實人生中的聲音時刻， 試著留心、專注。

Enjoy the magnificence of hearing and listening.

享受聽見和聆聽的美妙。

So here comes the first movement.

第一個樂章來了。

Starting ...

現在……開始。

now.

〔一、休止符〕

[I. Tacet]

(No audio)

（沒有聲音）

And here's movement two.

接著是第二樂章。

It will be two minutes and 23 seconds.

長度是兩分二十三秒。

[II. Tacet]

〔二、休止符〕

(No audio)

（沒有聲音）

And here is the final movement.

接著是最後樂章。

It will be one minute and 40 seconds.

長度是一分四十秒。

〔三、休止符〕

[III. Tacet]

(No audio)

（沒有聲音）

And that's it.

就這樣。我們完成了。

We did it.

Thanks for listening.

感謝聆聽。