magnottaHow we listen to music非英语专业研究生英语读写教程

2021年1月21日发(作者：silk)
How we listen to music
We all listen to music according to our separate capacities. But, for the sake of analysis, the whole listening process
may become clearer if we break it up into its component parts, so to speak. In a certain sense we all listen to music on
three separate planes. For lack of a better terminology, one might name these: (1) the sensuous plane, (2) the expressive
plane,
(3)
the
sheerly
musical
plane.
The
only
advantage
to
be
gained
from
mechanically
splitting
up
the
listening
process into these hypothetical planes is the clearer view to be had of the way in which we listen.
我们都根据各自的能力来听音乐。 但是，为了便于分析，如果我们将听的整个过程分成几个组成部分的话，
那就会更加清楚了。在某种程度 上，我们听音乐分成三个不同的层面，因找不到更好地术语，我姑且把他们命名
为：（
1
）感官层面（
2
）表义层面（
3
）纯音乐层面。我把听音乐的过程机械地分 成以上假设的三个层面，纯粹
是为了更清楚地了解我们是怎样听音乐的。

The simplest way of listening to music is to listen for the sheer pleasure of the musical sound itself. That is the
sensuous plane. It is the plane on which we hear music without thinking, without considering it in any way. One turns on
the radio while doing something else and absent-mindedly bathes in the sound. A kind of brainless but attractive state of
mind is engendered by the mere sound appeal of the music.
最简单的听音乐的方式就是听乐声给我们带来的纯粹的愉悦，
这是感官层面。
在这个层 面上，
我们只听音乐
而不用思考。打开收音机，一边忙别的事情，一边心不在焉地沐浴在音乐声 中。这种心不在焉但美妙的身心状态
是由乐声的魅力引起的。

You may be sitting in a room reading this book. Imagine one note struck on the piano. Immediately that one note is
enough to change the atmosphere of the room
——
proving that the sound element in music is a powerful and mysterious
agent, which it would be foolish to deride or belittle. < br>你可能正在房间里读这本书。
想象着一个音符敲击在钢琴上。
瞬间整个房间的氛围都随之 改变
——
这表明了
声音在音乐中是强大而神秘的元素，谁嘲笑或轻视这一点，谁就显得 愚蠢。

The
surprising
thing
is
that
many
people
who
consider
themselves
qualified
music
lovers
abuse
that
plane
in
listening. They go to concerts in order to lose themselves. They use music as a consolation or an escape. They enter an
ideal world where one doesn't have to think of the realities of everyday life. Of course they aren't thinking about the
music either. Music allows them to leave it, and they go off to a plane to dream, dreaming because of and apropos of the
music yet never quite listening to it.
令人奇怪的是，很多自认为合格的音乐爱好者在听音乐时滥用了这一层面。他们去音乐厅是为了忘却自我 。
他们把音乐作为一种安慰或解脱。他们进入了一个理想的境界，在这个境界里他们不必考虑现实生活。 当然，他
们同样也没有考虑音乐。音乐允许他们逃离现实，到另一个地方去做梦，因为音乐而做梦，做有 关音乐的梦，却
从没真正欣赏过音乐。

Yes, the sound appeal of music is a potent and primitive force, but you must not allow it to usurp a disproportionate
share of your interest. The sensuous plane is an important one in music, a very important one, but it does not constitute
the whole story.
的确，
音乐的声音魅力是一种强大而原始的力量 ，
但是千万不要让它不合比例地侵占你的兴趣。
感观层面是
音乐中重要的一层
——
非常重要
——
但并不是音乐的全部。

There is no need to digress further on the sensuous plane. Its appeal to every normal human being is self evident.
There
is,
however,
such
a
thing
as
becoming
more
sensitive
to
the
different
kinds
of
sound
stuff
as
used
by
various
composers. For all composers do not use that sound stuff in the same way. Don't get the idea that the value of music is
commensurate with its sensuous appeal or that the loveliest sounding music is made by the greatest composer. If that
were so, Ravel would be a greater creator than Beethoven. The point is that the sound element varies with each composer,
that his usage of sound forms an integral part of his style and must be taken into account when listening. The reader can
see, therefore, that a more conscious approach is valuable even on this primary plane of music listening.
没必要在感官层次上再扯远了。
声音的魅力对每一个正常人来说都是不 言而喻的。
然而，
不同的发音材料被
不同的作曲家所使用时就变得更加有感染力，所有的作曲者不可能按同一种方式组织材料。
不要以为音乐的价值
就与他的感官感染力相称 ，
不要以为最美丽动听的音乐是由伟大的作曲家创造的。
如果你认为以上观点可能的话，
1
那么拉维尔是比贝多芬还要伟大的创作者。
重点是，
声音要素因作曲者不同而不 同，
他对声音形式的使用方式组
成他风格的不可分割的一部分。在听音乐时，所有这些都必须考 虑在内。因此，读者可以看到，即使在听音乐的
这个最基础的层面上，也值得采取更有意识地聆听方式。

The second plane on which music exists is what I have called the expressive one. Here, immediately, we tread on
controversial ground. Composers have a way of shying away from any discussion of music's expressive side. Did not
Stravinsky himself proclaim that his music was an
than its own purely
musical existence? This intransigent attitude of Stravinsky's
may be due to the fact that so many
people have tried to read different meanings into so many pieces. Heaven knows it is difficult enough to say precisely
what
it
is
that
a
piece
of
music
means,
to
say
it
definitely,
to
say
it
finally
so
that
everyone
is
satisfied
with
your
explanation. But that should not lead one to the other extreme of denying to music the right to be
音乐存在的第二层面就是我所谓的表义层面。
谈到这里，
我们立即会碰到引起争 议的问题。
作曲家们总是设
法避开任何有关音乐表义层面的讨论。
Stravinsk y
他自己不也声称他的音乐是一个
“
物体
”
，意见本身具有生命的< br>“
东西
”
，
除了作为音乐本身存在再没有其他意义了吗？
St ravinsky
的这种不妥协的态度大约源于这样一种现实吧：
有如此多的人试图对如此多的 作品加以不同的解读。
天知道要想用自己的解释精确地、
明确地、
最终地说清一个作品的意义并让所有人满意是多么困难的事！
但是我们并不能因此走向另一个极端，
不能去 剥夺音乐
“
表义
”
的权
利。

My own belief is that all music has an expressive power, some more and some less, but that all music has a certain
meaning behind the notes and that that meaning behind the notes constitutes, after all, what the piece is saying, what the
piece is about. This whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking,
that would be,
There in lies the difficulty.
我认为所有的音乐都有表义能力，
有些强，有些弱。
但是所有的音乐在每个音符和音符组成背后都有一定的
意义，
毕竟，这一支曲子说了些什么？这一支曲子关于什么？整个问题可以通过问答来陈述。
“
音乐里有 意义吗？
”
我的回答是
“
有
”
。
“
你能够 用足够多的额词语把它陈述出来吗？
”
我的回答是
“
不能
”
。这就是问题所在。

Simple-minded souls will never be satisfied with the answer to the second of these questions. They always want
music to have a meaning, and the more concrete it is, the better they like it. The more the music reminds them of a train,
a storm, a funeral, or any other familiar conception the more expressive it appears to be to them. This popular idea of
music's
meaning
——
stimulated
and
abetted
by
the
usual
run
of
musical
commentator
——

should
be
discouraged
wherever and whenever it is met. One timid lady once confessed to me that she suspected something seriously lacking in
her appreciation of music because of her inability to connect it with anything definite. That is getting the whole thing
backward, of course.
头脑简单的 人们对于第二个回答很不满意，
他们总想着音乐有一定意义，
而且越具体越好。
这些音 乐越是能
令他们想象出火车、暴风雨、葬礼等或其他相类似概念，对他们来说越富有表现力。这种对音乐 意义的比较流行
的看法
——
通常是由普通的音乐评论家们的激发和唆使的
——
应该随时随地被制止。
一位羞怯的女士曾经向我坦
白，怀疑她自己缺乏音乐欣赏能力， 因为她不能把音乐和某种明确的东西联系起来。这然是本末倒置了

Still, the question remains. How close should the intelligent music lover wish to come to pinning a definite meaning
to any particular work? No closer than a general concept, I should say. Music expresses, at different moments, serenity or
exuberance,
regret
or
triumph,
fury
or
delight.
It
expresses
each
of
these
moods,
and
many
others,
in
a
numberless
variety of subtle shadings and differences. It may even express a state of meaning for which there exists no adequate
word
in
any
language.
In
that
case,
musicians
often
like
to
say
that
it
has
only
a
purely
musical
meaning.
They
sometimes
go
father
and
say
that
all
music
has
only
a
purely
musical
meaning.
What
they
really
mean
is
that
no
appropriate word can be found to express the music's meaning and that, even if it could, they do not feel the need of
finding it.
但是，
问题依然存在：
那些明智的音乐爱好者在要求任何一首作品都具有明确 的含义方面要走多远呢？应该
说，充其量不过是一个笼统的概念。音乐在不同时刻表达不同的内容，或平 静或激昂，或悔恨或成功，或愤怒或
高兴。它都能表达出每一种不同的情绪。音乐中包含有数不清的细微 差别，它所表达的思想状态，任何语言中都
没有足够的词能够描述。在这种情况下，音乐家喜欢说音乐只 有纯音乐的含义。他们有时候还更进一步，说一切
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音乐只有一个纯粹的音乐意义。他们的意 思是：没有一个合适的词语能够表达音乐的意义，即使有，也没有必要
去寻找它。

But whatever the professional musician may hold, most musical novices still search for specific words with which
to pin down their musical reactions. That is why they always find Tchaikovsky easier to
the
first
place,
it
is
easier
to
pin
a
meaning-word
on
a
Tchaikovsky
piece
than
on
a
Beethoven
one.
Much
easier.
Moreover, with the Russian composer, every time you come back to a piece of his, it almost always says the same thing
to you, whereas with Beethoven it is often quite difficult to put your finger right on what he is saying. And any musician
will tell you that this is why Beethoven is the greater composer. Because music which always says the same thing to you
will necessarily soon become dull music, but music whose meaning is slightly different with each hearing has a greater
chance of remaining alive.
但是，
无论专业的音乐家 持有什么观点，
多数音乐新手仍然寻找具体的词语来表达他们的音乐反应。
这就是
为什 么他们觉得柴可夫斯基比贝多芬更好
“
理解
”
。
首先，
对柴 可夫斯基的作品比对贝多芬的作品更容易找到一个
表达意义的词。其次，对于这位俄国作曲家，每次你回 过头来再听他的作品，其意义都几乎是不变的，然而对于
贝多芬，
想要确切地说出其作品的意义 却很困难。
任何一个音乐家都会告诉你这就是为什么贝多芬更伟大。
因为
意义一成不变 的音乐很快就会变成枯燥无味的音乐，而每次听都会有些微差别的音乐却能保持长久的生命力。

Listen, if you can, to the forty-eight fugue themes of Bach's Well Tempered Clavichord (a piece of music composed
by
Bach
with
48
preludes
and
fugues
which
represented
the
first
wholehearted
use
of
the
equally
tempered
scale
throughout all keys). Listen to each theme, one after another. You will soon realize that each theme mirrors a different
world of feeling. You will also soon realize that the more beautiful a theme seems to you, the harder it is to find any word
that will describe it to your complete satisfaction. Yes, you will certainly know whether it is a gay theme or a sad one.
You will be able, in other words, in your own mind, to draw a frame of emotional feeling around your theme. Now study
the sad one a little closer. Try to pin down the exact quality of its sadness. Is it pessimistically sad? Is it fatefully sad or
smilingly sad?
可能的话，不妨听一听 巴赫《协律钢琴曲》中的
48
个赋格主题（巴赫创作的一段乐曲，包括
48
首 前奏曲和
赋格曲，这是第一次全心全意地在所有琴键上使用同样温和的音阶）。一个接一个地听每一个主 题（主旋律），
你会意识到每一个主题（主旋律）反映了一个完全不同的情感世界。你也会很快意识到， 你越觉得某个主题（主
旋律）美妙，你越难以找地满意地词语去描述它。是的，你当然知道它的主题是悲 伤的还是欢快的。换句话说，
你能够在你的脑海里勾勒出一个围绕主题（主旋律）的情感框架。现在让我 们更仔细研究一下悲伤的主题（主旋
律），努力弄清楚悲伤的精确性质：它是悲观主义地悲伤？还是时运 不济地悲伤？亦或是强颜欢笑地悲伤？

Let us suppose that you are fortunate and can describe to your own satisfaction in so many words the exact meaning
of your chosen theme. There is still no guarantee that anyone else will be satisfied. Nor need they be. The important
thing is that each one feels for himself the specific expressive quality of a theme or, similarly, an entire piece of music.
And if it is a great work of art, don't expect it to mean exactly the same thing to you each time you return to it.
假设你足够幸运，能够找到让自 己满意的词语来描述你选定的主题（主旋律），你仍然不能保证其他人会满
意。而且他们也没必要满意。 重要的是，每个人都能感受到一个主题（主旋律）或一整部音乐的独特表现力。而
且，如果这是一部伟大 的艺术的话，就不要指望着你每次回味它，它都只能传达同一种意义。

Themes or pieces need not express only one emotion, of course. Take such a theme as the first
main one of the
Ninth Symphony, for example. It is clearly made up of different elements. It does not say only one thing. Yet anyone
hearing it immediately gets a feeling of strength, a feeling of power. It isn't a power that comes simply because the theme
is played loudly. It is a power inherent in the theme itself. The extraordinary strength and vigor of the theme results in the
listener's receiving an impression that a forceful statement has been made. But one should never try to boil it down to

fateful
hammer
of
life
etc.
That
is
where
the
trouble
begins.
The
musician,
in
his
exasperation,
says
it
means
nothing but the notes themselves, whereas the nonprofessional is only too anxious to hang on to any explanation that
gives him the illusion of getting closer to the music's meaning.
当然，主题（主 旋律）或作品没必要只表达一种情感。拿第九交响乐为例，除了正主题（主旋律）之外，很
明显，
它由不同的主题部分构成。
它也不仅阐明一个事情，
虽然任何一个人乍一听到它都会有一种强 劲有力的感
受。这不仅仅是因为主题（主旋律）演奏的时候声音大而有力量，这是主题（主旋律）本身内 在的力量。这主题
3