1
00:00:01,063 --> 00:00:04,700
I'm not quite sure whether
I really want to see a snare drum

2
00:00:04,724 --> 00:00:06,796
at nine o'clock or so in the morning.

3
00:00:06,820 --> 00:00:08,218
(Laughter)

4
00:00:08,242 --> 00:00:12,312
But anyway, it's just great
to see such a full theater,

5
00:00:12,336 --> 00:00:15,621
and really, I must thank
Herbie Hancock and his colleagues

6
00:00:15,645 --> 00:00:18,149
for such a great presentation.

7
00:00:18,173 --> 00:00:21,244
(Applause)

8
00:00:21,268 --> 00:00:23,454
One of the interesting things, of course,

9
00:00:23,478 --> 00:00:30,431
is the combination of that raw hand
on the instrument and technology,

10
00:00:30,911 --> 00:00:35,551
and what he said about listening
to our young people.

11
00:00:35,575 --> 00:00:39,273
Of course, my job is all about listening.

12
00:00:40,094 --> 00:00:46,039
And my aim, really,
is to teach the world to listen.

13
00:00:46,063 --> 00:00:49,648
That's my only real aim in life.

14
00:00:50,394 --> 00:00:56,531
And it sounds quite simple,
but actually, it's quite a big, big job.

15
00:00:56,555 --> 00:01:01,825
Because you know, when you look
at a piece of music, for example,

16
00:01:01,849 --> 00:01:05,308
if I just open my little motorbike bag --

17
00:01:06,647 --> 00:01:09,655
we have here, hopefully,

18
00:01:09,679 --> 00:01:15,304
a piece of music that is full
of little black dots on the page.

19
00:01:16,494 --> 00:01:20,260
And, you know, we open it up ...

20
00:01:22,732 --> 00:01:24,006
And I read the music.

21
00:01:24,554 --> 00:01:28,268
So technically, I can actually read this.

22
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,976
I will follow the instructions,
the tempo markings, the dynamics.

23
00:01:33,586 --> 00:01:36,771
I will do exactly as I'm told.

24
00:01:37,717 --> 00:01:41,109
And so therefore, because time is short,

25
00:01:41,133 --> 00:01:48,032
if I just played you, literally,
the first, maybe, two lines or so --

26
00:01:48,738 --> 00:01:52,234
It's very straightforward; there's nothing
too difficult about the piece.

27
00:01:52,258 --> 00:01:55,566
But here, I'm being told
that the piece of music is very quick.

28
00:01:56,550 --> 00:01:59,556
I'm being told where to play on the drum.

29
00:01:59,580 --> 00:02:02,496
I'm being told which part
of the stick to use.

30
00:02:03,847 --> 00:02:06,445
And I'm being told the dynamic.

31
00:02:06,469 --> 00:02:11,070
And I'm also being told
that the drum is without snares.

32
00:02:11,094 --> 00:02:14,106
Snares on, snares off.

33
00:02:14,130 --> 00:02:19,982
So therefore, if I translate
this piece of music,

34
00:02:20,006 --> 00:02:22,006
we have this idea.

35
00:02:23,074 --> 00:02:25,278
(Drum sounds)

36
00:02:50,823 --> 00:02:53,242
(Drum sounds end)

37
00:02:53,266 --> 00:02:54,533
And so on.

38
00:02:54,557 --> 00:02:58,039
My career would probably last
about five years.

39
00:02:58,063 --> 00:02:59,067
(Laughter)

40
00:02:59,091 --> 00:03:03,614
However, what I have to do as a musician

41
00:03:03,638 --> 00:03:07,746
is do everything that is not on the music;

42
00:03:07,770 --> 00:03:12,774
everything that there isn't time
to learn from a teacher,

43
00:03:12,798 --> 00:03:16,358
or to talk about, even, from a teacher.

44
00:03:16,382 --> 00:03:21,235
But it's the things you notice when
you're not actually with your instrument

45
00:03:21,259 --> 00:03:26,506
that, in fact, become so interesting,
and that you want to explore

46
00:03:26,530 --> 00:03:29,998
through this tiny, tiny surface of a drum.

47
00:03:30,022 --> 00:03:32,723
So there, we experience the translation.

48
00:03:32,747 --> 00:03:36,217
Now we'll experience the interpretation.

49
00:03:37,082 --> 00:03:38,852
(Drum sounds)

50
00:04:18,976 --> 00:04:20,976
(Drum sounds end)

51
00:04:22,513 --> 00:04:29,513
(Applause)

52
00:04:30,058 --> 00:04:32,769
Now my career may last a little longer.

53
00:04:32,793 --> 00:04:34,120
(Laughter)

54
00:04:34,144 --> 00:04:37,429
But in a way, you know,
it's the same if I look at you

55
00:04:37,453 --> 00:04:41,793
and I see a nice, bright young lady
with a pink top on.

56
00:04:41,817 --> 00:04:45,235
I see that you're clutching
a teddy bear, etc., etc.

57
00:04:45,259 --> 00:04:49,817
So I get a basic idea
as to what you might be about,

58
00:04:49,841 --> 00:04:54,209
what you might like, what you might do
as a profession, etc., etc.

59
00:04:54,642 --> 00:05:01,003
However, that's just the initial idea
I may have that we all get

60
00:05:01,027 --> 00:05:04,609
when we actually look
and we try to interpret.

61
00:05:04,633 --> 00:05:06,933
But actually it's so unbelievably shallow.

62
00:05:06,957 --> 00:05:09,862
In the same way, I look
at the music; I get a basic idea;

63
00:05:09,886 --> 00:05:14,180
I wonder what technically might be hard,
or, you know, what I want to do.

64
00:05:14,204 --> 00:05:15,694
Just the basic feeling.

65
00:05:15,718 --> 00:05:18,381
However, that is simply not enough.

66
00:05:18,405 --> 00:05:22,719
And I think what Herbie said:
please listen, listen.

67
00:05:22,743 --> 00:05:26,379
We have to listen
to ourselves, first of all.

68
00:05:26,403 --> 00:05:30,148
If I play, for example,
holding the stick --

69
00:05:30,172 --> 00:05:33,225
where literally I do not let go
of the stick --

70
00:05:33,249 --> 00:05:35,814
(Drum sound)

71
00:05:35,838 --> 00:05:39,655
you'll experience quite a lot
of shock coming up through the arm.

72
00:05:39,679 --> 00:05:42,004
And you feel really quite --
believe it or not --

73
00:05:42,028 --> 00:05:45,271
detached from the instrument
and from the stick,

74
00:05:45,295 --> 00:05:49,417
even though I'm actually holding
the stick quite tightly.

75
00:05:49,441 --> 00:05:50,866
(Drum sound)

76
00:05:50,890 --> 00:05:54,847
By holding it tightly,
I feel strangely more detached.

77
00:05:54,871 --> 00:05:56,588
If I just simply let go

78
00:05:56,612 --> 00:06:01,807
and allow my hand, my arm,
to be more of a support system,

79
00:06:01,831 --> 00:06:03,029
suddenly --

80
00:06:03,053 --> 00:06:05,067
(Drum sound)

81
00:06:05,091 --> 00:06:08,548
I have more dynamic with less effort.

82
00:06:08,572 --> 00:06:09,747
Much more --

83
00:06:09,771 --> 00:06:11,522
(Drum sound)

84
00:06:11,546 --> 00:06:14,479
and I just feel, at last,
one with the stick

85
00:06:14,503 --> 00:06:16,162
and one with the drum.

86
00:06:16,186 --> 00:06:18,299
And I'm doing far, far less.

87
00:06:18,323 --> 00:06:21,735
So in the same way that I need
time with this instrument,

88
00:06:21,759 --> 00:06:27,086
I need time with people
in order to interpret them.

89
00:06:27,110 --> 00:06:29,798
Not just translate them,
but interpret them.

90
00:06:29,822 --> 00:06:36,009
If, for example, I play just
a few bars of a piece of music

91
00:06:37,289 --> 00:06:42,679
for which I think of myself
as a technician --

92
00:06:42,703 --> 00:06:46,959
that is, someone who is basically
a percussion player --

93
00:06:46,983 --> 00:06:49,229
(Marimba sounds)

94
00:06:57,973 --> 00:06:59,870
(Marimba sounds end)

95
00:06:59,894 --> 00:07:03,082
And so on, if I think of myself
as a musician --

96
00:07:03,106 --> 00:07:05,174
(Marimba sounds)

97
00:07:22,867 --> 00:07:24,910
(Marimba sounds end)

98
00:07:24,934 --> 00:07:26,108
And so on.

99
00:07:26,132 --> 00:07:29,994
There is a little bit of a difference
there that is worth just --

100
00:07:30,018 --> 00:07:32,569
(Applause)

101
00:07:32,593 --> 00:07:33,976
thinking about.

102
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,909
And I remember when I was 12 years old,

103
00:07:37,933 --> 00:07:41,051
and I started playing timpani
and percussion,

104
00:07:41,075 --> 00:07:43,505
and my teacher said,

105
00:07:43,529 --> 00:07:49,182
"Well, how are we going to do this?
You know, music is about listening."

106
00:07:49,206 --> 00:07:53,877
And I said, "Yes, I agree with that,
so what's the problem?"

107
00:07:53,901 --> 00:07:56,320
And he said, "Well,
how are you going to hear this?

108
00:07:56,344 --> 00:07:57,902
How are you going to hear that?"

109
00:07:57,926 --> 00:08:00,008
And I said, "Well, how do you hear it?"

110
00:08:00,507 --> 00:08:03,976
He said, "Well, I think
I hear it through here."

111
00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:09,374
And I said, "Well, I think I do too,
but I also hear it through my hands,

112
00:08:09,398 --> 00:08:12,937
through my arms, cheekbones, my scalp,

113
00:08:12,961 --> 00:08:15,978
my tummy, my chest, my legs and so on."

114
00:08:16,002 --> 00:08:20,834
And so we began our lessons
every single time

115
00:08:20,858 --> 00:08:24,800
tuning drums, in particular,
the kettle drums, or timpani

116
00:08:24,824 --> 00:08:29,837
to such a narrow pitch interval,
so something like --

117
00:08:30,606 --> 00:08:33,218
(Marimba sounds)

118
00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:36,213
that of a difference.

119
00:08:36,237 --> 00:08:37,439
Then gradually:

120
00:08:37,463 --> 00:08:38,620
(Marimba sounds)

121
00:08:38,644 --> 00:08:39,824
And gradually:

122
00:08:39,848 --> 00:08:41,639
(Marimba sounds)

123
00:08:41,663 --> 00:08:45,722
And it's amazing that when you do
open your body up,

124
00:08:45,746 --> 00:08:49,721
and open your hand up to allow
the vibration to come through,

125
00:08:49,745 --> 00:08:52,068
that in fact the tiny, tiny difference --

126
00:08:52,092 --> 00:08:54,151
(Marimba sounds)

127
00:08:54,175 --> 00:09:00,257
can be felt with just the tiniest
part of your finger, there.

128
00:09:00,281 --> 00:09:03,147
And so what we would do
is that I would put my hands

129
00:09:03,171 --> 00:09:05,486
on the wall of the music room,

130
00:09:05,510 --> 00:09:10,704
and together, we would "listen"
to the sounds of the instruments,

131
00:09:10,728 --> 00:09:14,564
and really try to connect
with those sounds

132
00:09:14,588 --> 00:09:18,981
far, far more broadly
than simply depending on the ear.

133
00:09:19,005 --> 00:09:23,648
Because of course, the ear
is subject to all sorts of things.

134
00:09:23,672 --> 00:09:26,641
The room we happen to be in,
the amplification,

135
00:09:26,665 --> 00:09:29,400
the quality of the instrument,
the type of sticks --

136
00:09:29,424 --> 00:09:31,505
(Marimba sounds)

137
00:09:35,844 --> 00:09:37,791
(Marimba sounds end)

138
00:09:37,815 --> 00:09:39,634
Etc., etc., they're all different.

139
00:09:39,658 --> 00:09:41,658
(Marimba sounds)

140
00:09:44,117 --> 00:09:46,214
(Marimba sounds end)

141
00:09:46,238 --> 00:09:50,823
Same amount of weight,
but different sound colors.

142
00:09:50,847 --> 00:09:53,751
And that's basically what we are;
we're just human beings,

143
00:09:53,775 --> 00:09:56,940
but we all have our own
little sound colors, as it were,

144
00:09:56,964 --> 00:10:00,613
that make up these extraordinary
personalities and characters

145
00:10:00,637 --> 00:10:02,510
and interests and things.

146
00:10:02,534 --> 00:10:05,534
And as I grew older, I then auditioned

147
00:10:05,558 --> 00:10:07,976
for the Royal Academy of Music in London,

148
00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,274
and they said, "Well, no, we won't
accept you, because we haven't a clue,

149
00:10:12,298 --> 00:10:16,951
you know, of the future
of a so-called 'deaf musician.'"

150
00:10:16,975 --> 00:10:21,502
And I just couldn't quite accept that.

151
00:10:21,526 --> 00:10:28,094
And so therefore, I said to them,
"Well, look, if you refuse --

152
00:10:28,118 --> 00:10:31,443
if you refuse me through those reasons,

153
00:10:31,467 --> 00:10:36,235
as opposed to the ability to perform

154
00:10:36,259 --> 00:10:42,976
and to understand and love
the art of creating sound --

155
00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:49,239
then we have to think very, very hard
about the people you do actually accept."

156
00:10:49,263 --> 00:10:53,521
And as a result,
once we got over a little hurdle,

157
00:10:53,545 --> 00:10:55,554
and having to audition twice,

158
00:10:55,578 --> 00:10:57,793
they accepted me.

159
00:10:57,817 --> 00:10:59,183
And not only that,

160
00:10:59,207 --> 00:11:04,850
what had happened was that it changed
the whole role of the music institutions

161
00:11:04,874 --> 00:11:06,826
throughout the United Kingdom.

162
00:11:06,850 --> 00:11:10,798
Under no circumstances were they to refuse

163
00:11:10,822 --> 00:11:14,737
any application whatsoever

164
00:11:14,761 --> 00:11:18,269
on the basis of whether someone
had no arms, no legs --

165
00:11:18,293 --> 00:11:22,821
they could still perhaps play a wind
instrument if it was supported on a stand.

166
00:11:23,368 --> 00:11:29,623
No circumstances at all
were used to refuse any entry.

167
00:11:29,647 --> 00:11:34,485
And every single entry
had to be listened to, experienced,

168
00:11:34,509 --> 00:11:37,066
and then, based on the musical ability,

169
00:11:37,090 --> 00:11:42,342
then that person
could either enter or not.

170
00:11:42,366 --> 00:11:45,520
And so therefore, this in turn meant

171
00:11:45,544 --> 00:11:49,181
that there was an extremely
interesting bunch of students

172
00:11:49,205 --> 00:11:52,555
who arrived in these various
music institutions,

173
00:11:52,579 --> 00:11:57,068
and I have to say, many of them now
in the professional orchestras

174
00:11:57,092 --> 00:11:59,071
throughout the world.

175
00:11:59,095 --> 00:12:01,781
The interesting thing
about this as well, though --

176
00:12:01,805 --> 00:12:05,976
(Applause)

177
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:12,790
is quite simply that not only were people
connected with sound --

178
00:12:12,814 --> 00:12:14,325
which is basically all of us --

179
00:12:14,349 --> 00:12:19,271
we well know that music
really is our daily medicine.

180
00:12:19,295 --> 00:12:21,976
I say "music," but actually
I mean "sound."

181
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,625
Because some of the extraordinary
things I've experienced as a musician --

182
00:12:26,649 --> 00:12:30,788
when you may have a 15-year-old lad

183
00:12:30,812 --> 00:12:35,541
who has got the most
incredible challenges,

184
00:12:35,565 --> 00:12:38,302
who may not be able
to control his movements,

185
00:12:38,326 --> 00:12:41,339
who may be deaf,
who may be blind, etc., etc. --

186
00:12:41,363 --> 00:12:47,393
suddenly, if that young lad
sits close to this instrument,

187
00:12:47,417 --> 00:12:50,228
and perhaps even lies
underneath the marimba,

188
00:12:50,252 --> 00:12:55,976
and you play something
that's so incredibly organ-like, almost --

189
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,860
I don't really have
the right sticks, perhaps --

190
00:12:58,884 --> 00:13:02,707
but something like this --
let me change --

191
00:13:04,935 --> 00:13:07,473
(Soft marimba sounds)

192
00:13:50,167 --> 00:13:52,802
(Soft marimba sounds end)

193
00:13:52,826 --> 00:13:55,708
Something that's so unbelievably simple --

194
00:13:55,732 --> 00:14:00,052
but he would be experiencing
something that I wouldn't be,

195
00:14:00,076 --> 00:14:02,494
because I'm on top of the sound.

196
00:14:02,518 --> 00:14:04,784
I have the sound coming this way.

197
00:14:04,808 --> 00:14:08,366
He would have the sound
coming through the resonators.

198
00:14:08,390 --> 00:14:11,525
If there were no resonators
on here, we would have:

199
00:14:11,894 --> 00:14:16,967
(Marimba sounds)

200
00:14:18,106 --> 00:14:20,425
So he would have a fullness of sound

201
00:14:20,449 --> 00:14:23,447
that those of you in the front few rows
wouldn't experience,

202
00:14:23,471 --> 00:14:26,616
those of you in the back few rows
wouldn't experience, either.

203
00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,733
Every single one of us,
depending on where we're sitting,

204
00:14:29,757 --> 00:14:33,534
will experience this sound
quite, quite differently.

205
00:14:33,558 --> 00:14:36,428
And of course, being
the participator of the sound,

206
00:14:36,452 --> 00:14:41,278
and that is, starting from the idea
of what type of sound

207
00:14:41,302 --> 00:14:44,587
I want to produce,
for example, this sound:

208
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,000
(No sound)

209
00:14:51,171 --> 00:14:52,335
Can you hear anything?

210
00:14:54,108 --> 00:14:56,854
Exactly -- because
I'm not even touching it.

211
00:14:56,878 --> 00:14:58,403
(Laughter)

212
00:14:58,427 --> 00:15:03,054
But yet, we get the sensation
of something happening.

213
00:15:03,078 --> 00:15:05,637
In the same way
that when I see a tree moves,

214
00:15:05,661 --> 00:15:09,879
then I imagine that tree
making a rustling sound.

215
00:15:09,903 --> 00:15:11,129
Do you see what I mean?

216
00:15:11,153 --> 00:15:15,270
Whatever the eye sees,
then there's always sound happening.

217
00:15:15,294 --> 00:15:19,489
So there's always, always that huge --

218
00:15:19,513 --> 00:15:23,799
I mean, just this kaleidoscope
of things to draw from.

219
00:15:23,823 --> 00:15:29,792
So all of my performances
are based on entirely what I experience,

220
00:15:29,816 --> 00:15:32,312
and not by learning a piece of music,

221
00:15:32,336 --> 00:15:34,538
putting on someone else's
interpretation of it,

222
00:15:34,562 --> 00:15:37,741
buying all the CDs possible
of that particular piece of music,

223
00:15:37,765 --> 00:15:39,131
and so on and so forth,

224
00:15:39,155 --> 00:15:45,507
because that isn't giving me enough
of something that is so raw and so basic,

225
00:15:45,531 --> 00:15:50,658
and something that I can fully
experience the journey of.

226
00:15:50,682 --> 00:15:54,909
So it may be that, in certain halls,

227
00:15:54,933 --> 00:15:59,701
this dynamic may well work.

228
00:16:00,169 --> 00:16:02,461
(Soft marimba sounds)

229
00:16:07,370 --> 00:16:09,372
(Soft marimba sounds end)

230
00:16:09,396 --> 00:16:10,928
It may be that in other halls,

231
00:16:10,952 --> 00:16:14,187
they're simply not going
to experience that at all,

232
00:16:14,211 --> 00:16:18,419
and so therefore, my level of soft,
gentle playing may have to be --

233
00:16:18,443 --> 00:16:21,602
(Marimba sounds)

234
00:16:40,470 --> 00:16:42,471
(Marimba sounds end)

235
00:16:42,495 --> 00:16:43,837
Do you see what I mean?

236
00:16:43,861 --> 00:16:50,119
So, because of this explosion
in access to sound,

237
00:16:50,143 --> 00:16:52,654
especially through the Deaf community,

238
00:16:52,678 --> 00:16:57,105
this has not only affected
how music institutions,

239
00:16:57,129 --> 00:17:03,898
how schools for the deaf treat sound,
and not just as a means of therapy --

240
00:17:03,922 --> 00:17:06,535
although, of course,
being a participator of music,

241
00:17:06,559 --> 00:17:09,157
that definitely is the case as well --

242
00:17:09,181 --> 00:17:14,280
but it's meant that acousticians
have had to really think

243
00:17:14,304 --> 00:17:18,326
about the types of halls
they put together.

244
00:17:18,350 --> 00:17:20,814
There are so few halls in this world

245
00:17:20,838 --> 00:17:26,155
that actually have
very good acoustics, dare I say.

246
00:17:26,179 --> 00:17:31,764
But by that I mean, where you can
absolutely do anything you imagine.

247
00:17:31,788 --> 00:17:36,606
The tiniest, softest, softest sound
to something that is so broad,

248
00:17:36,630 --> 00:17:39,352
so huge, so incredible.

249
00:17:39,376 --> 00:17:40,770
There's always something:

250
00:17:40,794 --> 00:17:43,298
it may sound good up there,
may not be so good there;

251
00:17:43,322 --> 00:17:45,465
it may be great there,
but terrible up there;

252
00:17:45,489 --> 00:17:49,673
maybe terrible over there,
but not too bad there, etc., etc.

253
00:17:49,697 --> 00:17:54,119
So to find an actual hall is incredible --

254
00:17:54,143 --> 00:17:58,219
for which you can play
exactly what you imagine,

255
00:17:58,243 --> 00:18:01,350
without it being cosmetically enhanced.

256
00:18:01,374 --> 00:18:06,431
So therefore, acousticians
are actually in conversation

257
00:18:06,455 --> 00:18:09,750
with people who are hearing impaired,

258
00:18:09,774 --> 00:18:14,625
and who are participators of sound.

259
00:18:14,649 --> 00:18:16,476
And this is quite interesting.

260
00:18:16,500 --> 00:18:20,487
I cannot give you any detail

261
00:18:20,511 --> 00:18:24,248
as far as what is actually happening
with those halls,

262
00:18:24,272 --> 00:18:28,380
but it's just the fact
that they are going to a group of people

263
00:18:28,404 --> 00:18:32,350
for whom so many years, we've been saying,

264
00:18:32,374 --> 00:18:35,715
"Well, how on earth can they experience
music? They're deaf."

265
00:18:35,739 --> 00:18:39,054
We go like that, and we imagine
that's what deafness is about.

266
00:18:39,078 --> 00:18:42,214
Or we go like that, and we imagine
that's what blindness is about.

267
00:18:42,238 --> 00:18:46,060
If we see someone in a wheelchair,
we assume they cannot walk.

268
00:18:46,084 --> 00:18:49,608
It may be that they can walk
three, four, five steps.

269
00:18:49,632 --> 00:18:52,483
That, to them, means they can walk.

270
00:18:53,594 --> 00:18:56,633
In a year's time,
it could be two extra steps.

271
00:18:57,299 --> 00:19:00,052
In another year's time, three extra steps.

272
00:19:00,076 --> 00:19:04,779
Those are hugely important
aspects to think about.

273
00:19:04,803 --> 00:19:08,976
So when we do listen to each other,

274
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,689
it's unbelievably important for us

275
00:19:12,713 --> 00:19:17,331
to really test our listening skills,

276
00:19:17,355 --> 00:19:20,827
to really use our bodies
as a resonating chamber,

277
00:19:20,851 --> 00:19:22,500
to stop the judgment.

278
00:19:22,524 --> 00:19:26,395
For me, as a musician who deals
with 99 percent of new music,

279
00:19:26,419 --> 00:19:28,343
it's very easy for me to say,

280
00:19:28,367 --> 00:19:31,968
"Oh yes, I like that piece.
No, I don't like that piece," and so on.

281
00:19:31,992 --> 00:19:37,121
And I just find that I have to give
those pieces of music real time.

282
00:19:37,145 --> 00:19:40,418
It may be that the chemistry
isn't quite right between myself

283
00:19:40,442 --> 00:19:42,219
and that particular piece of music,

284
00:19:42,243 --> 00:19:46,725
but that doesn't mean I have the right
to say it's a bad piece of music.

285
00:19:47,077 --> 00:19:52,177
And you know, one of the great things
about being a musician

286
00:19:52,201 --> 00:19:55,757
is that it is so unbelievably fluid.

287
00:19:55,781 --> 00:20:00,185
So there are no rules, no right,
no wrong, this way, that way.

288
00:20:00,209 --> 00:20:05,037
If I asked you to clap --
maybe I can do this.

289
00:20:05,061 --> 00:20:11,435
If I can just say, "Please clap
and create the sound of thunder."

290
00:20:11,459 --> 00:20:14,758
I'm assuming we've all
experienced thunder.

291
00:20:14,782 --> 00:20:16,364
Now, I don't mean just the sound;

292
00:20:16,388 --> 00:20:21,305
I mean really listen
to that thunder within yourselves.

293
00:20:21,329 --> 00:20:23,787
And please try to create that
through your clapping.

294
00:20:23,811 --> 00:20:25,760
Try, just -- please try.

295
00:20:25,784 --> 00:20:29,053
(Loud clapping sounds)

296
00:20:33,561 --> 00:20:34,711
(Clapping ends)

297
00:20:35,103 --> 00:20:36,461
Snow.

298
00:20:36,485 --> 00:20:38,621
(Laughter)

299
00:20:38,645 --> 00:20:39,813
Snow.

300
00:20:39,837 --> 00:20:42,073
(Soft clapping sounds)

301
00:20:42,097 --> 00:20:43,642
Have you ever heard snow?

302
00:20:43,666 --> 00:20:44,817
Audience: No.

303
00:20:44,841 --> 00:20:46,999
Evelyn Glennie: Well, then, stop clapping.

304
00:20:47,023 --> 00:20:48,422
(Laughter)

305
00:20:48,446 --> 00:20:51,651
Try again. Try again: snow.

306
00:20:52,016 --> 00:20:55,060
(No sound)

307
00:20:55,822 --> 00:20:57,426
See, you're awake.

308
00:20:58,095 --> 00:20:59,342
Rain.

309
00:20:59,714 --> 00:21:01,403
(Light clapping sounds)

310
00:21:01,887 --> 00:21:03,340
EG: (Laughs)

311
00:21:04,354 --> 00:21:07,084
Not bad. Not bad.

312
00:21:07,108 --> 00:21:11,864
The interesting thing here, though,
is that I asked a group of kids

313
00:21:11,888 --> 00:21:13,591
not so long ago

314
00:21:13,615 --> 00:21:15,780
exactly the same question.

315
00:21:15,804 --> 00:21:19,183
Now -- great imagination,
thank you very much.

316
00:21:19,207 --> 00:21:22,029
However, not one of you got out
of your seats to think,

317
00:21:22,053 --> 00:21:23,720
"Right! How can I clap?

318
00:21:23,744 --> 00:21:24,966
OK, maybe:

319
00:21:24,990 --> 00:21:27,499
(Clapping sounds)

320
00:21:27,523 --> 00:21:30,355
Maybe I can use my jewelry
to create extra sounds.

321
00:21:30,379 --> 00:21:34,415
Maybe I can use the other parts
of my body to create extra sounds."

322
00:21:34,439 --> 00:21:39,832
Not a single one of you thought
about clapping in a slightly different way

323
00:21:39,856 --> 00:21:42,974
other than sitting in your seats
there and using two hands.

324
00:21:42,998 --> 00:21:45,143
In the same way, when we listen to music,

325
00:21:45,167 --> 00:21:49,108
we assume that it's all being
fed through here.

326
00:21:49,132 --> 00:21:51,676
This is how we experience music.

327
00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:53,371
Of course, it's not.

328
00:21:53,395 --> 00:21:56,218
We experience thunder, thunder, thunder.

329
00:21:56,242 --> 00:21:57,439
Think, think, think.

330
00:21:57,463 --> 00:21:59,353
Listen, listen, listen.

331
00:21:59,852 --> 00:22:03,599
Now, what can we do with thunder?

332
00:22:04,266 --> 00:22:09,660
I remember my teacher, when I first
started, my very first lesson,

333
00:22:09,684 --> 00:22:13,069
I was all prepared
with sticks, ready to go.

334
00:22:13,093 --> 00:22:17,889
And instead of him saying,
"OK, Evelyn, please, feet slightly apart,

335
00:22:17,913 --> 00:22:23,753
arms at a more or less 90-degree angle,
sticks in a more or less V shape,

336
00:22:23,777 --> 00:22:26,821
keep this amount of space here, etc.

337
00:22:26,845 --> 00:22:29,399
Please keep your back straight,
etc., etc., etc." --

338
00:22:29,423 --> 00:22:33,587
where I was just probably going to end up
absolutely rigid, frozen,

339
00:22:33,611 --> 00:22:35,620
and I would not be able to strike the drum

340
00:22:35,644 --> 00:22:37,864
because I was thinking
of so many other things,

341
00:22:37,888 --> 00:22:40,451
he said, "Evelyn, take this drum
away for seven days,

342
00:22:40,475 --> 00:22:42,260
and I'll see you next week."

343
00:22:42,284 --> 00:22:44,689
So -- heavens! What was I to do?

344
00:22:44,713 --> 00:22:47,191
I no longer required the sticks.

345
00:22:47,215 --> 00:22:49,363
I wasn't allowed to have these sticks.

346
00:22:49,387 --> 00:22:53,024
I had to basically look
at this particular drum,

347
00:22:53,048 --> 00:22:54,721
see how it was made,

348
00:22:54,745 --> 00:22:57,761
what these little lugs did,
what the snares did.

349
00:22:57,785 --> 00:23:00,737
Turned it upside down,
experimented with the shell.

350
00:23:00,761 --> 00:23:02,474
(Drum sounds)

351
00:23:02,498 --> 00:23:03,844
Experimented with the head.

352
00:23:03,868 --> 00:23:05,330
(Drum sounds)

353
00:23:05,354 --> 00:23:07,134
Experimented with my body.

354
00:23:07,158 --> 00:23:08,952
(Drum sounds)

355
00:23:08,976 --> 00:23:10,800
Experimented with jewelry.

356
00:23:10,824 --> 00:23:12,912
Experimented with all sorts of things.

357
00:23:12,936 --> 00:23:16,315
(Drum sounds)

358
00:23:19,356 --> 00:23:21,832
(Drum sounds end)

359
00:23:23,182 --> 00:23:26,382
And of course, I returned
with all sorts of bruises.

360
00:23:26,406 --> 00:23:27,657
(Laughter)

361
00:23:27,681 --> 00:23:31,041
But nevertheless, it was such
an unbelievable experience,

362
00:23:31,065 --> 00:23:35,767
because where on earth are you going
to experience that in a piece of music?

363
00:23:35,791 --> 00:23:39,777
Where on earth are you going
to experience that in a study book?

364
00:23:39,801 --> 00:23:43,506
So we never, ever dealt
with actual study books.

365
00:23:43,530 --> 00:23:46,186
So for example,
one of the things that we learn

366
00:23:46,210 --> 00:23:50,894
when we are dealing
with being a percussion player

367
00:23:50,918 --> 00:23:52,277
as opposed to a musician,

368
00:23:52,301 --> 00:23:55,906
is basically, straightforward
single-stroke rolls.

369
00:23:55,930 --> 00:23:59,554
(Drum sounds)

370
00:23:59,578 --> 00:24:01,688
Like that, and then
we get a little faster --

371
00:24:01,712 --> 00:24:02,880
(Drum sounds)

372
00:24:02,904 --> 00:24:04,100
and a little faster --

373
00:24:04,124 --> 00:24:05,302
(Drum sounds)

374
00:24:05,326 --> 00:24:07,808
and a little faster,
and so on and so forth.

375
00:24:07,832 --> 00:24:09,271
What does this piece require?

376
00:24:09,295 --> 00:24:10,670
Single-stroke rolls.

377
00:24:10,694 --> 00:24:13,893
(Drum sound)

378
00:24:13,917 --> 00:24:17,379
So why can't I then do that
whilst learning a piece of music?

379
00:24:17,403 --> 00:24:20,221
And that's exactly what he did.

380
00:24:20,245 --> 00:24:25,595
And interestingly, the older I became,
and when I became a full-time student

381
00:24:25,619 --> 00:24:30,877
at a so-called "music institution,"
all of that went out of the window.

382
00:24:30,901 --> 00:24:33,642
We had to study from study books.

383
00:24:33,666 --> 00:24:37,767
And constantly, the question, "Well, why?
Why? What is this relating to?

384
00:24:37,791 --> 00:24:39,391
I need to play a piece of music."

385
00:24:39,415 --> 00:24:41,172
"Well, this will help your control."

386
00:24:41,196 --> 00:24:43,755
"Well, how? Why do I need to learn that?

387
00:24:43,779 --> 00:24:46,284
I need to relate it to a piece of music.

388
00:24:46,308 --> 00:24:48,870
You know, I need to say something.

389
00:24:48,894 --> 00:24:51,000
Why am I practicing paradiddles?

390
00:24:51,024 --> 00:24:55,006
(Drum sounds)

391
00:24:55,030 --> 00:24:58,897
Is it just literally for control,
for hand-stick control?

392
00:24:58,921 --> 00:25:00,305
Why am I doing that?

393
00:25:00,329 --> 00:25:02,729
I need to have the reason,

394
00:25:02,753 --> 00:25:08,334
and the reason has to be by saying
something through the music."

395
00:25:08,358 --> 00:25:12,851
And by saying something through music,
which basically is sound,

396
00:25:12,875 --> 00:25:17,247
we then can reach all sorts
of things to all sorts of people.

397
00:25:17,271 --> 00:25:21,520
But I don't want to take responsibility
of your emotional baggage.

398
00:25:21,544 --> 00:25:23,768
That's up to you,
when you walk through a hall,

399
00:25:23,792 --> 00:25:29,126
because that then determines
what and how we listen to certain things.

400
00:25:29,150 --> 00:25:34,431
I may feel sorrowful, or happy,
or exhilarated, or angry

401
00:25:34,455 --> 00:25:36,243
when I play certain pieces of music,

402
00:25:36,267 --> 00:25:41,144
but I'm not necessarily wanting you
to feel exactly the same thing.

403
00:25:41,168 --> 00:25:44,272
So please, the next time
you go to a concert,

404
00:25:44,296 --> 00:25:47,941
just allow your body to open up,

405
00:25:47,965 --> 00:25:51,047
allow your body to be
this resonating chamber.

406
00:25:51,071 --> 00:25:54,348
Be aware that you're not going
to experience the same thing

407
00:25:54,372 --> 00:25:56,078
as the performer is.

408
00:25:56,102 --> 00:25:59,842
The performer is in the worst possible
position for the actual sound,

409
00:25:59,866 --> 00:26:03,422
because they're hearing
the contact of the stick --

410
00:26:03,446 --> 00:26:04,958
(Drum sound)

411
00:26:04,982 --> 00:26:07,851
on the drum, or the mallet
on the bit of wood,

412
00:26:07,875 --> 00:26:10,062
or the bow on the string, etc.,

413
00:26:10,086 --> 00:26:14,224
or the breath that's creating
the sound from wind and brass.

414
00:26:14,248 --> 00:26:16,769
They're experiencing that rawness there.

415
00:26:16,793 --> 00:26:20,641
But yet they're experiencing
something so unbelievably pure,

416
00:26:20,665 --> 00:26:24,495
which is before the sound
is actually happening.

417
00:26:24,519 --> 00:26:31,075
Please take note of the life of the sound
after the actual initial strike,

418
00:26:31,099 --> 00:26:33,504
or breath, is being pulled.

419
00:26:33,528 --> 00:26:37,776
Just experience the whole
journey of that sound

420
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,398
in the same way that I wished
I'd experienced the whole journey

421
00:26:41,422 --> 00:26:45,851
of this particular conference,
rather than just arriving last night.

422
00:26:45,875 --> 00:26:50,532
But I hope maybe we can share
one or two things as the day progresses.

423
00:26:50,556 --> 00:26:53,295
But thank you very much for having me!

424
00:26:53,319 --> 00:26:56,553
(Applause)

425
00:26:59,262 --> 00:27:00,960
(Applause ends)

426
00:27:12,957 --> 00:27:15,979
(Music)

427
00:31:37,631 --> 00:31:39,901
(Music ends)

428
00:31:43,244 --> 00:31:50,244
(Applause)