How to truly listen
-
0:01 - 0:05I'm not quite sure whether
I really want to see a snare drum -
0:05 - 0:07at nine o'clock or so in the morning.
-
0:07 - 0:08(Laughter)
-
0:08 - 0:12But anyway, it's just great
to see such a full theater, -
0:12 - 0:16and really, I must thank
Herbie Hancock and his colleagues -
0:16 - 0:18for such a great presentation.
-
0:18 - 0:21(Applause)
-
0:21 - 0:23One of the interesting things, of course,
-
0:23 - 0:30is the combination of that raw hand
on the instrument and technology, -
0:31 - 0:36and what he said about listening
to our young people. -
0:36 - 0:39Of course, my job is all about listening.
-
0:40 - 0:46And my aim, really,
is to teach the world to listen. -
0:46 - 0:50That's my only real aim in life.
-
0:50 - 0:57And it sounds quite simple,
but actually, it's quite a big, big job. -
0:57 - 1:02Because you know, when you look
at a piece of music, for example, -
1:02 - 1:05if I just open my little motorbike bag --
-
1:07 - 1:10we have here, hopefully,
-
1:10 - 1:15a piece of music that is full
of little black dots on the page. -
1:16 - 1:20And, you know, we open it up ...
-
1:23 - 1:24And I read the music.
-
1:25 - 1:28So technically, I can actually read this.
-
1:29 - 1:33I will follow the instructions,
the tempo markings, the dynamics. -
1:34 - 1:37I will do exactly as I'm told.
-
1:38 - 1:41And so therefore, because time is short,
-
1:41 - 1:48if I just played you, literally,
the first, maybe, two lines or so -- -
1:49 - 1:52It's very straightforward; there's nothing
too difficult about the piece. -
1:52 - 1:56But here, I'm being told
that the piece of music is very quick. -
1:57 - 2:00I'm being told where to play on the drum.
-
2:00 - 2:02I'm being told which part
of the stick to use. -
2:04 - 2:06And I'm being told the dynamic.
-
2:06 - 2:11And I'm also being told
that the drum is without snares. -
2:11 - 2:14Snares on, snares off.
-
2:14 - 2:20So therefore, if I translate
this piece of music, -
2:20 - 2:22we have this idea.
-
2:23 - 2:25(Drum sounds)
-
2:51 - 2:53(Drum sounds end)
-
2:53 - 2:55And so on.
-
2:55 - 2:58My career would probably last
about five years. -
2:58 - 2:59(Laughter)
-
2:59 - 3:04However, what I have to do as a musician
-
3:04 - 3:08is do everything that is not on the music;
-
3:08 - 3:13everything that there isn't time
to learn from a teacher, -
3:13 - 3:16or to talk about, even, from a teacher.
-
3:16 - 3:21But it's the things you notice when
you're not actually with your instrument -
3:21 - 3:27that, in fact, become so interesting,
and that you want to explore -
3:27 - 3:30through this tiny, tiny surface of a drum.
-
3:30 - 3:33So there, we experience the translation.
-
3:33 - 3:36Now we'll experience the interpretation.
-
3:37 - 3:39(Drum sounds)
-
4:19 - 4:21(Drum sounds end)
-
4:23 - 4:30(Applause)
-
4:30 - 4:33Now my career may last a little longer.
-
4:33 - 4:34(Laughter)
-
4:34 - 4:37But in a way, you know,
it's the same if I look at you -
4:37 - 4:42and I see a nice, bright young lady
with a pink top on. -
4:42 - 4:45I see that you're clutching
a teddy bear, etc., etc. -
4:45 - 4:50So I get a basic idea
as to what you might be about, -
4:50 - 4:54what you might like, what you might do
as a profession, etc., etc. -
4:55 - 5:01However, that's just the initial idea
I may have that we all get -
5:01 - 5:05when we actually look
and we try to interpret. -
5:05 - 5:07But actually it's so unbelievably shallow.
-
5:07 - 5:10In the same way, I look
at the music; I get a basic idea; -
5:10 - 5:14I wonder what technically might be hard,
or, you know, what I want to do. -
5:14 - 5:16Just the basic feeling.
-
5:16 - 5:18However, that is simply not enough.
-
5:18 - 5:23And I think what Herbie said:
please listen, listen. -
5:23 - 5:26We have to listen
to ourselves, first of all. -
5:26 - 5:30If I play, for example,
holding the stick -- -
5:30 - 5:33where literally I do not let go
of the stick -- -
5:33 - 5:36(Drum sound)
-
5:36 - 5:40you'll experience quite a lot
of shock coming up through the arm. -
5:40 - 5:42And you feel really quite --
believe it or not -- -
5:42 - 5:45detached from the instrument
and from the stick, -
5:45 - 5:49even though I'm actually holding
the stick quite tightly. -
5:49 - 5:51(Drum sound)
-
5:51 - 5:55By holding it tightly,
I feel strangely more detached. -
5:55 - 5:57If I just simply let go
-
5:57 - 6:02and allow my hand, my arm,
to be more of a support system, -
6:02 - 6:03suddenly --
-
6:03 - 6:05(Drum sound)
-
6:05 - 6:09I have more dynamic with less effort.
-
6:09 - 6:10Much more --
-
6:10 - 6:12(Drum sound)
-
6:12 - 6:14and I just feel, at last,
one with the stick -
6:15 - 6:16and one with the drum.
-
6:16 - 6:18And I'm doing far, far less.
-
6:18 - 6:22So in the same way that I need
time with this instrument, -
6:22 - 6:27I need time with people
in order to interpret them. -
6:27 - 6:30Not just translate them,
but interpret them. -
6:30 - 6:36If, for example, I play just
a few bars of a piece of music -
6:37 - 6:43for which I think of myself
as a technician -- -
6:43 - 6:47that is, someone who is basically
a percussion player -- -
6:47 - 6:49(Marimba sounds)
-
6:58 - 7:00(Marimba sounds end)
-
7:00 - 7:03And so on, if I think of myself
as a musician -- -
7:03 - 7:05(Marimba sounds)
-
7:23 - 7:25(Marimba sounds end)
-
7:25 - 7:26And so on.
-
7:26 - 7:30There is a little bit of a difference
there that is worth just -- -
7:30 - 7:33(Applause)
-
7:33 - 7:34thinking about.
-
7:34 - 7:38And I remember when I was 12 years old,
-
7:38 - 7:41and I started playing timpani
and percussion, -
7:41 - 7:44and my teacher said,
-
7:44 - 7:49"Well, how are we going to do this?
You know, music is about listening." -
7:49 - 7:54And I said, "Yes, I agree with that,
so what's the problem?" -
7:54 - 7:56And he said, "Well,
how are you going to hear this? -
7:56 - 7:58How are you going to hear that?"
-
7:58 - 8:00And I said, "Well, how do you hear it?"
-
8:01 - 8:04He said, "Well, I think
I hear it through here." -
8:04 - 8:09And I said, "Well, I think I do too,
but I also hear it through my hands, -
8:09 - 8:13through my arms, cheekbones, my scalp,
-
8:13 - 8:16my tummy, my chest, my legs and so on."
-
8:16 - 8:21And so we began our lessons
every single time -
8:21 - 8:25tuning drums, in particular,
the kettle drums, or timpani -
8:25 - 8:30to such a narrow pitch interval,
so something like -- -
8:31 - 8:33(Marimba sounds)
-
8:35 - 8:36that of a difference.
-
8:36 - 8:37Then gradually:
-
8:37 - 8:39(Marimba sounds)
-
8:39 - 8:40And gradually:
-
8:40 - 8:42(Marimba sounds)
-
8:42 - 8:46And it's amazing that when you do
open your body up, -
8:46 - 8:50and open your hand up to allow
the vibration to come through, -
8:50 - 8:52that in fact the tiny, tiny difference --
-
8:52 - 8:54(Marimba sounds)
-
8:54 - 9:00can be felt with just the tiniest
part of your finger, there. -
9:00 - 9:03And so what we would do
is that I would put my hands -
9:03 - 9:05on the wall of the music room,
-
9:06 - 9:11and together, we would "listen"
to the sounds of the instruments, -
9:11 - 9:15and really try to connect
with those sounds -
9:15 - 9:19far, far more broadly
than simply depending on the ear. -
9:19 - 9:24Because of course, the ear
is subject to all sorts of things. -
9:24 - 9:27The room we happen to be in,
the amplification, -
9:27 - 9:29the quality of the instrument,
the type of sticks -- -
9:29 - 9:32(Marimba sounds)
-
9:36 - 9:38(Marimba sounds end)
-
9:38 - 9:40Etc., etc., they're all different.
-
9:40 - 9:42(Marimba sounds)
-
9:44 - 9:46(Marimba sounds end)
-
9:46 - 9:51Same amount of weight,
but different sound colors. -
9:51 - 9:54And that's basically what we are;
we're just human beings, -
9:54 - 9:57but we all have our own
little sound colors, as it were, -
9:57 - 10:01that make up these extraordinary
personalities and characters -
10:01 - 10:03and interests and things.
-
10:03 - 10:06And as I grew older, I then auditioned
-
10:06 - 10:08for the Royal Academy of Music in London,
-
10:08 - 10:12and they said, "Well, no, we won't
accept you, because we haven't a clue, -
10:12 - 10:17you know, of the future
of a so-called 'deaf musician.'" -
10:17 - 10:22And I just couldn't quite accept that.
-
10:22 - 10:28And so therefore, I said to them,
"Well, look, if you refuse -- -
10:28 - 10:31if you refuse me through those reasons,
-
10:31 - 10:36as opposed to the ability to perform
-
10:36 - 10:43and to understand and love
the art of creating sound -- -
10:43 - 10:49then we have to think very, very hard
about the people you do actually accept." -
10:49 - 10:54And as a result,
once we got over a little hurdle, -
10:54 - 10:56and having to audition twice,
-
10:56 - 10:58they accepted me.
-
10:58 - 10:59And not only that,
-
10:59 - 11:05what had happened was that it changed
the whole role of the music institutions -
11:05 - 11:07throughout the United Kingdom.
-
11:07 - 11:11Under no circumstances were they to refuse
-
11:11 - 11:15any application whatsoever
-
11:15 - 11:18on the basis of whether someone
had no arms, no legs -- -
11:18 - 11:23they could still perhaps play a wind
instrument if it was supported on a stand. -
11:23 - 11:30No circumstances at all
were used to refuse any entry. -
11:30 - 11:34And every single entry
had to be listened to, experienced, -
11:35 - 11:37and then, based on the musical ability,
-
11:37 - 11:42then that person
could either enter or not. -
11:42 - 11:46And so therefore, this in turn meant
-
11:46 - 11:49that there was an extremely
interesting bunch of students -
11:49 - 11:53who arrived in these various
music institutions, -
11:53 - 11:57and I have to say, many of them now
in the professional orchestras -
11:57 - 11:59throughout the world.
-
11:59 - 12:02The interesting thing
about this as well, though -- -
12:02 - 12:06(Applause)
-
12:06 - 12:13is quite simply that not only were people
connected with sound -- -
12:13 - 12:14which is basically all of us --
-
12:14 - 12:19we well know that music
really is our daily medicine. -
12:19 - 12:22I say "music," but actually
I mean "sound." -
12:22 - 12:27Because some of the extraordinary
things I've experienced as a musician -- -
12:27 - 12:31when you may have a 15-year-old lad
-
12:31 - 12:36who has got the most
incredible challenges, -
12:36 - 12:38who may not be able
to control his movements, -
12:38 - 12:41who may be deaf,
who may be blind, etc., etc. -- -
12:41 - 12:47suddenly, if that young lad
sits close to this instrument, -
12:47 - 12:50and perhaps even lies
underneath the marimba, -
12:50 - 12:56and you play something
that's so incredibly organ-like, almost -- -
12:56 - 12:59I don't really have
the right sticks, perhaps -- -
12:59 - 13:03but something like this --
let me change -- -
13:05 - 13:07(Soft marimba sounds)
-
13:50 - 13:53(Soft marimba sounds end)
-
13:53 - 13:56Something that's so unbelievably simple --
-
13:56 - 14:00but he would be experiencing
something that I wouldn't be, -
14:00 - 14:02because I'm on top of the sound.
-
14:03 - 14:05I have the sound coming this way.
-
14:05 - 14:08He would have the sound
coming through the resonators. -
14:08 - 14:12If there were no resonators
on here, we would have: -
14:12 - 14:17(Marimba sounds)
-
14:18 - 14:20So he would have a fullness of sound
-
14:20 - 14:23that those of you in the front few rows
wouldn't experience, -
14:23 - 14:27those of you in the back few rows
wouldn't experience, either. -
14:27 - 14:30Every single one of us,
depending on where we're sitting, -
14:30 - 14:34will experience this sound
quite, quite differently. -
14:34 - 14:36And of course, being
the participator of the sound, -
14:36 - 14:41and that is, starting from the idea
of what type of sound -
14:41 - 14:45I want to produce,
for example, this sound: -
14:45 - 14:47(No sound)
-
14:51 - 14:52Can you hear anything?
-
14:54 - 14:57Exactly -- because
I'm not even touching it. -
14:57 - 14:58(Laughter)
-
14:58 - 15:03But yet, we get the sensation
of something happening. -
15:03 - 15:06In the same way
that when I see a tree moves, -
15:06 - 15:10then I imagine that tree
making a rustling sound. -
15:10 - 15:11Do you see what I mean?
-
15:11 - 15:15Whatever the eye sees,
then there's always sound happening. -
15:15 - 15:19So there's always, always that huge --
-
15:20 - 15:24I mean, just this kaleidoscope
of things to draw from. -
15:24 - 15:30So all of my performances
are based on entirely what I experience, -
15:30 - 15:32and not by learning a piece of music,
-
15:32 - 15:35putting on someone else's
interpretation of it, -
15:35 - 15:38buying all the CDs possible
of that particular piece of music, -
15:38 - 15:39and so on and so forth,
-
15:39 - 15:46because that isn't giving me enough
of something that is so raw and so basic, -
15:46 - 15:51and something that I can fully
experience the journey of. -
15:51 - 15:55So it may be that, in certain halls,
-
15:55 - 16:00this dynamic may well work.
-
16:00 - 16:02(Soft marimba sounds)
-
16:07 - 16:09(Soft marimba sounds end)
-
16:09 - 16:11It may be that in other halls,
-
16:11 - 16:14they're simply not going
to experience that at all, -
16:14 - 16:18and so therefore, my level of soft,
gentle playing may have to be -- -
16:18 - 16:22(Marimba sounds)
-
16:40 - 16:42(Marimba sounds end)
-
16:42 - 16:44Do you see what I mean?
-
16:44 - 16:50So, because of this explosion
in access to sound, -
16:50 - 16:53especially through the Deaf community,
-
16:53 - 16:57this has not only affected
how music institutions, -
16:57 - 17:04how schools for the deaf treat sound,
and not just as a means of therapy -- -
17:04 - 17:07although, of course,
being a participator of music, -
17:07 - 17:09that definitely is the case as well --
-
17:09 - 17:14but it's meant that acousticians
have had to really think -
17:14 - 17:18about the types of halls
they put together. -
17:18 - 17:21There are so few halls in this world
-
17:21 - 17:26that actually have
very good acoustics, dare I say. -
17:26 - 17:32But by that I mean, where you can
absolutely do anything you imagine. -
17:32 - 17:37The tiniest, softest, softest sound
to something that is so broad, -
17:37 - 17:39so huge, so incredible.
-
17:39 - 17:41There's always something:
-
17:41 - 17:43it may sound good up there,
may not be so good there; -
17:43 - 17:45it may be great there,
but terrible up there; -
17:45 - 17:50maybe terrible over there,
but not too bad there, etc., etc. -
17:50 - 17:54So to find an actual hall is incredible --
-
17:54 - 17:58for which you can play
exactly what you imagine, -
17:58 - 18:01without it being cosmetically enhanced.
-
18:01 - 18:06So therefore, acousticians
are actually in conversation -
18:06 - 18:10with people who are hearing impaired,
-
18:10 - 18:15and who are participators of sound.
-
18:15 - 18:16And this is quite interesting.
-
18:16 - 18:20I cannot give you any detail
-
18:21 - 18:24as far as what is actually happening
with those halls, -
18:24 - 18:28but it's just the fact
that they are going to a group of people -
18:28 - 18:32for whom so many years, we've been saying,
-
18:32 - 18:36"Well, how on earth can they experience
music? They're deaf." -
18:36 - 18:39We go like that, and we imagine
that's what deafness is about. -
18:39 - 18:42Or we go like that, and we imagine
that's what blindness is about. -
18:42 - 18:46If we see someone in a wheelchair,
we assume they cannot walk. -
18:46 - 18:50It may be that they can walk
three, four, five steps. -
18:50 - 18:52That, to them, means they can walk.
-
18:54 - 18:57In a year's time,
it could be two extra steps. -
18:57 - 19:00In another year's time, three extra steps.
-
19:00 - 19:05Those are hugely important
aspects to think about. -
19:05 - 19:09So when we do listen to each other,
-
19:09 - 19:13it's unbelievably important for us
-
19:13 - 19:17to really test our listening skills,
-
19:17 - 19:21to really use our bodies
as a resonating chamber, -
19:21 - 19:22to stop the judgment.
-
19:23 - 19:26For me, as a musician who deals
with 99 percent of new music, -
19:26 - 19:28it's very easy for me to say,
-
19:28 - 19:32"Oh yes, I like that piece.
No, I don't like that piece," and so on. -
19:32 - 19:37And I just find that I have to give
those pieces of music real time. -
19:37 - 19:40It may be that the chemistry
isn't quite right between myself -
19:40 - 19:42and that particular piece of music,
-
19:42 - 19:47but that doesn't mean I have the right
to say it's a bad piece of music. -
19:47 - 19:52And you know, one of the great things
about being a musician -
19:52 - 19:56is that it is so unbelievably fluid.
-
19:56 - 20:00So there are no rules, no right,
no wrong, this way, that way. -
20:00 - 20:05If I asked you to clap --
maybe I can do this. -
20:05 - 20:11If I can just say, "Please clap
and create the sound of thunder." -
20:11 - 20:15I'm assuming we've all
experienced thunder. -
20:15 - 20:16Now, I don't mean just the sound;
-
20:16 - 20:21I mean really listen
to that thunder within yourselves. -
20:21 - 20:24And please try to create that
through your clapping. -
20:24 - 20:26Try, just -- please try.
-
20:26 - 20:29(Loud clapping sounds)
-
20:34 - 20:35(Clapping ends)
-
20:35 - 20:36Snow.
-
20:36 - 20:39(Laughter)
-
20:39 - 20:40Snow.
-
20:40 - 20:42(Soft clapping sounds)
-
20:42 - 20:44Have you ever heard snow?
-
20:44 - 20:45Audience: No.
-
20:45 - 20:47Evelyn Glennie: Well, then, stop clapping.
-
20:47 - 20:48(Laughter)
-
20:48 - 20:52Try again. Try again: snow.
-
20:52 - 20:55(No sound)
-
20:56 - 20:57See, you're awake.
-
20:58 - 20:59Rain.
-
21:00 - 21:01(Light clapping sounds)
-
21:02 - 21:03EG: (Laughs)
-
21:04 - 21:07Not bad. Not bad.
-
21:07 - 21:12The interesting thing here, though,
is that I asked a group of kids -
21:12 - 21:14not so long ago
-
21:14 - 21:16exactly the same question.
-
21:16 - 21:19Now -- great imagination,
thank you very much. -
21:19 - 21:22However, not one of you got out
of your seats to think, -
21:22 - 21:24"Right! How can I clap?
-
21:24 - 21:25OK, maybe:
-
21:25 - 21:27(Clapping sounds)
-
21:28 - 21:30Maybe I can use my jewelry
to create extra sounds. -
21:30 - 21:34Maybe I can use the other parts
of my body to create extra sounds." -
21:34 - 21:40Not a single one of you thought
about clapping in a slightly different way -
21:40 - 21:43other than sitting in your seats
there and using two hands. -
21:43 - 21:45In the same way, when we listen to music,
-
21:45 - 21:49we assume that it's all being
fed through here. -
21:49 - 21:52This is how we experience music.
-
21:52 - 21:53Of course, it's not.
-
21:53 - 21:56We experience thunder, thunder, thunder.
-
21:56 - 21:57Think, think, think.
-
21:57 - 21:59Listen, listen, listen.
-
22:00 - 22:04Now, what can we do with thunder?
-
22:04 - 22:10I remember my teacher, when I first
started, my very first lesson, -
22:10 - 22:13I was all prepared
with sticks, ready to go. -
22:13 - 22:18And instead of him saying,
"OK, Evelyn, please, feet slightly apart, -
22:18 - 22:24arms at a more or less 90-degree angle,
sticks in a more or less V shape, -
22:24 - 22:27keep this amount of space here, etc.
-
22:27 - 22:29Please keep your back straight,
etc., etc., etc." -- -
22:29 - 22:34where I was just probably going to end up
absolutely rigid, frozen, -
22:34 - 22:36and I would not be able to strike the drum
-
22:36 - 22:38because I was thinking
of so many other things, -
22:38 - 22:40he said, "Evelyn, take this drum
away for seven days, -
22:40 - 22:42and I'll see you next week."
-
22:42 - 22:45So -- heavens! What was I to do?
-
22:45 - 22:47I no longer required the sticks.
-
22:47 - 22:49I wasn't allowed to have these sticks.
-
22:49 - 22:53I had to basically look
at this particular drum, -
22:53 - 22:55see how it was made,
-
22:55 - 22:58what these little lugs did,
what the snares did. -
22:58 - 23:01Turned it upside down,
experimented with the shell. -
23:01 - 23:02(Drum sounds)
-
23:02 - 23:04Experimented with the head.
-
23:04 - 23:05(Drum sounds)
-
23:05 - 23:07Experimented with my body.
-
23:07 - 23:09(Drum sounds)
-
23:09 - 23:11Experimented with jewelry.
-
23:11 - 23:13Experimented with all sorts of things.
-
23:13 - 23:16(Drum sounds)
-
23:19 - 23:22(Drum sounds end)
-
23:23 - 23:26And of course, I returned
with all sorts of bruises. -
23:26 - 23:28(Laughter)
-
23:28 - 23:31But nevertheless, it was such
an unbelievable experience, -
23:31 - 23:36because where on earth are you going
to experience that in a piece of music? -
23:36 - 23:40Where on earth are you going
to experience that in a study book? -
23:40 - 23:44So we never, ever dealt
with actual study books. -
23:44 - 23:46So for example,
one of the things that we learn -
23:46 - 23:51when we are dealing
with being a percussion player -
23:51 - 23:52as opposed to a musician,
-
23:52 - 23:56is basically, straightforward
single-stroke rolls. -
23:56 - 24:00(Drum sounds)
-
24:00 - 24:02Like that, and then
we get a little faster -- -
24:02 - 24:03(Drum sounds)
-
24:03 - 24:04and a little faster --
-
24:04 - 24:05(Drum sounds)
-
24:05 - 24:08and a little faster,
and so on and so forth. -
24:08 - 24:09What does this piece require?
-
24:09 - 24:11Single-stroke rolls.
-
24:11 - 24:14(Drum sound)
-
24:14 - 24:17So why can't I then do that
whilst learning a piece of music? -
24:17 - 24:20And that's exactly what he did.
-
24:20 - 24:26And interestingly, the older I became,
and when I became a full-time student -
24:26 - 24:31at a so-called "music institution,"
all of that went out of the window. -
24:31 - 24:34We had to study from study books.
-
24:34 - 24:38And constantly, the question, "Well, why?
Why? What is this relating to? -
24:38 - 24:39I need to play a piece of music."
-
24:39 - 24:41"Well, this will help your control."
-
24:41 - 24:44"Well, how? Why do I need to learn that?
-
24:44 - 24:46I need to relate it to a piece of music.
-
24:46 - 24:49You know, I need to say something.
-
24:49 - 24:51Why am I practicing paradiddles?
-
24:51 - 24:55(Drum sounds)
-
24:55 - 24:59Is it just literally for control,
for hand-stick control? -
24:59 - 25:00Why am I doing that?
-
25:00 - 25:03I need to have the reason,
-
25:03 - 25:08and the reason has to be by saying
something through the music." -
25:08 - 25:13And by saying something through music,
which basically is sound, -
25:13 - 25:17we then can reach all sorts
of things to all sorts of people. -
25:17 - 25:22But I don't want to take responsibility
of your emotional baggage. -
25:22 - 25:24That's up to you,
when you walk through a hall, -
25:24 - 25:29because that then determines
what and how we listen to certain things. -
25:29 - 25:34I may feel sorrowful, or happy,
or exhilarated, or angry -
25:34 - 25:36when I play certain pieces of music,
-
25:36 - 25:41but I'm not necessarily wanting you
to feel exactly the same thing. -
25:41 - 25:44So please, the next time
you go to a concert, -
25:44 - 25:48just allow your body to open up,
-
25:48 - 25:51allow your body to be
this resonating chamber. -
25:51 - 25:54Be aware that you're not going
to experience the same thing -
25:54 - 25:56as the performer is.
-
25:56 - 26:00The performer is in the worst possible
position for the actual sound, -
26:00 - 26:03because they're hearing
the contact of the stick -- -
26:03 - 26:05(Drum sound)
-
26:05 - 26:08on the drum, or the mallet
on the bit of wood, -
26:08 - 26:10or the bow on the string, etc.,
-
26:10 - 26:14or the breath that's creating
the sound from wind and brass. -
26:14 - 26:17They're experiencing that rawness there.
-
26:17 - 26:21But yet they're experiencing
something so unbelievably pure, -
26:21 - 26:24which is before the sound
is actually happening. -
26:25 - 26:31Please take note of the life of the sound
after the actual initial strike, -
26:31 - 26:34or breath, is being pulled.
-
26:34 - 26:38Just experience the whole
journey of that sound -
26:38 - 26:41in the same way that I wished
I'd experienced the whole journey -
26:41 - 26:46of this particular conference,
rather than just arriving last night. -
26:46 - 26:51But I hope maybe we can share
one or two things as the day progresses. -
26:51 - 26:53But thank you very much for having me!
-
26:53 - 26:57(Applause)
-
26:59 - 27:01(Applause ends)
-
27:13 - 27:16(Music)
-
31:38 - 31:40(Music ends)
-
31:43 - 31:50(Applause)
- Title:
- How to truly listen
- Speaker:
- Evelyn Glennie
- Description:
-
In this soaring demonstration, deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie illustrates how listening to music involves much more than simply letting sound waves hit your eardrums.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 31:51
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for How to truly listen | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for How to truly listen | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for How to truly listen | ||
TED edited English subtitles for How to truly listen | ||
TED added a translation |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 5/19/2017. Multiple instances of sound representation were made more detailed throughout (e.g. "(Music)" was changed to "(Drum sounds)," etc.).