ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Caroline Phillips - Musician
Caroline Phillips' rich, soprano voice conjures up the far-and-wide cultures of the world, especially the sound and language of the Basque Country.

Why you should listen

Californian-born, French-resident entrepreneur and musician Caroline Phillips is one half of Basque music duo Bidaia, alongside Mixel Ducau. Her searching, Moroccan- and East Indian-inflected vocals are accompanied by the distinctive, folky sounds of the hurdy-gurdy, an unfamiliar and unusual string instrument operated with a crank-turned wheel.

Throughout her years as a professional musician, Phillips has regularly performed in jazz clubs and toured with her one-woman show in the Caribbean and North Africa.

More profile about the speaker
Caroline Phillips | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2010

Caroline Phillips: Hurdy-gurdy for beginners

Caroline Phillips : La vielle à roue pour débutants

Filmed:
817,720 views

Caroline Phillips joue des chansons en tournant la manivelle d'un instrument folklorique peu entendu : la vielle à roue. Une mélodie plaintive en basque suit sa leçon ludique sur l'anatomie de cet instrument et son histoire millénaire.
- Musician
Caroline Phillips' rich, soprano voice conjures up the far-and-wide cultures of the world, especially the sound and language of the Basque Country. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Now, since this is TEDGlobal,
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Puisque nous sommes à TEDGlobal,
00:17
who can tell me what this is called in French?
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qui peut me dire comment s'appelle cette chose en français ?
00:21
I see you're all up on the history of hurdy-gurdy --
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Je vois que vous êtes tous des spécialistes de l'histoire de la vielle à roue :)
00:23
"vielle à roue."
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En français, "Vielle à roue"
00:25
And in Spanish, "zanfona."
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Et en espagnol, "zanfona."
00:27
And in Italian, "ghironda," okay?
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Et en italien "ghironda,"
00:29
Hurdy-gurdy, or wheel fiddle.
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Vielle à roue.
00:32
So, these are the different kinds and shapes of the hurdy-gurdy.
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Voici les différentes variétés et formes de la vielle à roue.
00:35
The hurdy-gurdy is the only musical instrument
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La vielle à roue est le seul instrument de musique
00:38
that uses a crank to turn a wheel
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qui emploie une manivelle pour tourner une roue
00:41
to rub strings, like the bow of a violin,
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qui frotte les cordes
00:44
to produce music.
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pour produire de la musique.
00:46
It has three different kinds of strings.
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La vielle a trois différentes sortes de cordes :
00:49
The first string is the drone string,
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La première est un bourdon
00:52
which plays a continuous sound like the bagpipe.
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qui joue une note continue comme une corne-muse.
00:57
The second string is a melody string,
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La seconde est une mélodie
00:59
which is played with a wooden keyboard tuned like a piano.
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qui se joue avec un clavier en bois accordé comme un piano.
01:08
And the third string is pretty innovative.
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Et la troisième est assez innovatrice...
01:10
It's also the only instrument
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C'est le seul instrument (actuellement)
01:12
that uses this kind of technique.
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qui utilise ce genre de technique.
01:15
It activates what's called the buzzing bridge, or the dog.
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On active le chevalet vibrant, ou comme on l'appelle couramment, "le chien".
01:19
When I turn the crank and I apply pressure,
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Lorsque je tourne la manivelle et que j'appuie dessus
01:25
it makes a sound like a barking dog.
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le chevalet vibre et produit un son un peu comme un chien qui aboie.
01:29
So all of this is pretty innovative,
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Tout ceci est assez innovateur,
01:31
if you consider
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si vous prenez en compte
01:33
that the hurdy-gurdy appeared about a thousand years ago
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que la vielle à roue est apparue il y a plus de 1000 ans.
01:35
and it took two people to play it;
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A l'époque il fallait 2 personnes pour en jouer,
01:37
one to turn the crank,
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une pour tourner la manivelle,
01:39
and another person -- yes -- to play the melody
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et une autre personne, oui, pour jouer la mélodie
01:41
by physically pulling up large wooden pegs.
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en soulevant des énormes sautereaux en bois.
01:45
Luckily, all of this changed a couple of centuries later.
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Heureusement que tout ceci a changé quelques siècles plus tard
01:48
So, one person could actually play
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pour qu'une personne puisse jouer
01:50
and almost -- this is pretty heavy --
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et presque (elle est un peu lourde)
01:52
carry the hurdy-gurdy.
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porter la vielle à roue.
01:55
The hurdy-gurdy has been used, historically, through the centuries
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La vielle à roue a été utilisée, historiquement, à travers les siècles
01:58
in mostly dance music
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dans la musique à danser
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because of the uniqueness of the melody
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à cause de la combinaison unique de la mélodie
02:03
combined with the acoustic boombox here.
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avec la boite à rythme acoustique incluse ici.
02:06
And today, the hurdy-gurdy is used in all sorts of music --
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Aujourd'hui, la vielle est jouée dans toutes sortes de musique :
02:09
traditional folk music,
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musique folk,
02:11
dance, contemporary
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danse, contemporaine,
02:13
and world music --
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et musiques du monde
02:16
in the U.K., in France, in Spain
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au Royaume-Uni, en France, Espagne,
02:18
and in Italy.
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et Italie.
02:20
And this kind of hurdy-gurdy takes anywhere from three to five years [to order and receive it].
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Et ce type de vielle prend de 3 à 5 ans (pour la commander et la recevoir).
02:23
It's made by specialized luthiers,
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Une vielle est faite par des luthiers spécialisés,
02:25
also in Europe.
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aussi en Europe.
02:28
And it's very difficult to tune.
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Elle est difficile à accorder :)
02:32
So without further ado, would you like to hear it?
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Donc, sans parler plus, souhaitez-vous l'entendre ?
02:34
(Audience: Yes.)
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(Les spectateurs : Oui.)
02:36
Caroline Phillips: I didn't hear you. Would you like to hear it? (Audience: Yes!)
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Je ne vous ai pas bien entendu, voulez-vous l'entendre ? (Les spectateurs : Oui !)
02:38
CP: Okay.
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D'accord.
02:40
There I go.
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C'est parti.
02:43
I'd like to sing in Basque,
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J'aimerais chanter en basque
02:45
which is the language spoken in the Basque Country where I live,
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qui est la langue parlée au Pays Basque où j'habite,
02:48
in the region in France and Spain.
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une région en France et en Espagne.
02:51
(Music)
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(Musique)
03:00
[Basque]
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Oihan : traduction des paroles en français. L’aube apparaît, Oihan, chaque matin Tu es là pour aimer, dit-elle, c’est ton destin Le battement du cœur si proche et si lointain Si ce n’est à l’amour, ne sert à rien.
03:45
(Music)
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(Musique)
04:36
Thank you.
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Merci !
04:38
(Applause)
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Applaudissements.
04:40
This is a song that I wrote
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Voici une chanson que j'ai écrite
04:43
based on traditional Basque rhythms.
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qui est basée sur un rythme traditionnel du Pays Basque.
04:46
And this is a song that has a kind of a Celtic feel.
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Elle a un air un peu celtique.
04:50
(Music)
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(Musique)
05:30
Thank you. Thank you.
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Merci !
05:32
(Applause)
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(Applaudissements)
Translated by Caroline Phillips
Reviewed by Guillaume Vier

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Caroline Phillips - Musician
Caroline Phillips' rich, soprano voice conjures up the far-and-wide cultures of the world, especially the sound and language of the Basque Country.

Why you should listen

Californian-born, French-resident entrepreneur and musician Caroline Phillips is one half of Basque music duo Bidaia, alongside Mixel Ducau. Her searching, Moroccan- and East Indian-inflected vocals are accompanied by the distinctive, folky sounds of the hurdy-gurdy, an unfamiliar and unusual string instrument operated with a crank-turned wheel.

Throughout her years as a professional musician, Phillips has regularly performed in jazz clubs and toured with her one-woman show in the Caribbean and North Africa.

More profile about the speaker
Caroline Phillips | Speaker | TED.com

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