ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stefon Harris - Jazz vibraphonist
Stefon Harris plays the vibraphone -- and leads a jazz ensemble with a collaborative sound built on collective inspiration.

Why you should listen

Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of hte current jazz scene. Widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics, Harris is committed to exploring the rich potential of jazz composition and blazing trails on the vibraphone.

His TEDTalk was performed with Jamire Williams on drums, Burniss Travis on bass, and Christian Sands on piano. 

More profile about the speaker
Stefon Harris | Speaker | TED.com
TEDSalon NY2011

Stefon Harris: There are no mistakes on the bandstand

Stefon Harris: non existen os erros no coreto

Filmed:
769,694 views

Que é un erro? Explicándonolo a través de exemplos xunto co seu cuarteto de jazz, Stefon Harris guíanos cara unha gran verdade: moitas accións son percibidas coma erros só porque non sabemos reaccionar axeitadamente.
- Jazz vibraphonist
Stefon Harris plays the vibraphone -- and leads a jazz ensemble with a collaborative sound built on collective inspiration. Full bio

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

00:15
Okay, I have no idea what we're going to play.
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Non teño nin idea do que imos tocar.
00:18
I won't be able to tell you what it is until it happens.
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Non lles poderei dicir qué é ata que aconteza.
00:21
I didn't realize there was going to be a little music before.
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Non me decatara de que ía haber algo de música antes.
00:24
So I think I'm going to start with what I just heard.
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Así que acho que vou comezar co que veño de escoitar.
00:26
(Music)
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(música)
06:01
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
06:10
Okay, so first of all,
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Ben, antes de nada,
06:12
let's welcome Mr. Jamire Williams on the drums,
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deámoselle a benvida a Jamire Williams na batería,
06:15
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
06:18
Burniss Travis on the bass,
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Burniss Travis no baixo,
06:20
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
06:22
and Mr. Christian Sands on the piano.
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e Christian Sands no piano.
06:25
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
06:28
So the bandstand, as we call it,
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O coreto, como o chamamos,
06:30
this is an incredible space.
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é un espazo incríbel.
06:32
It is really a sacred space.
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É un lugar sagrado.
06:34
And one of the things that is really sacred about it
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E unha das cousas que o fan sagrado
06:36
is that you have no opportunity to think about the future,
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é que non nos dá a oportunidade de pensar no futuro,
06:39
or the past.
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ou no pasado.
06:41
You really are alive right here in this moment.
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Realmente estás vivo neste momento.
06:43
There are so many decisions being made
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Hai que tomar moitas decisións
06:45
when you walk on the bandstand.
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cando un vai ao coreto.
06:47
We had no idea what key we were going to play in.
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Non tiñamos nin idea do que iamos tocar.
06:50
In the middle, we sort of made our way
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Polo medio, fixemos unha interpretación
06:52
into a song called "Titi Boom."
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dunha canción chamada "Titi Boom".
06:54
But that could have happened -- maybe, maybe not.
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Pero iso puido acontecer ou non.
06:57
Everyone's listening. We're responding.
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Todos escoitan. Nós respondemos.
06:59
You have no time for projected ideas.
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Non hai tempo para as ideas proxectadas.
07:01
So the idea of a mistake:
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Entón, a idea dun erro:
07:04
From the perspective of a jazz musician,
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dende a perspectiva dun músico de jazz,
07:06
it's easier to talk about someone else's mistake.
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é máis doado falar sobre o erro doutra persoa.
07:11
So the way I perceive a mistake when I'm on the bandstand --
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O xeito de como percibo un erro cando estou no coreto...
07:14
first of all, we don't really see it as a mistake.
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antes de nada, non o vemos coma un erro.
07:16
The only mistake lies
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O único erro xace
07:18
in that I'm not able to perceive
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en que non son quen de percibir
07:20
what it is that someone else did.
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que é o que outro fixo.
07:22
Every "mistake" is an opportunity in jazz.
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Cada "erro" é unha oportunidade no jazz.
07:25
So it's hard to even describe
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Mesmo é difícil describir
07:27
what a funny note would be.
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o que sería unha nota divertida.
07:29
So for example, if I played a color, like we were playing on a palette,
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Por exemplo, se pinto unha cor, coma se estiver xogando coa paleta,
07:32
that sounded like this ...
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habería sonar coma isto...
07:34
(Music)
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(música)
07:36
So if Christian played a note -- like play an F.
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Se Christian toca unha nota... coma Fa.
07:39
(Music)
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(música)
07:41
See, these are all right inside of the color palette.
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Vedes, todo encaixa na paleta de cores.
07:44
If you played an E.
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Se toca Mi.
07:47
See, these all lie right inside
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Vedes, todo xace no interior
07:49
of this general emotional palette that we were painting.
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desta paleta emocional xeral que estamos a pintar.
07:51
If you played an F# though,
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Porén, se tocamos Fa #
07:53
(Dissonance)
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(disonancia)
07:57
to most people's ears, they would perceive that as a mistake.
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a maioría de oídos consideraríano un erro.
08:00
So I'm going to show you, we're going to play just for a second.
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Ides ver, imos tocar un intre.
08:02
And we're going to play on this palette.
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E imos tocar nesta paleta.
08:04
And at some point, Christian will introduce this note.
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Nalgún momento, Christian ha engadir esta nota.
08:06
And we won't react to it.
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E non imos reaccionar a ela.
08:08
He'll introduce it for a second
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Vaina tocar durante un segundo
08:10
and then I'll stop, I'll talk for a second.
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e logo voume deter e falarei un intre.
08:12
We'll see what happens when we play with this palette.
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Imos ver que é o que acontece cando tocamos con esta paleta.
08:14
(Music)
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(música)
08:39
So someone could conceptually perceive that as a mistake.
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Conceptualmente, alguén podería percibilo coma un erro.
08:43
The only way that I would say it was a mistake
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Eu só diría que se trata dun erro
08:45
is in that we didn't react to it.
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se non reaccionásemos perante el.
08:47
It was an opportunity that was missed.
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Unha oportunidade perdida.
08:49
So it's unpredictable. We'll paint this palette again.
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Así que é impredecíbel. Imos pintar esta paleta outra vez.
08:52
He'll play it. I don't know how we'll react to it, but something will change.
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El vai tocar. Non sei como imos reaccionar, pero algo ha trocar.
08:55
We'll all accept his ideas,
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Imos aceptar as súas ideas,
08:57
or not.
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ou non.
08:59
(Music)
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(música)
10:08
So you see, he played this note.
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Vistes, tocou a súa nota.
10:10
I ended up creating a melody out of it.
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E eu creei unha melodía.
10:12
The texture changed in the drums this time.
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Esta vez a textura cambiou na batería.
10:14
It got a little bit more rhythmic, a little bit more intense
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Foi un pouco máis rítmico, un pouco máis intenso
10:17
in response to how I responded to it.
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en función á miña resposta.
10:19
So there is no mistake.
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Así que non hai erro.
10:21
The only mistake is if I'm not aware,
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O único erro é se non son consciente,
10:23
if each individual musician is not aware
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se cada músico non é consciente
10:25
and accepting enough of his fellow band member
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e non recoñece aos seus compañeiros
10:29
to incorporate the idea and we don't allow for creativity.
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para incorporar a idea e non imos permitir a creatividade.
10:32
So jazz, this bandstand is absolutely amazing.
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Este coreto é verdadeiramente incríbel.
10:36
It's a very purifying experience.
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É unha experiencia purificadora.
10:38
And I know that I speak for all of us when I tell you that we don't take it for granted.
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E sei que falo por todos cando digo que non o damos por suposto.
10:41
We know that to be able to come on the bandstand and play music is a blessing.
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Sabemos que ser capaz de subir ao coreto e facer música é unha bendición.
10:45
So how does this all relate to behavioral finance?
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E que ten que ver isto coas finanzas?
10:48
Well we're jazz musicians,
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Todos somos músicos de jazz,
10:50
so stereotypically we don't have a great relationship to finance.
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o noso estereotipo non é o máis axeitado para as finanzas.
10:52
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
10:55
Anyway, I just wanted to sort of point out the way that we handle it.
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Só lles quería amosar como é que o afrontamos.
10:58
And the other dynamic of it
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E a outra dinámica
11:00
is that we don't micromanage in jazz.
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é que non facemos microxestión no jazz.
11:03
You have some people who do.
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Hai xente que o fai.
11:05
But what that does
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Pero iso
11:07
is it actually limits the artistic possibilities.
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limita as posibilidades artísticas.
11:09
If I come up and I dictate to the band
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Se lle dicto á banda
11:12
that I want to play like this and I want the music to go this way,
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que toquemos así e quero que sone así,
11:14
and I just jump right in ...
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e digo de entrar en...
11:16
ready, just play some time.
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veña, toquemos algo.
11:18
One, two, one, two, three, four.
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Un, dous, un, dous, tres, catro.
11:20
(Music)
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11:32
It's kind of chaotic because I'm bullying my ideas.
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É un pouco caótico porque me bulen as ideas.
11:34
I'm telling them, "You come with me over this way."
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Dígolles: "Acompañádeme por este lado".
11:36
If I really want the music to go there,
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Se quero que a música vaia aí,
11:38
the best way for me to do it is to listen.
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o mellor que podo facer é escoitar.
11:40
This is a science of listening.
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É a ciencia do ouvido.
11:42
It has far more to do with what I can perceive
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Ten máis que ver co que podo percibir
11:44
than what it is that I can do.
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ca co que podo facer.
11:46
So if I want the music to get to a certain level of intensity,
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Se quero que a música acade un certo nivel de intesidade,
11:49
the first step for me is
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o primeiro paso para min
11:51
to be patient, to listen to what's going on
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é ser paciente, escoitar o que acontece
11:53
and pull from something that's going on around me.
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e recoller algo do que acontece ao meu redor.
11:56
When you do that, you engage and inspire the other musicians
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Cando o fas, motivas e inspiras aos outros músicos
11:59
and they give you more, and gradually it builds.
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e eles danche máis, e así se vai facendo.
12:01
Watch. One, two, a one, two, three, four.
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Miren. Un, dous, un, dous, tres, catro.
12:04
(Music)
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12:44
Totally different experience when I'm pulling ideas.
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É algo totalmente distinto cando tiro das miñas ideas.
12:47
It's much more organic. It's much more nuanced.
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É moito máis orgánico. Ten moitos máis matices.
12:49
It's not about bullying my vision or anything like that.
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Non se trata de espallar a miña visión ni nada.
12:51
It's about being here in the moment,
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Trata de estar no momento,
12:53
accepting one another
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aceptármonos uns aos outros
12:55
and allowing creativity to flow.
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e deixar que flúa a creatividade.
12:57
Thank you.
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Grazas.
12:59
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
Translated by Adrián Levices Casal
Reviewed by Andres Corral

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stefon Harris - Jazz vibraphonist
Stefon Harris plays the vibraphone -- and leads a jazz ensemble with a collaborative sound built on collective inspiration.

Why you should listen

Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of hte current jazz scene. Widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics, Harris is committed to exploring the rich potential of jazz composition and blazing trails on the vibraphone.

His TEDTalk was performed with Jamire Williams on drums, Burniss Travis on bass, and Christian Sands on piano. 

More profile about the speaker
Stefon Harris | Speaker | TED.com