ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jennifer Lin - Pianist, composer
Concert pianist and composer Jennifer Lin was only 14 when she performed at TED, drawing tears with her extraordinary improvisation.

Why you should listen

A student of the Yamaha Music Education System from the age of 4, pianist Jennifer Lin has an unusual talent for improvisation. Speaking at TED, she compared her creative process to drawing a comic, and admitted that the state of "flow" -- when she is able produce beautiful music instantly -- cannot be forced.

Her virtuoso performances, particularly the improvisations, are profoundly moving, and -- even via podcast -- have been known to reduce listeners to tears. As one blogger recorded, "I was listening to a presentation by a 14-year old girl named Jennifer Lin who plays the piano like whoa ... I wasn't expecting it, and when she was a minute or two into the piece, I was literally crying in the crowded subway car." Lin was featured on ABC World News Tonight as Person of the Week and also appeared on a "Little Geniuses" segment on Oprah, where Winfrey declared her "a miracle prodigy."

More profile about the speaker
Jennifer Lin | Speaker | TED.com
TED2004

Jennifer Lin: Improvising on piano, aged 14

詹妮弗·林神奇的钢琴即兴谱曲

Filmed:
1,809,378 views

钢琴家和作曲家詹妮弗·林的神奇演出。她谈到了创作的过程,根据一个随机的音符序列即兴演出了一个动人的独奏曲
- Pianist, composer
Concert pianist and composer Jennifer Lin was only 14 when she performed at TED, drawing tears with her extraordinary improvisation. Full bio

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

04:40
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
04:58
Thank you.
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谢谢大家
05:03
Thank you very much.
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非常感谢大家
05:06
Like the speaker扬声器 before me, I am -- that's the TEDTED virgin处女, I guess猜测 --
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和前面一位演讲人一样,我是...大概是TED处女...
05:11
I'm also the first time here, and I don't know what to say.
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我也是第一次到这里,不知道该说什么
05:17
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
05:19
I'm really happy快乐 that Mr先生. Anderson安德森 invited邀请 me.
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我真的很高兴安德森先生邀请了我
05:23
I'm really grateful感激 that I get a chance机会 to play for everyone大家.
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我对有机会给大家演奏(很感激)感到十分荣幸
05:26
And the song歌曲 that I just played发挥 was by JózefZEF Hofmann霍夫曼.
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我刚才弹的那首歌是约瑟夫·霍夫曼(Józef Hofmann)的作品
05:29
It's called "Kaleidoscope万花筒."
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名字叫《万花筒》
05:31
And Hofmann霍夫曼 is a Polish抛光 pianist钢琴家 and composer作曲家 of the late晚了 19th century世纪,
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霍夫曼是一个19世纪后期的波兰钢琴家和作曲家
05:37
and he's widely广泛 considered考虑 one of the greatest最大 pianists钢琴家 of all time.
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他被广泛认为有史以来最伟大的钢琴家之一
05:42
I have another另一个 piece that I'd like to play for you.
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我想给你们弹另一首作品
05:44
It's called "Abegg Variations变化," by Robert罗伯特 Schumann舒曼,
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名字叫《阿贝格变奏曲》(Abegg Variations),罗伯特·舒曼(Robert Schumann)作曲
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a German德语 19th century世纪 composer作曲家.
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一个19世纪德国作曲家
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The name名称 "Abegg" -- "Abegg" is actually其实 A-B-E-G-GABEGG,
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阿贝格这个名字─实际上是A-B-E-G-G,
05:57
and that's the main主要 theme主题 in the melody旋律.
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这是旋律的主题
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That comes from the last name名称 of one of Schumann's舒曼 female friends朋友.
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是一个舒曼女性朋友的姓
06:08
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
06:09
But he wrote that for his wife妻子.
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但他为他的妻子写的这首
06:11
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
06:15
So, actually其实, if you listen carefully小心,
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所以,实际上如果你认真听
06:17
there's supposed应该 to be five variations变化 on this Abegg theme主题.
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应该可以听到有阿贝格(ABEGG)主题的五个变奏
06:20
It's written书面 around 1834, so, even though虽然 it's old,
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它是在1834年左右写的,所以即使有点老
06:25
I hope希望 you like it. (Music音乐)
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我还是希望你们喜欢
13:22
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
13:28
Now comes the part部分 that I hate讨厌.
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现在到了我讨厌的部分
13:33
Well, because Mr先生. Anderson安德森 told me
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这个呢,是因为安德森先生告诉我
13:37
that this session会议 is called "Sync同步 and Flow," I was wondering想知道,
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这部分叫做"和谐和流动",而我就想
13:40
"What do I know that these geniuses天才 don't?"
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“有什么是我知道的而这些天才都不知道的呢?“
13:43
So, I'll talk about musical音乐 composition组成,
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我下面谈谈作曲
13:46
even though虽然 I don't know where to start开始.
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即使我不知道从什么地方开始讲
13:49
How do I compose撰写?
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我怎么作曲?
13:51
I think Yamaha雅马哈 does a really good job工作 of teaching教学 us how to compose撰写.
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我觉得Yamaha教我们作曲教得不错
13:55
What I do first is, I make a lot of little musical音乐 ideas思路 --
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我首先做的是,先想一些很小的音乐思路
13:59
you can just improvise凑合 here at the piano钢琴 --
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用钢琴就可以即兴弹出的
14:01
and I choose选择 one of those to become成为 my main主要 theme主题, my main主要 melody旋律,
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然后从中选择一个,成为我的主题,主要的旋律
14:04
like the Abegg that you just heard听说.
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就像你们刚才听到的阿贝格主题
14:07
And once一旦 I choose选择 my main主要 theme主题 I have to decide决定,
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一旦我选择好了我的主题,我要决定
14:10
out of all the styles款式 in music音乐, what kind of style样式 do I want?
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在所有这些音乐风格中,我想要哪种?
14:14
And this year I composed a Romantic浪漫 style样式.
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比如今年我谱了一个浪漫派风格的曲子
14:17
So, for inspiration灵感 I listened听了 to Liszt李斯特 and Tchaikovsky柴可夫斯基
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为了得到灵感,我伶听了李斯特和柴可夫斯基的作品
14:21
and all the great Romantic浪漫 composers作曲家.
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还有其他所有伟大的浪漫派作曲家的作品
14:23
Next下一个, I make the structure结构体 of the entire整个 piece with my teachers教师.
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下一步,我和我的老师们决定整个曲子的结构
14:29
They help me plan计划 out the whole整个 piece,
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他们帮我为整个曲子做一个计划
14:31
and then the hard part部分 is filling填充 it in with musical音乐 ideas思路,
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然后难的部分的部分就来了:将乐思填入计划
14:35
because then you have to think. (Laughter笑声)
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因为这个时候你需要开始思考
14:38
And then, when the piece takes somewhat有些 of a solifiedsolified form形成 --
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这之后,当曲子的形式固化下来
14:42
solidified凝固, excuse借口 me -- solidified凝固 form形成,
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固定下来,不好意思,固定下来的形式
14:44
you're supposed应该 to actually其实 polish抛光 the piece, polish抛光 the details细节,
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你就应该开始打磨曲子,打磨细节
14:49
and then polish抛光 the overall总体 performance性能 of the composition组成.
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最后打磨整个曲子的演出风格
14:53
And another另一个 thing that I enjoy请享用 doing is drawing画画 --
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另外一个我爱干的事情是画画
14:56
drawing画画, because I like to draw, you know, Japanese日本 anime动漫 art艺术.
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我喜欢画日本动画
15:00
I think that's a craze狂热 among其中 teens青少年 right now.
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这个现在在青少年中非常疯狂
15:02
And once一旦 I realized实现 it,
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当我意识到
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there's a parallel平行 between之间 creating创建 music音乐 and creating创建 art艺术,
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在创作音乐和创作视觉艺术之间有一种平行关系
15:09
because for your motive动机 or your little initial初始 idea理念 for your drawing画画,
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因为你的(音乐)动机或者你画画的开始想法
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it's your character字符 -- you want to decide决定 who do you want to draw,
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代表你的品质 ─ 你自己需要决定你要画谁
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or if you want to draw an original原版的 character字符.
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或者你想原创一个人物
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And then you want to decide决定, how are you going to draw the character字符?
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之后你需要决定,你要怎么画这个人物?
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Like, am I going to use one page?
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比如说,我是不是要在一张纸上画出来?
15:24
Am I going to draw it on the computer电脑?
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还是要在电脑上画出来?
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Am I going to use a two-page两页 spread传播 like a comic滑稽 book
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我还是要在两页纸上像漫画叙诉的方式画出来?
15:29
for more grandiose雄伟 effect影响, I guess猜测?
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这样看起来更有气魄,我想是?
15:32
And then you have to do the initial初始 sketch草图 of the character字符,
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然后你要构画人物的草图
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which哪一个 is like your structure结构体 of a piece,
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就像曲子的结构
15:37
and then you add pen钢笔 and pencil铅笔 and whatever随你 details细节 that you need --
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然后你要用钢笔和铅笔加入所有你想要的细节
15:41
that's polishing抛光 the drawing画画.
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这就是打磨这个画
15:43
And another另一个 thing that both of these have in common共同
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另外一个这两件事的共同点是
15:45
is your state of mind心神, because I don't --
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是你的心理状态,因为我不...
15:48
I'm one of those teenagers青少年 that are really easily容易 distracted分心,
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我不是那种容易分心的青少年
15:51
so if I'm trying to do homework家庭作业, (Laughter笑声)
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如果我使劲想做作业
15:54
if I'm trying to do homework家庭作业 and I don't feel like it,
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我使劲想,但我并不喜欢它
15:56
I'll try to draw or, you know, waste浪费 my time.
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我会去画点东西,或者你知道吗,会浪费时间。
15:59
And then what happens发生 is, sometimes有时 I absolutely绝对 can't draw
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在这种情况下,有的时候我一点都画不出来
16:02
or I can't compose撰写 at all, and then it's like
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或者一点曲子都谱不出来,就像
16:05
there's too much on your mind心神.
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你脑袋里的东西太满了
16:06
You can't focus焦点 on what you're supposed应该 to do.
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你无法把注意力集中到应该做的事情上
16:09
And sometimes有时, if you manage管理 to use your time wisely明智 and work on it,
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有的时候,如果你想办法聪明地使用时间,想办法集中注意力
16:14
you'll你会 get something out of it, but it doesn't come naturally自然.
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你可以做出一些东西,但是这不会是很自然地发生的
16:18
What happens发生 is, if something magical神奇 happens发生,
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实际发生的是,如果真的有奇秒的事情发生
16:20
if something natural自然 happens发生 to you,
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如果有些想法自然地出现在你的脑袋里
16:23
you're able能够 to produce生产 all this beautiful美丽 stuff东东 instantly即刻,
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你会即刻非常自然地创造出这些美丽的东西
16:26
and then that's what I consider考虑 "flow,"
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这是我所认为的“流动"
16:29
because that's when everything clicks点击 and you're able能够 to do anything.
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因为这个时候一切都很合拍,你可以做出任何事情
16:33
You feel like you're on top最佳 of your game游戏
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你觉得你一切都在掌握之中
16:35
and you can do anything you want.
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此时你可以做任何你想要做的事情
16:37
I'm not going to play my own拥有 composition组成 today今天 because,
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我今天不会弹我自己的曲子,因为
16:40
although虽然 I did finish it, it's way too long.
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尽管我确实谱完了,但它太长了
16:43
Instead代替, I'd like to try something called "improvisation即兴."
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作为替代,我想试试所谓即兴作曲
16:47
I have here seven note注意 cards,
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我这有七张音符卡片
16:49
one with each note注意 of the musical音乐 alphabet字母,
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每个上面有一个音乐字母
16:52
and I'd like someone有人 to come up here and choose选择 five --
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我想让一个人上来选五个
16:56
anyone任何人 to come up here and choose选择 five --
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有人来选五个吗?
16:58
and then I can make it into some sort分类 of melody旋律 and I'll improvise凑合 it.
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然后我就可以把它即兴编成一个旋律
17:03
Wow, a volunteer志愿者, yay好极了!
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哇,一个志愿者,好耶!
17:07
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
17:11
Nice尼斯 to meet遇到 you.
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很高兴认识你
17:13
Goldie戈尔迪 Hawn霍恩: Thank you. Choose选择 five?
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高帝·霍恩:谢谢你。选五个?
17:17
Jennifer詹妮弗 Lin: Yes, five cards. Any five cards.
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詹妮弗·林:是的,五张卡,任意五张
17:19
GHGH: OK. One. Two. Three.
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高帝·霍恩:好的。一...二...三
17:24
Oh, D and F -- too familiar.
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阿,D和F,太熟悉了
17:29
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
17:34
JLJL: One more.
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詹妮弗·林:还缺一张
17:35
GHGH: OK, E for effort功夫.
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高帝·霍恩:好的,选E,会难一些。
17:37
JLJL: Would you mind心神 reading them out in the order订购 that you chose选择 them?
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詹妮弗·林:你不介意按照你的顺序把它们念出来吗?
17:40
GHGH: OK. C, G, B, A and E.
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高帝·霍恩:没问题。C, G, B, A, 还有E。
17:47
JLJL: Thank you very much.
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詹妮弗·林:非常感谢你
17:48
GHGH: You're welcome欢迎. And what about these?
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高帝·霍恩:不用谢。那这些怎么办?
17:50
JLJL: I won't惯于 use them. Thank you.
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詹妮弗·林:我不用它们,谢谢你。
17:53
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
18:00
Now, she chose选择 C, G, B, A, E.
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现在,她选了 C, G, B, A, E
18:04
I'm going to try to put that in some sort分类 of order订购. (Plays播放 notes笔记)
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我现在尝试把他们放到一定的规律中去
18:12
OK, that's nice不错.
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好,看起来不错
18:14
So, I'm going to have a moment时刻 to think,
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那么,我用一小会想想
18:16
and I'll try to make something out of it. (Music音乐)
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并且产出一点什么来
21:54
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
21:59
The next下一个 song歌曲, or the encore安可, that I'm going to play
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下一个首歌,我要演奏的垫场曲是
22:02
is called "Bumble弄糟 Boogie布吉," by Jack插口 Fina菲娜.
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杰克.菲那的“疯狂的飞行”
22:06
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
24:05
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by Yifan Yang
Reviewed by Daqing Chu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jennifer Lin - Pianist, composer
Concert pianist and composer Jennifer Lin was only 14 when she performed at TED, drawing tears with her extraordinary improvisation.

Why you should listen

A student of the Yamaha Music Education System from the age of 4, pianist Jennifer Lin has an unusual talent for improvisation. Speaking at TED, she compared her creative process to drawing a comic, and admitted that the state of "flow" -- when she is able produce beautiful music instantly -- cannot be forced.

Her virtuoso performances, particularly the improvisations, are profoundly moving, and -- even via podcast -- have been known to reduce listeners to tears. As one blogger recorded, "I was listening to a presentation by a 14-year old girl named Jennifer Lin who plays the piano like whoa ... I wasn't expecting it, and when she was a minute or two into the piece, I was literally crying in the crowded subway car." Lin was featured on ABC World News Tonight as Person of the Week and also appeared on a "Little Geniuses" segment on Oprah, where Winfrey declared her "a miracle prodigy."

More profile about the speaker
Jennifer Lin | Speaker | TED.com