TED2002
Pamelia Kurstin: The untouchable music of the theremin
Pamelia Kurstin svira teremin -- nedodirljivu glazbu
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Virtuoz Pamelia Kurstin svira i raspravlja o svom tereminu, elektroničkom instrumentu koji nije namijenjen samo SF-u i koji se svira bez dodirivanja. Izvodi skladbe poput "Autumn Leaves," "Lush Life" i skladbu Davida Masha "Listen, Words Are Gone."
Pamelia Kurstin - Theremin player
Pamelia Kurstin excavates a dusty artifact from the prehistoric strata of electronic music -- and demonstrates how to squeeze soul from an instrument you can't even touch. Full bio
Pamelia Kurstin excavates a dusty artifact from the prehistoric strata of electronic music -- and demonstrates how to squeeze soul from an instrument you can't even touch. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
(Music)
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(Glazba)
05:20
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
05:35
Thank you. Ooh, I'm like, "Phew, phew, calm down. Get back into my body now." (Laughter)
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Smiri se. Vrati se sad u moje tijelo.
05:40
Usually when I play out, the first thing that happens is
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Najčešće kad sviram vani, prva stvar koja se dogodi je
05:44
people scream out, "What's she doing?!"
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da se ljudi izderu: Što to ona radi?
05:47
I'll play at these rock shows, be on stage
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Znate, sviram na rock izvedbama, na pozornici sam,
05:50
standing completely still, and they're like,
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stojim potpuno mirno i samo to činim.
05:52
"What's she doing?! What's she doing?!"
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Znate, Što to ona radi? Što radi?
05:55
And then I'll kind of be like -- (Vvvwow!) -- and then they're like, "Whoa!"
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I onda ja napravim, i onda oni (Wwwow!)- znate, i onda, kao ...
05:59
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
06:01
I'm sure you're trying to figure out,
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I sigurna sam da pokušavate shvatiti
06:05
"Well, how does this thing work?"
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kako to funkcionira?
06:07
Well, what I'm doing is
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Pa, ono što radim jest da -- oh! --
06:11
controlling the pitch with my left hand.
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kontroliram visinu sa svojom lijevom rukom.
06:18
See, the closer I get to this antenna, the higher the note gets --
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Pogledajte, što sam bliže anteni, bude viši ton.
06:23
(Portamento) --
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(Portamento)
06:26
and you can get it really low.
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I može biti prilično dubok.
06:28
And with this hand I'm controlling the volume,
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I s ovom rukom nadzirem glasnoću,
06:31
so the further away my right hand gets, the louder it gets.
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tako da što mi je desna ruka udaljenija, to postane glasnije.
06:35
(Tones)
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(Tonovi)
06:38
So basically, with both of your hands
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U biti, s obje ruke
06:40
you're controlling pitch and volume and kind of
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kontrolirate visinu i glasnoću
06:44
trying to create the illusion that you're doing separate notes,
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i pokušavate stvoriti iluziju da činite odvojene tonove,
06:48
when really it's continuously going ...
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a zapravo ono stalno radi ...
06:50
(Flourish ... Beep)
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(Cvjeta ... Beep)
06:54
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
07:03
Sometimes I startle myself: I'll forget that I have it on,
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Ponekad uplašim samu sebe: Zaboravim da ga imam na sebi
07:05
and I'll lean over to pick up something,
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i nagnem se pokupiti nešto
07:08
and then it goes like -- (Blip) -- "Oh!"
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i onda počne, oh! Znate.
07:11
And it's like a funny sound effect that follows you around
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To je poput smiješnog zvučnog efekta koji te prati
07:14
if you don't turn the thing off.
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ako ga ne isključiš.
07:16
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
07:21
Maybe we'll go into the next tune,
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Možda da krenemo na sljedeću pjesmu
07:25
because I totally lost where this is going.
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jer sam potpuno izgubila nit.
07:29
We're going to do a song by David Mash called "Listen: the Words Are Gone,"
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Izvest ćemo pjesmu Davida Masha „Listen, Words Are Gone"
07:34
and maybe I'll have words come back into me afterwards if I can relax.
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i možda mi se poslije vrate riječi kad se smirim.
07:38
(Music)
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(Glazba)
10:32
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
10:44
So, I'm trying to think of some of the questions
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Pokušavam se sjetiti pitanja
10:47
that are commonly asked; there are so many.
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koja se često postavljaju. Ima ih toliko mnogo.
10:49
And ... Well, I guess I could tell you
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Mogla bih vam ispričati nešto
10:52
a little of the history of the theremin.
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o povijesti teremina.
10:54
It was invented around the 1920s, and the inventor, Léon Theremin
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Izumljen je oko 1920. i izumitelj, Léon Theremin
11:00
-- he also was a musician besides an inventor --
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-- koji je bio i glazbenik --
11:05
he came up with the idea for making the theremin,
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došao je na ideju izrade teremina
11:10
I think, when he was working on some shortwave radios.
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kada je radio na nekim kratkovalnim radijima
11:14
And there'd be that sound in the signal -- it's like (Screeching) --
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i ondje bi čuo taj zvuk u signalu -- To jepoput -- (Cviljenje)
11:17
and he thought, "Oh, what if I could control that sound
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i pomislio je, „Oh, što bi bilo kada bih mogao kontrolirati taj zvuk
11:21
and turn it into an instrument, because there are pitches in it."
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i pretvoriti to u instrument zato što tu postoje tonovi.
11:25
And so somehow through developing that,
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Tako da je, nekako, razvojem toga
11:28
he eventually came to make the theremin the way it is now.
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došao do izrade teremina kakav je on danas.
11:35
And a lot of times, even kids nowadays,
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I mnogo puta čak i djeca danas,
11:39
they'll make reference to a theremin by going, "Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo,"
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pozivaju se na teremin i rade zvukove kao whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo,
11:43
because in the '50s it was used in the sci-fi horror movies,
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zato što se u 50-ima koristio u SF filmovima strave,
11:45
that sound that's like ... (Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo)
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onaj zvuk koji zvuči poput ... (Woo-ooo)
11:49
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
11:52
It's kind of a funny, goofy sound to do.
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To je onaj smiješni zvuk koji čine.
11:58
And sometimes if I have too much coffee,
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I ponekad kad popijem previše kave,
12:00
then my vibrato gets out of hand.
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moj vibrato izmakne kontroli.
12:02
You're really sensitive to your body and its functions
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Jako si osjetljiv na svoje tijelo i njegove funkcije
12:05
when you're behind this thing.
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kad si za tereminom.
12:07
You have to stay so still if you want to have the most control.
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Moraš stajati jako mirno ako želiš najveću kontrolu.
12:10
It reminds me of the balancing act earlier on -- what Michael was doing --
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Podsjeća me na čin ravnoteže koji je prije Michael radio,
12:15
because you're fighting so hard to keep the balance
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jer se boriš tako jako da održiš ravnotežu
12:18
with what you're playing with and stay in tune, and at the same time
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s onim čime sviraš te da ostaneš u tonalitetu i, u isto vrijeme,
12:24
you don't want to focus so much on being in tune all the time;
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ne želiš se toliko usredotočiti na tonalitet svo vrijeme
12:27
you want to be feeling the music.
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jer želiš osjetiti glazbu.
12:30
And then also, you're trying to stay very, very, very still
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I onda, također, pokušavaš stajati jako, jako, jako mirno,
12:34
because little movements with other parts of your body
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jer mali pokreti drugih dijelova tijela utječu na visinu.
12:38
will affect the pitch, or sometimes if you're holding a low note -- (Tone rising out of key) --
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Ili ponekad kad držiš dubok ton
12:45
and breathing will make it ...
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i dišeš, dogodi se ... (Nije više u tonalitetu)
12:48
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
12:49
If I pass out on the next song ...
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Ako se onesvijestim na sljedećoj skladbi --
12:52
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
12:54
I think of it almost like
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To je definitivno, mislim da je to
12:58
like a yoga instrument because it makes you so aware
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skoro kao instument za jogu jer od njega postanete svjesni
13:01
of every little crazy thing your body is doing,
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svake male ludosti koju vaše tijelo čini,
13:05
or just aware of what you don't want it to be doing
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ili samo onoga što ne želite da čini
13:10
while you're playing; you don't want to have any sudden movements.
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dok svirate, znate, iznenadni pokreti.
13:14
And if I go to a club and play a gig, people are like,
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Ako odem u klub odraditi gažu, ljudi mi kažu:
13:17
"Here, have some drinks on us!"
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“Popij piće, mi častimo!“
13:19
And it's like, "Well, I'm about to go on soon;
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A onda, kao, uskoro ću nastupati;
13:22
I don't want to be like -- (Teetering tones) -- you know?"
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ne želim da bude, kao, znate ... (Zvukovi kolebanja)
13:26
It really does reflect the mood that you're in also,
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To također odražava vaše raspoloženje,
13:29
if you're ...
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ako ste, znate, ako ste --
13:31
it's similar to being a vocalist, except
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to je slično kao kada ste vokalist,
13:34
instead of it coming out of your throat,
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samo što to ne izlazi iz vašeg grla,
13:36
you're controlling it just in the air
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nego to kontrolirate u zraku
13:38
and you don't really have a point of reference;
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i nemate zapravo uporište;
13:41
you're always relying on your ears and adjusting constantly.
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uvijek se oslanjate na svoje uši i stalno prilagođavate.
13:46
You just have to always adjust to what's happening
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Uvijek se morate prilagođavati onomu što se događa
13:48
and realize you'll have bummer notes come here and there
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i shvatiti da ćete ponekad imati strane tonove koji će se pojaviti
13:52
and listen to it, adjust it, and just move on,
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i morate ih slušati, prilagoditi, i ići dalje,
13:55
or else you'll get too tied up and go crazy. Like me.
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inače ćete se previše upetljati i poludjeti. Poput mene.
14:04
I think we will play another tune now.
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Mislim da ću odsvirati još jednu pjesmu sad.
14:09
I'm going to do "Lush Life." It's one of my favorite tunes to play.
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Izvest ću "Lush Life": to je jedna od skladbi koju najviše volim izvoditi.
14:12
(Music)
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(Glazba)
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(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pamelia Kurstin - Theremin playerPamelia Kurstin excavates a dusty artifact from the prehistoric strata of electronic music -- and demonstrates how to squeeze soul from an instrument you can't even touch.
Why you should listen
The theremin, the first electronic instrument ever invented, was on the brink of historic oblivion when it was rescued from obscurity by director Steven Martin's classic 1994 documentary Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey . And while a few brave souls have sought to master this temperamental instrument since then, none have done so with more sly effervescence than Pamelia Kurstin.
From the rock-steady composure she assumes behind the instrument (necessary lest her breathing drive the sensors out of tune), one might presume a shrinking conservatory personality, but a quick glance at the MySpace page of the self-described "bird-punching rollerskating thereminist" will quickly dash any of these quaint notions. Far from being a quirky curiosity, however, Kurstin is a sensitive, emotional stylist capable of coaxing sublime melodic content out of an instrument usually doomed to B-movie sci-fi soundtracks. (And her walking bass imitation is pretty cool too.)
Born in Los Angeles, Kurstin currently resides in Vienna, and performs with her latest project Blueblut, among many others. Her latest solo CD, Thinking Out Loud, was released in 2007 on John Zorn's legendary Tzadik label. She'll bathe your dog and give you a haircut ("if you're daring," she warns) in exchange for a six-pack.
Pamelia Kurstin | Speaker | TED.com