TED2002
Pamelia Kurstin: The untouchable music of the theremin
Theremin, la musica "intoccabile" - Pamelia Kurstin
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La virtuosa del Theremin Pamelia Kurstin ci porta alla scoperta del suo strano strumento, che si suona senza essere toccato. Tra i pezzi eseguiti, "Autumn Leaves", "Lush Life" e "Listen, Words Are Gone" di David Mash
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.
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(Music)
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05:20
(Applause)
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05:35
Thank you. Ooh, I'm like, "Phew, phew, calm down. Get back into my body now." (Laughter)
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Calma, adesso rientro in me.
05:40
Usually when I play out, the first thing that happens is
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Quando suono in pubblico, per prima cosa
05:44
people scream out, "What's she doing?!"
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la gente grida: "COSA STA FACENDO?!"
05:47
I'll play at these rock shows, be on stage
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Lo suono agli spettacoli rock. Sono sul palco,
05:50
standing completely still, and they're like,
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completamente immobile.
05:52
"What's she doing?! What's she doing?!"
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E nel silenzio... "COSA STA FACENDO?! COSA STA FACENDO?!"
05:55
And then I'll kind of be like -- (Vvvwow!) -- and then they're like, "Whoa!"
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È una cosa tipo...
05:59
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
06:01
I'm sure you're trying to figure out,
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Sono sicura che molti di voi stanno cercando di capire
06:05
"Well, how does this thing work?"
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come funziona.
06:07
Well, what I'm doing is
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Beh, con la mano sinistra
06:11
controlling the pitch with my left hand.
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controllo l'altezza della nota.
06:18
See, the closer I get to this antenna, the higher the note gets --
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Quindi più mi avvicino all'antenna, più la nota diventa acuta.
06:23
(Portamento) --
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(Fa una scala)
06:26
and you can get it really low.
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Può diventare molto bassa.
06:28
And with this hand I'm controlling the volume,
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Con questa mano, invece, controllo il volume.
06:31
so the further away my right hand gets, the louder it gets.
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Quindi più mi allontano con la mano destra, più il volume si alza.
06:35
(Tones)
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(Cambia il volume)
06:38
So basically, with both of your hands
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In pratica, usando entrambe le mani,
06:40
you're controlling pitch and volume and kind of
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controlli intonazione e volume,
06:44
trying to create the illusion that you're doing separate notes,
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e cerchi di creare l'illusione di suonare note separate
06:48
when really it's continuously going ...
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quando in realtà viene prodotto un suono continuo.
06:50
(Flourish ... Beep)
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(Suono)
06:54
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
07:03
Sometimes I startle myself: I'll forget that I have it on,
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A volte mi spavento da sola. Mi dimentico di averlo acceso,
07:05
and I'll lean over to pick up something,
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mi sporgo per raccogliere qualcosa,
07:08
and then it goes like -- (Blip) -- "Oh!"
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e lui mi fa sobbalzare!
07:11
And it's like a funny sound effect that follows you around
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È un curioso effetto sonoro, che ti segue,
07:14
if you don't turn the thing off.
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se non lo spegni.
07:16
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
07:21
Maybe we'll go into the next tune,
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Forse è meglio passare alla canzone successiva,
07:25
because I totally lost where this is going.
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perché sono rimasta completamente senza parole.
07:29
We're going to do a song by David Mash called "Listen: the Words Are Gone,"
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Faremo una canzone di David Nash, si chiama: "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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Forse dopo questa canzone le parole mi ritorneranno, se riesco a calmarmi.
07:38
(Music)
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(Musica)
10:32
(Applause)
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(Applausi)
10:44
So, I'm trying to think of some of the questions
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Sto pensando a cosa mi si chiede più spesso.
10:47
that are commonly asked; there are so many.
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Ce ne sono così tante, di domande...
10:49
And ... Well, I guess I could tell you
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Ma penso di potervi dire due parole
10:52
a little of the history of the theremin.
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sulla storia del theremin.
10:54
It was invented around the 1920s, and the inventor, Léon Theremin
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Fu inventato intorno agli anni '20. L'inventore del theremin, Léon Theremin,
11:00
-- he also was a musician besides an inventor --
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è stato sia un musicista che un inventore.
11:05
he came up with the idea for making the theremin,
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L'idea del theremin gli è venuta
11:10
I think, when he was working on some shortwave radios.
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mentre lavorava sulle radio ad onde corte.
11:14
And there'd be that sound in the signal -- it's like (Screeching) --
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C'era quel suono nel segnale, come...
11:17
and he thought, "Oh, what if I could control that sound
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E così pensò: "E se riuscissi a controllare quel segnale,
11:21
and turn it into an instrument, because there are pitches in it."
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trasformandolo in una musica?" Perché ci sono delle note.
11:25
And so somehow through developing that,
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E in qualche modo, a forza di lavorarci,
11:28
he eventually came to make the theremin the way it is now.
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arrivò a costruire il theremin come è fatto ora.
11:35
And a lot of times, even kids nowadays,
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Molte volte, anche i ragazzi ormai lo fanno,
11:39
they'll make reference to a theremin by going, "Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo,"
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ci si riferisce al theremin facendo ooh-ooh-ooh...
11:43
because in the '50s it was used in the sci-fi horror movies,
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Perché negli anni '50 era usato nei film di fantascienza, o dell'orrore,
11:45
that sound that's like ... (Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo)
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per quel suono tipo ...
11:49
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
11:52
It's kind of a funny, goofy sound to do.
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È un suono strano, goffo se volete.
11:58
And sometimes if I have too much coffee,
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A volte, se bevo troppo caffè,
12:00
then my vibrato gets out of hand.
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il mio vibrato ne risente.
12:02
You're really sensitive to your body and its functions
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Diventi estremamente reattivo al tuo corpo e alle sue funzioni,
12:05
when you're behind this thing.
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quando sei qui dietro.
12:07
You have to stay so still if you want to have the most control.
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Devi rimanere davvero immobile, se vuoi avere questo controllo.
12:10
It reminds me of the balancing act earlier on -- what Michael was doing --
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Mi ricorda l'equilibrio di cui parlava Michael Moschen prima,
12:15
because you're fighting so hard to keep the balance
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perché è dura mantenere l'equilibrio
12:18
with what you're playing with and stay in tune, and at the same time
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tra la musica e quello che fai. Nel contempo,
12:24
you don't want to focus so much on being in tune all the time;
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non vuoi essere ossessionato dall'intonazione,
12:27
you want to be feeling the music.
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ma piuttosto sentire la musica, scorrere insieme a lei.
12:30
And then also, you're trying to stay very, very, very still
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Inoltre cerchi di restare molto, molto fermo,
12:34
because little movements with other parts of your body
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perché anche piccoli movimenti con altre parti del tuo corpo
12:38
will affect the pitch, or sometimes if you're holding a low note -- (Tone rising out of key) --
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condizionano l'intonazione. Oppure stai suonando una nota bassa,
12:45
and breathing will make it ...
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e respirando... (perde l'intonazione)
12:48
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
12:49
If I pass out on the next song ...
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Quindi se svengo nella prossima canzone, sapete perché.
12:52
(Laughter)
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(Risate)
12:54
I think of it almost like
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Lo considero quasi
12:58
like a yoga instrument because it makes you so aware
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uno strumento Yoga, perché ti rende molto consapevole
13:01
of every little crazy thing your body is doing,
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di ogni piccola cosa che il tuo corpo sta facendo.
13:05
or just aware of what you don't want it to be doing
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O di ciò che non vuoi che faccia
13:10
while you're playing; you don't want to have any sudden movements.
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mentre stai suonando. Non desideri alcun movimento improvviso.
13:14
And if I go to a club and play a gig, people are like,
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Se vado in un club, suono qualcosa e la gente mi fa:
13:17
"Here, have some drinks on us!"
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"Hey, vieni a prendere un drink con noi".
13:19
And it's like, "Well, I'm about to go on soon;
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mi dico, "Beh, sto correndo troppo.
13:22
I don't want to be like -- (Teetering tones) -- you know?"
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Poi non voglio suonare così.."
13:26
It really does reflect the mood that you're in also,
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Inoltre, riflette davvero il tuo stato d'animo.
13:29
if you're ...
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Se sei...
13:31
it's similar to being a vocalist, except
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È come essere una cantante, solo che
13:34
instead of it coming out of your throat,
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invece di vederlo uscire dalla gola,
13:36
you're controlling it just in the air
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lo controlli nell'aria.
13:38
and you don't really have a point of reference;
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Non hai un punto vero e proprio di riferimento.
13:41
you're always relying on your ears and adjusting constantly.
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Ti affidi alle tue orecchie e aggiusti costantemente.
13:46
You just have to always adjust to what's happening
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Devi sempre adattarti a ciò che sta avvenendo
13:48
and realize you'll have bummer notes come here and there
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e renderti conto che avrai note improvvise qui e lì.
13:52
and listen to it, adjust it, and just move on,
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Ascoltarla, adattarti, e poi semplicemente andare avanti.
13:55
or else you'll get too tied up and go crazy. Like me.
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Altrimenti diventi troppo teso e impazzisci. Come me!
14:04
I think we will play another tune now.
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Penso che suoneremo un altro pezzo, adesso.
14:09
I'm going to do "Lush Life." It's one of my favorite tunes to play.
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Faremo "Lush Life". È uno dei pezzi che più amo suonare.
14:12
(Music)
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(Applause)
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(Applausi)
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