TED2002
Pamelia Kurstin: The untouchable music of the theremin
Pamēlija Kērstina: Neaizskaramā termenvoksa mūzika
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Virtuoze Pamēlija Kērstina uzstājas un stāsta par savu termenvoksu, elektronisko instrumentu, kas domāts ne tikai zinātniskajai fantastikai un ko spēlē, tam nepieskaroties. Viņa izpilda „Autumn Leaves”, „Lush Life” un Deivida Meša „Listen, the 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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(Aplausi)
05:20
(Applause)
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Paldies.
Uh, man ir tāda sajūta: „Kuš, kuš,
nomierinies. Atgriezies sevī.”
nomierinies. Atgriezies sevī.”
05:35
Thank you. Ooh, I'm like, "Phew, phew, calm down. Get back into my body now." (Laughter)
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(Smiekli)
05:40
Usually when I play out, the first thing that happens is
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Parasti, kad uzstājos, sākumā
05:44
people scream out, "What's she doing?!"
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cilvēki sauc: „Ko viņa dara?!”
05:47
I'll play at these rock shows, be on stage
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Es spēlēju rokkoncertos uz skatuves
05:50
standing completely still, and they're like,
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un stāvu pilnīgi mierīgi, un viņi sauc:
05:52
"What's she doing?! What's she doing?!"
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„Ko viņa dara?! Ko viņa dara?!”
05:55
And then I'll kind of be like -- (Vvvwow!) -- and then they're like, "Whoa!"
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Un tad es izdaru tā – (Ūūū!) –
un viņi atbild: „Oo!”
un viņi atbild: „Oo!”
05:59
(Laughter)
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(Smiekli)
06:01
I'm sure you're trying to figure out,
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Esmu droša, ka mēģināt saprast:
„Kā tad šis rīks strādā?”
06:05
"Well, how does this thing work?"
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06:07
Well, what I'm doing is
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06:11
controlling the pitch with my left hand.
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Ar kreiso roku es regulēju
skaņas augstumu.
skaņas augstumu.
06:18
See, the closer I get to this antenna, the higher the note gets --
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Jo tuvāk esmu antenai,
jo augstāka ir nots.
jo augstāka ir nots.
06:23
(Portamento) --
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(Portamento)
06:26
and you can get it really low.
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Var arī spēlēt ļoti zemu.
06:28
And with this hand I'm controlling the volume,
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Un ar šo roku es regulēju skaļumu –
06:31
so the further away my right hand gets, the louder it gets.
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jo tālāk ir mana labā roka,
jo skaļāk tas skan.
jo skaļāk tas skan.
06:35
(Tones)
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(Skaņas)
06:38
So basically, with both of your hands
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Principā ar abām rokām
06:40
you're controlling pitch and volume and kind of
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var regulēt skaņas augstumu un skaļumu
06:44
trying to create the illusion that you're doing separate notes,
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un radīt ilūziju,
ka spēlējat atsevišķas notis,
ka spēlējat atsevišķas notis,
06:48
when really it's continuously going ...
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bet īstenībā tā ir nepārtraukta...
06:50
(Flourish ... Beep)
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(Žestikulē... pīkstiens)
06:54
(Laughter)
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(Smiekli)
07:03
Sometimes I startle myself: I'll forget that I have it on,
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Dažreiz es pati nobīstos,
aizmirstu, ka tas ir ieslēgts,
aizmirstu, ka tas ir ieslēgts,
07:05
and I'll lean over to pick up something,
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noliecos kaut ko paņemt,
07:08
and then it goes like -- (Blip) -- "Oh!"
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un tas ieskanas – (Asa skaņa) – „O!”
07:11
And it's like a funny sound effect that follows you around
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Tas ir dīvains skaņas efekts,
kas visur seko līdzi,
kas visur seko līdzi,
07:14
if you don't turn the thing off.
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ja to neizslēdzat.
07:16
(Laughter)
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(Smiekli)
07:21
Maybe we'll go into the next tune,
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Varbūt turpināsim ar nākamo skaņdarbu,
07:25
because I totally lost where this is going.
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jo es pilnībā aizmirsu, ko gribēju teikt.
07:29
We're going to do a song by David Mash called "Listen: the Words Are Gone,"
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Nospēlēsim Deivida Meša dziesmu
„Listen: the Words Are Gone”,
„Listen: the Words Are Gone”,
07:34
and maybe I'll have words come back into me afterwards if I can relax.
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un varbūt man vārdi atgriezīsies,
ja būšu atbrīvojusies.
ja būšu atbrīvojusies.
07:38
(Music)
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(Mūzika)
10:32
(Applause)
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(Aplausi)
10:44
So, I'm trying to think of some of the questions
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Es mēģinu atcerēties jautājumus,
10:47
that are commonly asked; there are so many.
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ko parasti uzdod; to ir ļoti daudz.
10:49
And ... Well, I guess I could tell you
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Un... laikam jau varu pastāstīt
mazliet par termenvoksa vēsturi.
mazliet par termenvoksa vēsturi.
10:52
a little of the history of the theremin.
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10:54
It was invented around the 1920s, and the inventor, Léon Theremin
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To ap 1920. gadu izgudroja Ļevs Termens.
11:00
-- he also was a musician besides an inventor --
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Viņš bija ne tikai izgudrotājs,
bet arī mūziķis.
bet arī mūziķis.
11:05
he came up with the idea for making the theremin,
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Viņš nāca klajā ar izgudroto termenvoksu,
11:10
I think, when he was working on some shortwave radios.
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šķiet, viņam izstrādājot īsviļņu radio.
11:14
And there'd be that sound in the signal -- it's like (Screeching) --
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Un pārraidē bija šī skaņa,
gluži kā čīkstoņa.
gluži kā čīkstoņa.
11:17
and he thought, "Oh, what if I could control that sound
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Un viņš nodomāja:
„Ja nu es spētu šo skaņu regulēt
„Ja nu es spētu šo skaņu regulēt
11:21
and turn it into an instrument, because there are pitches in it."
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un pārvērst to instrumentā,
jo tam ir skaņas augstums?”
jo tam ir skaņas augstums?”
11:25
And so somehow through developing that,
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Kaut kā to attīstot,
11:28
he eventually came to make the theremin the way it is now.
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viņš galu galā radīja šādu termenvoksu.
11:35
And a lot of times, even kids nowadays,
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Bieži vien pat bērni mūsdienās,
11:39
they'll make reference to a theremin by going, "Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo,"
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runājot par termenvoksu, saka „vū-hū-hū”.
Jo 50. gados to izmantoja šausmu filmās.
11:43
because in the '50s it was used in the sci-fi horror movies,
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11:45
that sound that's like ... (Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo)
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Tā ir tā skaņa... (Vū-ūū-ūū)
11:49
(Laughter)
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(Smiekli)
11:52
It's kind of a funny, goofy sound to do.
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Tā ir tāda jokaina, neveikla skaņa.
11:58
And sometimes if I have too much coffee,
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Dažreiz, kad sadzeros par daudz kafijas,
12:00
then my vibrato gets out of hand.
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mans vibrato iziet ārpus rāmjiem.
12:02
You're really sensitive to your body and its functions
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Šī ierīce ir ļoti jutīga pret ķermeni,
12:05
when you're behind this thing.
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kad esat tās tuvumā.
Lai to labi regulētu,
jābūt ļoti nekustīgam.
jābūt ļoti nekustīgam.
12:07
You have to stay so still if you want to have the most control.
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12:10
It reminds me of the balancing act earlier on -- what Michael was doing --
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Tas man atgādina
Maikla līdzsvara performanci,
Maikla līdzsvara performanci,
12:15
because you're fighting so hard to keep the balance
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jo ļoti jācenšas, lai saglabātu līdzsvaru
12:18
with what you're playing with and stay in tune, and at the same time
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ar spēlēto un tai pašā laikā spēlētu tīri.
Nedrīkst arī visu laiku koncentrēties
tikai uz skaņas tīrību.
tikai uz skaņas tīrību.
12:24
you don't want to focus so much on being in tune all the time;
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12:27
you want to be feeling the music.
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Jāizjūt arī mūzika.
12:30
And then also, you're trying to stay very, very, very still
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Un tad, protams, jācenšas
būt ļoti, ļoti, ļoti nekustīgam,
būt ļoti, ļoti, ļoti nekustīgam,
12:34
because little movements with other parts of your body
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jo mazākās ķermeņa kustības
12:38
will affect the pitch, or sometimes if you're holding a low note -- (Tone rising out of key) --
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ietekmē skaņas augstumu
vai, ja spēlējat zemu noti...
vai, ja spēlējat zemu noti...
(Augstums mainās)
12:45
and breathing will make it ...
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Un elpošana to...
(Smiekli)
12:48
(Laughter)
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Ja nākamajā dziesmā noģībstu...
12:49
If I pass out on the next song ...
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12:52
(Laughter)
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(Smiekli)
12:54
I think of it almost like
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Tas man šķiet gandrīz
kā jogas instruments,
jo tas liek apzināties
jo tas liek apzināties
12:58
like a yoga instrument because it makes you so aware
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13:01
of every little crazy thing your body is doing,
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katru mazāko, jocīgo ķermeņa kustību,
13:05
or just aware of what you don't want it to be doing
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liek apzināties, ko negribat,
lai tas dara, kad spēlējat,
lai tas dara, kad spēlējat,
13:10
while you're playing; you don't want to have any sudden movements.
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jo negribat pēkšņas kustības.
13:14
And if I go to a club and play a gig, people are like,
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Ja es spēlēju kādā klubā, cilvēki saka:
13:17
"Here, have some drinks on us!"
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„Iedzer, mēs izmaksājam!”
13:19
And it's like, "Well, I'm about to go on soon;
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Un man jāsaka:
„Bet man drīz atkal jāspēlē,
„Bet man drīz atkal jāspēlē,
un es negribu, lai ir tā –
(šķības skaņas) – saprotiet?”
(šķības skaņas) – saprotiet?”
13:22
I don't want to be like -- (Teetering tones) -- you know?"
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13:26
It really does reflect the mood that you're in also,
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Tas tiešām ietekmē noskaņojumu,
13:29
if you're ...
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ja esat...
13:31
it's similar to being a vocalist, except
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Tas ir līdzīgi kā vokālistam, izņemot to,
13:34
instead of it coming out of your throat,
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ka tas nenāk no rīkles,
13:36
you're controlling it just in the air
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bet to regulē gaisā,
13:38
and you don't really have a point of reference;
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un tā īsti nav tāda atskaites punkta.
Jūs vienmēr paļaujaties uz savām ausīm
un visu laiku intonējat.
un visu laiku intonējat.
13:41
you're always relying on your ears and adjusting constantly.
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13:46
You just have to always adjust to what's happening
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Vienmēr jāpielāgojas notiekošajam
13:48
and realize you'll have bummer notes come here and there
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un jāsaprot, ka šad tad būs greizas notis,
13:52
and listen to it, adjust it, and just move on,
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un jāklausās, jāintonē, un jāturpina,
citādi iestrēgsiet
un sajuksiet prātā kā es.
un sajuksiet prātā kā es.
13:55
or else you'll get too tied up and go crazy. Like me.
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14:04
I think we will play another tune now.
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Domāju, tagad nospēlēsim
vēl vienu skaņdarbu.
vēl vienu skaņdarbu.
14:09
I'm going to do "Lush Life." It's one of my favorite tunes to play.
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Nospēlēsim „Lush Life”. Tas ir viens
no maniem mīļākajiem skaņdarbiem
no maniem mīļākajiem skaņdarbiem
14:12
(Music)
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(Mūzika)
(Aplausi)
19:02
(Applause)
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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