ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sirena Huang - Violinist
Sirena Huang started taking violin lessons at age 4 and made her professional solo debut at 9 with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, delighting audiences worldwide with her virtuosity and charm.

Why you should listen

Only 11 years old when she performed at TED, Sirena Huang is still technically a child. But as anyone who sees her perform can attest, she has a musician's soul that transcends her years. "Her musical imagination is boundless," said Juilliard dean Stephen Clapp, who described her as "a musical artist with qualities of maturity far beyond her age."

What's most striking in her performance style is the way she combines technical ability with emotional force and nuance. Her fiercely virtuoso performances are profoundly moving, even via podcast. "Amazed," "delighted" and "spellbound" are the words bloggers often use after watching her play. She has won numerous awards for her brilliant performances worldwide, and has played for the likes of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the Dalai Lama. 

More profile about the speaker
Sirena Huang | Speaker | TED.com
TED2006

Sirena Huang: An 11-year-old's magical violin

Sirena Huang deslumbra no violino

Filmed:
3,178,111 views

A violinista Sirena Huang faz uma performance emocionalmente e tecnicamente brilhante. Em um interlúdio encantador, e com 11 anos elogia o design atemporal de seu instrumento.
- Violinist
Sirena Huang started taking violin lessons at age 4 and made her professional solo debut at 9 with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, delighting audiences worldwide with her virtuosity and charm. Full bio

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

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08:40
(Applause)
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08:58
Hi everyone. I'm Sirena.
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Olá para todos. Eu sou Sirena.
09:00
I'm 11 years old and from Connecticut.
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Eu tenho 11 anos e sou de Connecticut.
09:06
(Applause)
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09:10
Well, I'm not really sure why I'm here.
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Bem, eu realmente não estou certa porque estou aqui.
09:15
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
09:17
I mean, what does this have to do with
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Quero dizer, o que isso tem a ver com
09:19
technology, entertainment and design?
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tecnologia, entretenimento e design?
09:23
Well, I count my iPod, cellphone and computer as technology
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Bem, eu considero meu iPod, celular e computador como tecnologia
09:27
but this has nothing to do with that.
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mas isso não tem nada a ver com isso.
09:31
So I did a little research on it.
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Então eu fiz uma pequena pesquisa sobre isto.
09:34
Well, this is what I found.
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Bem, isso é o que eu encontrei.
09:35
Of course, I hope I can memorize it.
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Claro, eu espero que eu possa memorizá-lo.
09:39
The violin is basically made of a wood box
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O violino é feito basicamente de uma caixa de madeira
09:41
and four main strings.
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e quatro cordas principais.
09:42
By playing the string, the string vibrates
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Ao tocar a corda, a corda vibra
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and produces a sound wave.
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e produz uma onda sonora.
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Sound passes through a piece of wood called a bridge
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Som passa através de um pedaço de madeira chamado de braço
09:46
and goes down to the wood box and gets amplified
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e vai até a caixa de madeira e fica ampliado
09:48
but ... let me think.
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mas ... Deixe-me pensar.
09:52
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
09:53
Okay. On the other hand
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Certo. Por outro lado
09:55
by placing your finger in a different position on the fingerboard
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colocando o dedo em uma posição diferente sobre a escala
09:58
it changes the string length,
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ela muda o tamanho da corda
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that changes the frequency of the sound wave.
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que muda a freqüência da onda sonora.
10:02
Oh, my gosh!
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Oh, meu Deus!
10:04
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
10:05
Okay. This is sort of a technology
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Certo. Este é um tipo de tecnologia
10:09
but I can call it a 16th-century technology.
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mas eu devo chamá-la de uma tecnologia do século 16.
10:14
But actually, the most fascinating thing that I found
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Mas, na verdade, a coisa mais fascinante que eu encontrei
10:17
was that even the audio system
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era que o sistema de áudio
10:20
or wave transmission nowadays
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ou transmissão de ondas de hoje
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are still basically based on the same principle
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ainda são fundamentalmente baseados no mesmo princípio
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of producing and projecting sound.
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de produção e projecção do som.
10:26
Isn't that cool?
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Isto não é fantástico?
10:28
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
10:31
(Applause)
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10:38
Design -- I love its design.
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Design -- Eu adoro o seu design.
10:41
I remember when I was little
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Eu me lembro quando eu era pequena
10:42
my mom asked me,
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minha mãe me perguntou...
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would you like to play the violin or the piano?
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gostaria de tocar violino ou o piano?
10:46
I looked at that giant monster
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Eu olhei para aquele monstro gigante
10:49
and said to myself --
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e disse a mim mesma --
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I am not going to lock myself on that bench
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Eu não vou deixar me prenderem neste banco
10:54
the whole day.
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o dia todo.
10:56
This is small and lightweight.
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Este (aqui) é pequeno e pesa pouco.
10:59
I can play from standing, sitting or walking.
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Eu posso tocar em pé, sentada ou caminhando.
11:01
And you know what?
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E você sabe o quê?
11:02
The best of all is that if I don't want to practice,
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O melhor de tudo é que se eu não quiser praticar
11:07
I can hide it.
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Eu posso esconde-lo.
11:09
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
11:13
The violin is very beautiful.
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O violino é muito bonito.
11:15
Some people relate it as the shape of a lady
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Algumas pessoas dizem que tem a forma de uma senhora
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but, whether you like it or not,
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mas se você goste ou não
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it's been so for more than 400 years,
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Tem sido assim há mais de 400 anos,
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unlike modern stuff that easily looks dated.
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e ao contrário de coisas modernas, que facilmente parecem ultrapassadas.
11:27
But I think it's very personal and unique that,
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Mas eu acho que ele é muito pessoal e único,
11:29
although each violin looks pretty similar,
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Embora cada violino seja muito semelhante
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that no two violins sound the same.
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não há dois violinos com o mesmo som.
11:35
Even from the same maker
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Ainda que do mesmo fabricante
11:36
or based on the same model.
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ou com base no mesmo modelo.
11:39
Entertainment -- I love the entertainment,
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Entretenimento - Eu amo o entretenimento
11:43
but actually, the instrument itself
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mas, na verdade, o próprio instrumento
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isn't very entertaining.
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não é muito divertido.
11:48
I mean, when I first got my violin
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Quer dizer, quando eu comecei com meu violino
11:51
and tried to play around, it was
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e tentei tocar foi
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actually, really bad because
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de fato, realmente mau, porque
11:57
it didn't sound like the way I'd heard from other kids --
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não soava da mesma maneira que eu tinha ouvido de outras crianças
11:59
so horrible and so scratchy --
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tão horrível e tão arranhada
12:02
so it wasn't entertaining at all.
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por isso não foi divertido de jeito nehum.
12:05
But besides, my brother found this very funny.
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Além disso, meu irmão achava isso muito engraçado.
12:10
Yuk, yuk, yuk.
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vupt, vupt, vupt.
12:13
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
12:19
A few years later I heard a joke about
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Poucos anos depois, eu ouvi uma piada da
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the greatest violinist, Jascha Heifetz.
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famosa violinista, Jascha Heifetz.
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After Mr. Heifetz's concert
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Após o concerto do Sr. Heifetz
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a lady came over and complimented,
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uma senhora aproximou-se e cumprimentou,
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"Oh, Mr. Heifetz, your violin sounded so great tonight."
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Oh, Sr. Heifetz, seu violino soou tão magnífico esta noite.
12:31
And Mr. Heifetz was a very cool person,
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E o Sr. Heifetz era uma pessoa muito legal
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so he picked up his violin and said,
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então ele pegou seu violino e disse:
12:35
"Funny, I don't hear anything."
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engraçado, eu não ouço nada.
12:37
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
12:40
And now, I realize that as the musician,
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E agora, eu percebo que, como musicista.
12:42
we human beings, we have a great mind,
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nós, seres humanos, temos uma grande mente,
12:46
artistic heart and skill
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coração artístico e habilidade
12:48
that can change the 16th-century technology
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que pode mudar a tecnologia do século 16
12:51
and a legendary design
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e um design legendário
12:53
to a wonderful entertainment.
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em entretenimento maravilhoso.
12:55
Now, I know why I'm here.
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Agora, eu sei porque eu estou aqui.
12:58
(Music)
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16:36
(Applause)
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16:43
At first I thought I was just going to be here to perform,
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No começo apenas pensei que estaria aqui para fazer uma performance
16:47
but unexpectedly, I learned and enjoyed much more.
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mas, inesperadamente, aprendi e aproveitei muito.
16:52
But ... although some of them were quite up there for me.
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Embora ... alguns deles sejam um pouco complicados para mim.
16:58
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
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Like the multi-dimension stuff.
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Tal como aquela história de multi-dimensão.
17:06
I mean, honestly, I'd be happy enough
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Quer dizer, honestamente, eu ficaria bastante feliz
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if I can actually get my two dimension correct in school.
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se conseguisse acertar meu plano bi-dimensional na escola.
17:11
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
17:15
But actually, the most impressive thing to me
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Mas, na verdade, a coisa mais impressionante para mim
17:18
is that ... well, actually,
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é que ... Bem, na verdade,
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I would also like to stand this for all children
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também gostaria de dizer isto por todas as crianças
17:23
is to say, thank you, to all adults
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quer dizer, obrigada a todos os adultos
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for actually caring for us a lot
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por realmente cuidar de nós tanto assim
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and to make our future world much better.
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e para tornar o nosso mundo futuro muito melhor.
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Thank you.
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Obrigada.
17:34
(Applause)
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17:43
(Music)
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(Applause)
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(Music)
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sirena Huang - Violinist
Sirena Huang started taking violin lessons at age 4 and made her professional solo debut at 9 with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, delighting audiences worldwide with her virtuosity and charm.

Why you should listen

Only 11 years old when she performed at TED, Sirena Huang is still technically a child. But as anyone who sees her perform can attest, she has a musician's soul that transcends her years. "Her musical imagination is boundless," said Juilliard dean Stephen Clapp, who described her as "a musical artist with qualities of maturity far beyond her age."

What's most striking in her performance style is the way she combines technical ability with emotional force and nuance. Her fiercely virtuoso performances are profoundly moving, even via podcast. "Amazed," "delighted" and "spellbound" are the words bloggers often use after watching her play. She has won numerous awards for her brilliant performances worldwide, and has played for the likes of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the Dalai Lama. 

More profile about the speaker
Sirena Huang | Speaker | TED.com