TED | 那架不能弹奏的钢琴

 

演讲简介
 Tim Harford 先生通过"那架不能弹奏的钢琴"的故事,抛砖引玉地向大家讲述: 在我们的工作和生活中出现的一些意外状况,小混乱,"陌生人"等,我们或许会很讨厌这些, 但其实他们是在帮助我们，因为我们往往能从中激发创造力，从而能让事情朝意想不到的，更好的方向发展。

 

 

演讲精彩片段（节选）欣赏

 

Late in January 1975, a 17-year-old German girl called Vera Brandes walked out onto the stage of the Cologne Opera House. The auditorium was empty. It was lit only by the dim, green glow of the emergency exit sign. This was the most exciting day of Vera's life. 

1975年的一月下旬，一个叫维拉·布兰德斯的17岁的德国女孩从幕后走上了科隆歌剧院的舞台。 观众席上空无一人。全场仅仅被一个绿色安全出口标志的昏暗的光微微照亮。这一天是维拉生命中最最激动的一天。

She was the youngest concert promoter in Germany, and she had persuaded the Cologne Opera House to host a late-night concert of jazz from the American musician, Keith Jarrett. 1,400 people were coming. And in just a few hours, Jarrett would walk out on the same stage, he'd sit down at the piano and without rehearsal or sheet music, he would begin to play.

她在当时是德国最年轻的演奏会经纪人， 她说服了科隆歌剧院举办美国音乐家——基思·杰瑞特的一个爵士深夜场音乐会。1400位观众即将到场。再过几个小时，杰瑞特就会走上那个舞台，坐在钢琴旁，不经过排练，没有乐谱，就开始他的演奏。

But right now, Vera was introducing Keith to the piano in question, and it wasn't going well. Jarrett looked to the instrument a little warily, played a few notes, walked around it, played a few more notes, muttered something to his producer. Then the producer came over to Vera and said ... "If you don't get a new piano, Keith can't play."

但那时候， 维拉向基思展示的钢琴出了些问题，而且情况不是太好。杰瑞特仔细地看了看那个钢琴，弹了几个音符，绕着钢琴走了一圈之后，又弹了几个音，跟他的制作人嘟囔了几句。然后制作人过去跟维拉说—— “如果你们弄不来一台新的钢琴，基思今天就弹不成了。”

There'd been a mistake. The opera house had provided the wrong instrument. This one had this harsh, tinny upper register, because all the felt had worn away. The black notes were sticking, the white notes were out of tune, the pedals didn't work and the piano itself was just too small. It wouldn't create the volume that would fill a large space such as the Cologne Opera House.

其实当时是出错了。歌剧院没准备好乐器。那台钢琴的高音部听起来又尖又刺耳，因为其中的所有毛毡都磨损坏了。黑键听起来感觉拖拖拉拉，白键走调了，脚踏板也坏了，而且那台钢琴也特别小。那钢琴根本弹不出足够大的声音来让像科隆歌剧院这么大空间里的观众都听到。

So Keith Jarrett left. He went and sat outside in his car, leaving Vera Brandes to get on the phone to try to find a replacement piano. Now she got a piano tuner, but she couldn't get a new piano. And so she went outside and she stood there in the rain, talking to Keith Jarrett, begging him not to cancel the concert. And he looked out of his car at this bedraggled, rain-drenched German teenager, took pity on her, and said, "Never forget ... only for you."

所以基思·杰瑞特就走了。他走出去坐在他的车里，留下了维拉·布兰德斯在那里打电话试着弄来一台能用的钢琴。她找到了个钢琴调音师，但她弄不到新钢琴。然后她也出去了，站在雨中，开始跟基思·杰瑞特交谈，求他不要取消那场音乐会。他看向车外那个全身被雨浇透的德国年轻人，心中升起了同情，说道， “别忘了啊——我只为你这样做。”

 

 

 

And so a few hours later, Jarrett did indeed step out onto the stage of the opera house, he sat down at the unplayable piano and began.

然后几个小时之后，杰瑞特真的走到了歌剧院的舞台上，他坐到那个弹不了的钢琴旁边开始了演奏。

Within moments it became clear that something magical was happening. Jarrett was avoiding those upper registers, he was sticking to the middle tones of the keyboard, which gave the piece a soothing, ambient quality. But also, because the piano was so quiet, he had to set up these rumbling, repetitive riffs in the bass. And he stood up twisting, pounding down on the keys, desperately trying to create enough volume to reach the people in the back row.

当音乐逐渐响起的时候，神奇的事情发生了。杰瑞特避开了那些高音部分，他一直用键盘上的中音区部分演奏，这使得音乐非常舒缓，还有环绕音的效果了。而且，因为那台钢琴的声音太小了，他要在低音区制造一些有轰隆隆声的即兴重复片段。他还站起来转身用力敲击琴键，极力地想要弹出大一些的音量好让后排的观众们都能听见。

It's an electrifying performance. It somehow has this peaceful quality, and at the same time it's full of energy, it's dynamic. And the audience loved it. Audiences continue to love it because the recording of the Köln Concert is the best-selling piano album in history and the best-selling solo jazz album in history.

那次表演很令人兴奋。既有安静的质感，同时又充满力量，非常有活力。观众们很喜欢这次演出。而观众们在演出之后继续保持了对它的热爱，因为那场科隆音乐会的录音是有史以来最畅销的钢琴曲专辑和有史以来最畅销的爵士独奏专辑。

Keith Jarrett had been handed a mess. He had embraced that mess, and it soared. But let's think for a moment about Jarrett's initial instinct. He didn't want to play. Of course, I think any of us, in any remotely similar situation, would feel the same way, we'd have the same instinct. We don't want to be asked to do good work with bad tools. We don't want to have to overcome unnecessary hurdles. 

基思·杰瑞特遇到了个麻烦。他容忍了那个麻烦，并想出了解决的创意。但让我们想一想杰瑞特的直觉。他其实一开始并不想演奏。当然，我想我们每一个人，当遇到类似的情况时，可能都会有同样的感觉，我们可能会有同样的直觉。我们不想被要求用糟糕的工具干出好活。我们也不愿意克服不必要的麻烦。