The Language of Music

　　A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and players have great responsibilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs as long and as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical student needs to become a doctor. Most training is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an athlete or a ballet dancer. Singers practice breathing every day, as their vocal chords would be inadequate without controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left hand up and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm-two entirely different movements.

　　Singers and instruments have to be able to get every note perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner's responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties; the hammers that hit the string have to be coaxed not to sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound clear.

　　This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student conductors: they have to learn to know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these sounds with fanatical but selfless authority.

　　Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Great artists are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoy performing works written in any century.

音乐语言

一个画家把自己的画挂在墙上，每个人都可以看见。作曲家写了一个作品，但没有人能听到它，直到它被执行。职业歌手和球员都有很大的责任，因为作曲家完全依赖于他们。一个音乐的学生需要长时间的训练才能成为一名演奏者，作为一名医科学生需要成为一名医生。大多数的训练是与技术有关的，因为音乐家必须有一个运动员或一个芭蕾舞者的肌肉熟练程度。歌手练习呼吸每一天，因为他们的声带将不足以控制肌肉的支持。弦乐器演奏者练习左手的手指上下移动，同时用右手前后画弓来回的动作完全不同。

歌手和乐器必须能够完美地得到每一个音符。钢琴幸免这个特别的焦虑，因为每个音符都已在那里，等待他们的，是钢琴调音师的责任来调整他们的工具。但他们有自己的困难；琴槌敲击琴弦时要小心不要听起来像打击乐，而且每个交叠的音都必须要清晰。

这种清晰的纹理是学生指挥所面临的一个问题：他们必须学会了解音乐的每一个音符，以及它应该如何健全，他们必须以热忱而又无私的权威来控制这些声音。

技术是没有用的，除非它是结合音乐知识和理解。伟大的艺术家是那些在音乐的语言中如此彻底的，他们可以欣赏到任何一个世纪写作的作品。

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