【雜談1】Derek Sivers：我希望剛進伯克利音樂學院就能知道的6件事

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本文是 Derek Sivers 2008-09-05 在 伯克利音樂學院（Berklee College of Music）對新生進行的講話。

這篇文章曾經給大學時代的我以極大的震撼，至今讀來，仍然覺得很有道理。

無論是希拉里輸給狗普，還是 A7R3 相位對焦點增多，其實都不一定值得關心。

Derek Sivers：6 things I wish I knew the day I started Berklee

我希望剛進伯克利音樂學院就能知道的6件事

原文地址：6 things I wish I knew the day I started Berklee | Derek Sivers

作者：Derek Sivers

譯者：Esther

版權聲明：本文可以任意轉載，轉載時請務必保持作者、譯者署名的完整性。

這裡的譯名伯克利(Berklee)是指位於美國東北部大西洋沿岸的波士頓的伯克利音樂學院(Berklee College of Music)，而非美國加州大學伯克利分校(University of California, Berkeley) 。

1. Focus. Disconnect. Do not be distracted.

1. 專註。排除雜念。不被干擾。

My favorite part of the movies is the training sequence, where a young Bruce Wayne, Neo or Kung-Fu Panda goes to a remote location to be trained relentlessly, nonstop, past all breaking points, until they emerge as a master.

電影中我最喜歡的部分就是練功階段，年輕的Bruce Wayne, Neo或功夫熊貓到遙遠的地方，堅持不懈地練習，一路突破，直到成為大師。

The next few years can be your training sequence, if you focus.

如果你專註投入，未來幾年可以是你的練功階段。

Unfortunately you』re not in Siberia. You』re surrounded by distractions.

可惜，你不在西伯利亞。你身邊處處都是干擾。

You』re surrounded by cool tempting people, hanging out casually, telling you to relax.

你被酷酷的人所包圍，他們充滿誘惑，四處遊玩，告訴你要放鬆。

But the casual ones end up having casual talent and merely casual lives.

可這些隨意的人才能平平，生活差強人意。

Looking back, my only Berklee classmates that got successful were the ones who were fiercely focused, determined, and undistractable.

回首過去，我那些成功的伯克利同學們都是異常專註、意志堅定、不受任何干擾的人。

While you』re here, presidents will change, the world will change, and the media will try to convince you how important it all is.

你讀書的時候，總統會換人，世界在變化，媒體會努力說服你這有多重要。

But it』s not. None of it matters to you now.

其實不然。對你而言，現在它們都不重要。

You are being tested.

你在接受試煉。

Your enemy is distraction.

你的敵人就是干擾。

Stay offline. Shut off your computer. Stay in the shed.

保持離線。關斷電腦。閉關修鍊。

When you emerge in a few years, you can ask someone what you missed, and you』ll find it can be summed up in a few minutes.

當幾年後你復出時，可以問問別人你錯過了什麼，你會發現這些都可以在幾分鐘內總結完。

The rest was noise you』ll be proud you avoided.

剩下的不過是噪音，你會很自豪自己避免了這些干擾。

Focus. Disconnect. Do not be distracted.

專註。排除雜念。不被干擾。

This is your #1 most important challenge. If you master focus, you will be in control of your world. If you don』t, it will control you.

這是你第一項最重要的挑戰。如果你能掌握自己的注意力，你就能控制自己的世界。否則，世界會控制你。

2. Do not accept their speed limit.

2. 不要接受他人的速度限制。

You don』t get extreme results without extreme actions.

沒有超常的行為，就沒有超常的結果。

Berklee classes set a pace the average student can keep.

伯克利的班級所設定的節奏，一般學生都可以跟得上。

If you want to be above average, you must push yourself to do more than required.

如果你想高出一般水平，你必須推動自己做超出要求的部分。

There』s a martial arts saying, 「When you are not practicing, someone else is. When you meet him, he will win.」

習武之人有個說法：你不練習別人練，一旦較量起來，你必輸無疑。

If you are a writer, you should not only write a song a week, but spend twice as long improving it as you do writing it.

如果你是作曲家，你不能一周只寫一首歌，而是應該花兩倍的時間來改進。

Inspiration is a good start, but it』s the diligence to make every note and every word perfect, that will really set you apart.

有靈感是很好的開始，但讓每個音符和每句歌詞完善的是勤奮，這才是讓你出類拔萃的原因。

Luckily, when I was 17, a few months before starting Berklee, I met a man named Kimo Williams who used to teach at Berklee and convinced me that the standard pace is for chumps.

幸運的是，在進入伯克利幾個月前，那時我17歲，我遇到了一位過去在伯克利任教的老師——Kimo Williams，他說服我標準節奏是為傻瓜設置的。

In just 3 intensive lessons, he taught me 3 semesters of Berklee harmony, so on opening day I started in Harmony 4.

僅僅通過3次強化課程，他教了我伯克利3學期的和聲課程，所以開學那天，我就從第四學期的和聲課程開始。

In one intensive lesson, he taught me the whole semester of Arranging 1.

在一次強化課中，他教會了我整整一學期的編曲課程。

Then I learned I could buy the book for a course I wasn』t enrolled in, and do all the examples myself, without even needing to attend the class. I could approach the department head and take the final exam for full credit. I did this for all the other requirements like Arranging 2, and traditional counterpoint classes.

然後我知道沒有報名的課程，我可以把課本買下，自己做練習，甚至都不用去上課。可以直接找到系主任，參加期末考試，拿全學分。所有其他必修課如編曲以及傳統的對位課，我都是這麼做的。

I graduated Berklee in 2-and-a-half years.

我用了2年半的時間就從伯克利畢業了。

Do not accept their speed limit.

不要接受他們的速度限制。

Blow away expectations.

超出人們的期望。

3. Nobody will teach you anything. You have to teach yourself.

3. 沒有人教你任何東西。你必須得自學。

When I first arrived at Berklee, I was disappointed. My teachers weren』t teaching me. I almost dropped out.

當我剛到伯克利時，我很失望。老師不教我。我差點輟學。

I went home to Chicago and got accepted to Northwestern University. Then I realized their music program was more about memorizing the name of Bach』s many children.

我回到芝加哥，被西北大學錄取。然後我意識到他們的音樂課不過是強記巴赫以降的諸多名字。

So I came back to Berklee with gusto. I decided to squeeze every bit of knowledge out of this place. Nobody was going to do it for me.

然後，我又滿懷熱情地回到伯克利。我決定從這裡吸收所有的知識。沒人為我這麼做。

Do not expect the teachers to teach you.

不要期待老師們會教你。

They will present some information to you, but it is entirely 100% up to you to either make the most of it, or waste your time here, and go home and get a normal dumb job.

他們會帶給你某些信息，但是否能理解到點上，抑或浪費時間畢業後去做平庸的工作，則完全取決於你自己。

Berklee is like a library.

伯克利像一座圖書館。

Everything you need to know is here for the taking.

你需要知道的所有東西都在這裡供你吸收。

It』s the best possible environment for you to master your music.

這可能是你掌握音樂的最佳環境。

But nobody will teach you anything. You have to teach yourself.

但沒有人教你任何事情。你必須自學。

4. Learn from your heroes, not only theirs.

4. 向你自己的偶像學習，而不局限於他人的偶像。

When I was here, I wanted to be a great songwriter, among other things.

讀書時，我的眾多夢想之一是成為偉大的詞曲作者。

Berklee』s songwriting courses are amazing! I learned so much about song crafting that made me look at all of my favorite music with a whole new insight, and forever improved my own writing.

伯克利的詞曲創作課程真是超贊的！我學習到很多歌曲創作知識，讓我用全新眼光詮釋我所有的最愛曲目，從而徹底改善了我自己的創作。

But… I remember a lyric writing teacher saying a good lyric needs to use all 5 senses. He』d say, 「Don』t just mention your grandmother. Describe the veins on the back of her hands. Don』t just mention a bedroom. Describe the smell of the dust on the curtains and the sound of the creaky stairs.」

不過…….我記得有位歌詞創作老師說，好的歌詞需要調用所有5種感官。他說，「不要只說你的老奶奶。描寫她手背上的青筋。不要只提到卧室。描述窗帘上塵土的氣味，還有樓梯吱吱嘎嘎的聲音。」

So for years I thought every lyric I wrote was crap unless it described all 5 senses.

多年來，我一直以為除非描述了所有5種感官，否則我寫的所有歌詞都是垃圾。

Then finally I noticed that my favorite songs by Nirvana or Talking Heads were abstract collages of evocative nonsense.

後來，我終於發現，我最愛的涅盤樂隊和Talking Heads樂隊的歌詞不過是煽情的胡言亂語抽象拼湊。

My favorite glitchy electronic music by Bj?rk is nothing they』d ever teach in a Rock Arranging For Live Performance 1 class.

我最愛的Bj?rk 的glitchy電子音樂和搖滾樂現場演出編排課中所教的內容相去甚遠。

So I finally realized the one important point I missed while here, that I hope you don』t forget.

所以，我最終意識到自己錯過的一個要點，我希望你們都不會忘記。

The teachers are taking their favorite music and using it to teach you techniques.

老師們以自己鍾愛的音樂為例，教授你們技巧。

Learn and appreciate those techniques. They』re great.

學習並欣賞這些技巧。它們確實很棒。

But if you only learn the techniques they teach you, you』re only learning their favorite music.

但是，如果你只學習他們教授你的技巧，你不過是在學習他們心愛的音樂。

Never think their heroes are better than yours.

別以為他們的偶像就比你的偶像強。

You』ll hear a lot about the greats, but whatever you love is great, too.

你將聽到關於偉人們的很多東西，但不論你喜歡什麼，那也是最棒的。

The same way they will break apart a Shania Twain hit song or a classic Charlie Parker solo to teach you the craft inside, you must learn how to break apart your favorite music and analyze it.

他們用同樣的方式分解Shania Twain的熱門歌曲或者Charlie Parker的經典單曲來給你講解個中技巧，你必須學習如何分解分析自己最愛的音樂。

I finally analyzed my favorite Nirvana and Talking Heads lyrics. Finally analyzed the glitches and growls in Bj?rk 』s music.

我終於分析了我最愛的涅盤和Talking Heads歌詞。終於分析了 Bj?rk 音樂中的glitches和growls。

Distilled their ingredients for my own re-use.

然後將他們的元素為我所用。

Learn from your heroes, not only theirs.

向你自己的偶像學習，而不局限於別人的偶像。

5. Don』t get stuck in the past.

5. 不要沉浸在過去。

While at Berklee, I felt I had to learn Donna Lee, the old bebop jazz standard, to be a good musician.

在伯克利時，我覺得我必須學習比博普（一種節奏複雜的爵士樂）的舊標準Donna Lee，才能成為了不起的音樂人。

Got a great gig going to Japan for a month with Victor Bailey on bass.

我有機會隨樂隊去日本演出一個月，Victor Bailey是貝司手。

Here』s one of the best bassists ever, who』s played with Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Sonny Rollins, Sting, and more.

他可是有史以來最好的貝司手之一，和Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Sonny Rollins, Sting等等人都合作過。

He heard me playing Donna Lee a bit, and said, 「Man – jazz was all about inventing something new. For a musician 50 years later to be stuck in the 1950s would be like a 1950s musician being stuck in the 1900s. There』s nothing cool about that.」

他聽我演奏了一點Donna Lee，然後說，「兄弟——爵士玩的都是創新。50年後的音樂人沉浸在1950年代的作品就好像1950年代的音樂人陷於1900年代一樣。一點也不酷。」

A couple weeks later I was at the piano quietly working on one of my own songs, and for the first time he said, 「Hey – wow – what is that? That』s great, man. Can you show me?」

幾周後， 我坐在鋼琴旁，悄悄地演奏我自己的一首曲子，他說，「嗨——嘩——這是什麼？夥計，這個不錯啊。你給我演奏一遍，行嗎？」

Innovation is needed more than imitation.

創新遠比模仿更重要。

Don』t get stuck in the past.

不要沉浸在過去。

6. When done, be valuable.

6. 你的工作要有價值。

While you』re here, stay locked in the shed.

學習時，要避免受到干擾。

Enjoy this wonderful isolation, with no responsibility but to improve yourself.

享受這種美妙的孤立，沒有責任，只需自我完善。

But when you leave here, head to the business aisle of the bookstore and start reading a book a week about entrepreneurial things like marketing.

但當你離開這裡時，去書店看看商務類書籍，就創業類的書籍例如市場營銷讀上一周。

Never underestimate the importance of making money making music.

不要低估用音樂賺錢的重要性。

Let go of any weird taboos you have about it.

讓那些稀奇古怪的禁忌都消失吧。

Money is nothing more than neutral proof that you』re adding value to people』s lives.

錢不過是一個中性的證據，表明你給人們的生活增加了價值。

Making sure you』re making money is just a way of making sure you』re doing something of value to others.

確保你在賺錢，不過是確保你為其他人增添了價值的一種方式而已。

Remember that this usually comes from doing the things that most people don』t do.

記住這通常來自做大多數人不做的事情。

For example : how much does the world pay people to play video games? Nothing, because everyone does it.

比如：玩遊戲的人能得到多少錢？沒有，因為人人都會。

How much does the world pay people to make video games? A ton, because very few can do it, and lots of people want it.

發明遊戲的人能得到多少錢？很多很多，因為發明遊戲的人微乎其微，而又有那麼多人想玩。

Be one of the few that is clever enough to make money making music instead of pretending it doesn』t matter.

成為用音樂賺錢的少數聰明人，別假裝那無所謂。

Be one of the few that has the guts to do something shocking.

成為有勇氣作出驚天動地的事情的少數人。

Be one of the few that takes your lessons here as a starting point, and pushes yourself to do more with what you learn.

成為以自己在這裡所學的東西為起點然後超越的少數人。

Be one of the few that knows how to help yourself, instead of expecting for others to do it for you.

成為知道如何自助而不是期待其他人幫助的少數人。

Be one of the few that does much more than is required.

成為付出超過需要的少數人。

And most importantly, be one of the few that stays in the shed to practice, while everyone else is surfing the net, flirting on MySpace, and watching TV.

最重要的，當所有其他人都在上網、在MySpace泡妞、看電視時，你能成為躲在幕後練習的少數人。