为迎接中国农历新年,我们发布了一段与学者共创的拜年视频,来自不同城市的祝福汇聚一堂,为兔年开启美好篇章。
为视频拉开序幕的,是来自William同学的现场演奏。外滩临江,二胡版《金蛇狂舞》配以电音编曲,喜庆的氛围之余又增添了几分现代张力,创意十足。
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To welcome the Chinese New Year, we released a video created with our scholars to wish them a happy New Year from different cities.
Kicking off the video was a live performance from William. By the Bond in Shanghai, the Erhu version of "Golden Snake Dance" was arranged with electric music, adding some modern tension to the festive atmosphere and being full of creativity.
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这是William用心花几天时间完成的改编,从得知新年视频的计划时,William就反复与我们讨论主题、选曲,最终他将自己的民乐特长与音乐制作能力相结合,不仅在寒冷的室外参与演奏和拍摄,后期剪辑时还特地跑来与我们一起完成最终的作品,确保每一个节拍都精准。
事实上William并不只是个“对音乐感兴趣”的孩子,作为狄邦华曜的首届毕业生,也是创校生,他刚刚收获了知名院校伯克利音乐学院的offer,即将踏上专业的音乐学习和梦想实现之旅。我们也借此机会与他畅聊,来看看他与音乐究竟有着怎样的羁绊与故事,又是如何在校成长,获得了伯克利音乐学院的青睐?
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When he learned about the New Year"s video project,William repeatedly discussed the theme and song selection with us. And eventually combined his folk music expertise with his music production skills, not only playing and filming in the cold outdoors but also coming to finish the final work with us in post-editing to make sure every beat was accurate.
William is not just a child who is interested in music. As a founding scholar of HC, he has just received an offer from Berklee College of Music. William is about to embark on a journey of professional music learning and dream realization. We take this opportunity to chat with him to see what kind of constraints and stories he has with music and how he grew up in school and won the favor of Berklee College of Music.
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并非“音乐世家”只为传达脑海中的旋律
Not a “Music Family”
Just Want to Convey the Melody in My Head
William的家庭中并没有音乐方面的相关人员。但在他能够记事的四五岁起,脑海里就总会响起一些旋律,这些旋律伴随着他入梦,让他越来越希望能将其变成现实演奏出来。
这份希望成为他与音乐结缘的起点,幼儿园时期便开始学钢琴。与同龄人被家长要求或是跟风的学习不同,他有着想要实现的事情,可惜日常死板的照谱练习和演奏,没有机会让他创造属于自己的旋律。于是⼀年多以后,钢琴的学习告一段落。
这段经历为他培养了基础的⾳准和乐感。后来进⼊⼩学,恰逢学校招募民乐团。本想尝试笛子,无奈落选,误打误撞地开始了二胡的练习。
William坦⾔,“我⼀直觉得⼆胡不是我要学的”,不过还是⼀直坚持到了现在。他的坚持⼀⽅⾯与天赋和对⾳乐的热爱息息相关,另⼀⽅⾯还有⼩学和初中的乐团活动作为外⼒推动的原因。
在许多⼈看来,⼆胡并不是⼀种“洋⽓”的乐器,资深的⼆胡⽼师往往采取批评式教育,很难调动起学⽣学习的热情,但William对他的⼆胡⽼师⼗分感激,这位艺术家不仅资历颇深,⼼态也⼗分开放。除了帮助William的⼆胡打下坚实的基本功,还成为了他⾳乐制作的引路⼈。
师从这位老师的过程中,他学会了使⽤键盘⾼效地与电脑进⾏交互,这是成为⼀名⾳乐制作⼈最基础的技能之⼀。乐器演奏与软件工具的结合,让他看到了音乐更多的可能性,反过来激发了他对于音乐创作更大的渴望。
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In William"s family, no one related to music. But as early as he could remember, at four or five, he always had melodies that accompanied him in his dreams and made him wish more and more that he could make them a reality.
This hope became the starting point of his love with music, and he began to learn piano in kindergarten. Unlike his peers whose parents asked them to follow the trend, he had something he wanted to achieve, but the rigid routine of practicing and playing sheet music did not allow him to create his melodies. After a year or so, his piano studies ended.
This experience provided him with a basic sense of sound and musicianship. Later, when he entered elementary school, the school recruited a folk band. He wanted to try the flute, but he was not selected then started to practice Erhu by mistake.
“I always felt that the Erhu was not something I wanted to learn," William admits, but he has continued to play until now. His perseverance is partly due to his talent and love for music but also due to the external force of his elementary and junior high school orchestra activities.
In many people"s opinion, the Erhu is not a “fashion” instrument, and Erhu instructors are normally critical, making it challenging to motivate students to learn. William’s teacher, who is highly qualified and open-minded. In addition to helping William build a solid foundation in the Erhu, he became his guide to music production.
By the teacher’s guidance, William learned to use the keyboard to interact with the computer efficiently, one of the essential skills to become a music producer. The combination of instrument playing and software tools opened his eyes to more musical possibilities, which fueled his desire to create more music.
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良师益友包围用作品与他人交流
Surrounded by Good Mentors and Friends
Using Music to Communicate with Others
⾼中William选择来到狄邦华曜,成为我们的创校学者之一。自由包容的氛围和多元化的师生背景,高度个性化的学术育人体系为他的音乐成长提供了丰富的土壤。民乐出身的William,并没有从一开始就很明确自己的音乐风格以及未来想要发展的方向,但是在这里的学习生活,帮他找到了更为清晰的目标。
硬件上,宿舍条件与设备不缺,因为他在音乐演奏和创作方面的需求,11年级时学校为他提供了独⽴的空间,可以容纳声卡,键盘,⾳响等工具,让William更加⽅便制作⾳乐;软件上,⽆论基础课程的学习,还是专业⽅向的准备,或是寄宿⽣活中,都遇到了带来诸多启发的良师益友。
在校期间,他和⽼师⼀起创建了Home Recording Life Block,承担了许多编曲、录⾳、混⾳相关的⼯作,这成为他决定发展音乐制作能力的契机。
“Life Block让我能够⼀直维持⾳乐创作的周期,没有中断。” William说道。更重要的是,他可以与来⾃不同文化背景、拥有不同音乐偏好和特长的同学进行交流,彼此交换观点和创意。能够激发灵感的互动体验,一定程度上促进了自己对未来方向的确认。
这⼀观点与教授他AP⾳乐理论的Claire⽼师不谋⽽合。William是⾳乐理论课上唯⼀的学⽣,在课堂上,师⽣之间更像是⼀种平等交流、教学相长的关系。Claire⽼师的专业领域聚焦于古典乐,⽽William擅长的是民乐、流行乐及电子音乐。⽼师用丰富扎实的知识为William夯实乐理基础;William则与老师分享电⼦⾳乐中的概念与想法,不同类型的音乐理念在此碰撞,迸发出新的火花。
Claire和我们分享了她的见解:“我觉得⾛⾳乐的路,关键是你要如何⽤⾃⼰的⾳乐与观众联结和交流,如何在交流过程中获得反馈再进⼀步改善⾃⼰的⾳乐。随着时代的变化,⾳乐的制作流程、表现技巧和呈现⽅式都会有很⼤的变化,但不变的是创作者始终要⽤作品与他⼈联系起来,与整个世界联系起来。”
通过⾃⼰的作品与他⼈交流,也是William始终践行的理念。宿管老师之一Allen⽼师爱吹萨克斯,他经常在宿舍把自己新鲜出炉的作品分享给对方;Allen⼗分欣赏他的才华与创造力,两⼈的沟通互动总是⾮常热切,类似的场景在寄宿⽣活中处处可见。William的分享欲被激发,对创作愈加富有激情。
音乐领域之外的老师也给予了正向的反馈。William会和导师岳⽼师分享作曲,听取建议。虽然乍看起来岳老师教授的中⽂与⾳乐之间有着巨⼤的鸿沟,但他的课堂会从语⽂的知识点出发,串联起更加宏⼤的领域和时间线,帮助孩子从中文的⾓度认识⼈⽂艺术,乃⾄整个⼴阔的世界。对William⽽⾔,岳⽼师不仅是单个学科的⽼师,更像是某种意义上的⼈⽣导师,引导自己理解并形成了艺术上的审美。
除了和⽼师们的交流,William同时在⾼中时期有着丰富的乐团活动经历。他还在摇滚乐团中担任键盘⼿,在乐团中,将西洋的和东⽅的、现代的和传统的⾳乐结合起来改编和排练,并多次登上学校⾳乐会的舞台。
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William chose to come to HC as one of our founding scholars. The liberal and inclusive atmosphere provided a rich ground for his musical growth. Diverse backgrounds of the faculty and students help a lot as well. William, who comes from a folk music background, needed to be more precise about his musical style and the direction he wanted to develop in the future, his study life here helped him find the more explicit goal.
In terms of hardware, dormitory conditions and equipment are superior. The school provided him with a separate space in 11th grade, which can accommodate sound cards, keyboards, sound instruments, etc., so that William can make music more conveniently; in terms of software, he has met a lot of inspirational mentors and friends in different aspect, including introductory courses, professional preparation, and dormitory life.
While in school, he created Home Recording Life Block with his mentor. He took on many production, recording, and mixing-related tasks, which allowed him to decide to develop his music production skills.
"Life Block has allowed me to maintain the practice of music production without interruption," William says. More importantly, he was able to interact with fellow scholars from different cultures with different musical preferences and strengths, exchanging ideas and thoughts with each other. The inspirational interactive experience has contributed to his confirmation of his future path.
William was the only scholar in the APmusic theory class. The relationship between him and the teacher is equal. Teacher Claire focuses on classical music, while William is good at folk music, pop music, and electronic music. Claire laid a solid foundation for William with rich and factual knowledge. William shared the concepts and ideas of electronic music with his teacher, and different types of music ideas collided and sparked new ideas.
Claire shared her insights with us: "The key to the path of music is how you use your music to connect and communicate with the audience and get feedback in the process to improve your music further. As times change, the process of music production, presentation techniques, and ways of presenting music will change a lot, but what remains the same is that the creator must always use the work to connect with others and with the world at large.”
Communicating with others is also a philosophy that William has always practiced. His desire to share and his passion for creativity has grown.
William would share compositions with his adviser, Mr. Yue, and listen to advice. Although, at first glance, there seems to be a massive gap between the Chinese language and music, Mr. Yue"s classes start from the knowledge of the language and connect it to a much larger field and timeline, helping children understand the art of literature from the perspective of the Chinese language to the entire world. For William, not only were the teachers of the individual subjects, but they were also mentors, guiding him to understand and develop an artistic aesthetic.
In addition to the interaction with his mentors, William also had a rich experience in orchestra activities during high school. He played the keyboard in the rock band,in the orchestra, he adapted and rehearsed a combination of western and eastern, modern and traditional music, and appeared on the stage of the school concert several times.
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为音乐变身终获伯克利递来橄榄枝
Becoming Sociable for His Music Dream
Now Received Berklee"s Acceptance
在接触电子音乐之后,他的⽗母曾帮忙寻找专业⽼师,可惜家人这⽅⾯资源的积累有限,⼀番努⼒后也没有找到适合的⽼师。最终还是靠⾃⼰克服了社恐的本能,从⽹站上⼀家家咨询过去,现场考察师资和设备情况,找到圈内的⼤⽜来指导⾃⼰。
这位⽼师当下从事着音乐制作的工作,致力于将中国传统音乐与电子音乐结合在一起,通过更加流行的方式表现出来让大众接受,并且推广到国际舞台。专业的指导给了William极大启发,对他整个⾳乐风格的形成和演变带来了深刻的影响。
申请伯克利时,William对于自己的音乐特质和发展期待已经有了相当成熟的想法。
伯克利音乐学院作为业内顶尖的学府,对于学生的⾳乐功底、创作理念和风格契合度都要求很高。
“不同于茱莉亚⾳乐学院或者纽约⼤学,伯克利⾳乐学院的氛围其实更加前卫和包容。伯克利很喜欢世界⾳乐,民族⾳乐这类风格,并且在课程设置上更具多样性。很期待未来能将世界各地的弦乐进⾏融合,达到⼀种触类旁通的感觉。”
以爵士乐起家且闻名的伯克利,会考察爵⼠即兴演奏。William坦⾔这⼀部分他完成得并不尽如⼈意。这也是希望⽇后能够在伯克利提升的地方:通过系统学习,推动爵⼠⽂化与中国传统⽂化的交流与融合。
他和我们分享了在伯克利面试环节与教授的沟通:
“我⼀直把⾃⼰看作电子音乐的producer,以后想要从事这⽅⾯的⼯作,在这个过程中可以不断创造出全新的⾳⾊、全新的处理⽅法,而且在与他⼈交流电子音乐概念的同时,会迸发全新的灵感,获取新的创作思路。未来我还想进军更加多元的领域,⽐如担当音乐制作人,或者为游戏、影视作品设计音效和配乐等。我希望能在中国传播电子音乐的文化,也能在美国让更多人知道中国传统民乐的魅力。”
选择伯克利继续自己的⾳乐之路,不仅仅是看中学校的名气。校内的老师大都是音乐行业大咖,既有丰富的行业经验又有着广阔的人脉,对想成为音乐制作人的William来说资源尤为丰富。此外,学校不仅在音乐上尽显包容与开放,在生活与文化上亦是如此,加之所坐落城市发达却并不快节奏的特质,让William觉得与自己都格外匹配。
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After being introduced to Electronic Music, his parents helped him look for professional instructors. Unfortunately, his family"s resources in this area were limited. In the end, he overcame his instincts of social fear, consulted with tutors from the website, inspected the teachers and equipment on site, and found a professional tutor in the music field.
The teacher is currently working as a music producer and dedicates to combining traditional Chinese music with electronic music in a more popular way for the public to accept and promote to the international stage. His professional guidance has inspired William and profoundly impacted the formation and evolution of his entire musical style.
By the time he applied to Berklee, William already had a relatively mature idea of his musical qualities and expectations for his development.
As one of the top institutions in the industry, Berklee College of Music requires a high level of musical skills, creative ideas, and stylistic fit from its students.
"Unlike The Juilliard School or New York University, Berklee is more avant-garde and inclusive. Berklee likes world music and ethnic music and has a more diverse curriculum. ”
William admits that he has not done as well as he would have liked in this part of his career, as Berklee, known for its jazz music, is looking at jazz improvisation. He wants to improve his skill at Berklee in the future: to promote the exchange and fusion of jazz culture with traditional Chinese culture through systematic study.
He shared his communication with the professor during the interview session at Berklee.
"I"ve always seen myself as a producer of Electronic Music, and I want to work in this area in the future so that I can create new sounds and new ways of processing, and I can exchange Electronic Music concepts with other people and get new inspirations and creative ideas. In the future, I would like to enter more diversified fields, such as being a music producer or designing sound effects and soundtracks for games, movies, and films. I hope to spread the culture of Electronic Music in China and to let more people in the U.S. know the charm of traditional Chinese folk music."
Choosing Berklee to continue his path in music is not only because of the school"s reputation. Most of the teachers in the school are music industry professionals with rich experience and extensive personal connections, which is especially rich for William, who wants to become a music producer. In addition, the school is not only tolerant and open in music but also life and culture, and the city it locates in is developed but not fast-paced, which makes William feel that it is a perfect match for him.
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William的音乐之路也曾有过迷茫与不确定,家庭的优势与自己的兴趣没有关系,只能靠一步一步去慢慢探索和进步。所幸家长总是全力支持,老师们提供了积极的引导,成就感的逐渐累积。在同龄人或许还踌躇于未来的选择时,他已经找到了兴趣和志趣的结合点,梦想与面包都握在了手中。
让我们共同祝愿William⽇后的⾳乐之路,所到之处皆是坦途。
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William"s musical path has had its share of confusion and uncertainty. The strengths of his family had nothing to do with his interests, and he had to explore and progress slowly, step by step. Fortunately, his parents were always supportive, his teachers provided positive guidance, and a sense of accomplishment gradually accumulated. While his peers may still hesitate to choose their future, he has already found the combination of interest and ambition and has his dream and bread in his hands.
Let"s wish William"s future path in music will be straightforward wherever he goes.
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