What Pop Can Teach Classical Music

Clemency Burton-Hill

Classical and pop music often seem so alien to each other that it can be easy to forget they share identical DNA.But music is music, and everything—at least,everything we hear in the western tradition, from Bach to Bieber1. Bieber： 比伯，这里指贾斯汀·比伯，加拿大新生代男歌手，2010年获得美国AMA音乐奖年度艺人，2013年获得第40届AMA全美音乐奖最佳艺人奖。—is built from twelve identical building blocks: the notes of the standard chromatic scale.

While a modern pop listener may not be aware of the sonic echoes that resonate2. resonate： 共鸣，共振。across the centuries, pop music has always acknowledged a great harmonic and melodic debt to its older, sometimes stuffier-seeming relation. Without Bach’s musical architecture there would be no jazz and therefore no soul, funk or hip-hop, let alone The Prodigy; Schubert’s knack for nailing the three-minute, verse-chorus pop gives any Lennon, McCartney or Adele a run for their money; and Beethoven was an early model for the trope of the tortured creative genius: his music expressed an inner turmoil just as much as, say, Kurt Cobain’s.3

古典乐与流行乐听起来往往差别迥异，但它们却有着完全相同的基因，这一点很容易被忽视。然而音乐无非就是音乐。所有音乐，至少我们听到的每一支西方乐曲，无论是巴赫的传世经典还是贾斯汀·比伯的风靡小调，都是由12个统一标准的“构件”所组成：也就是标准半音音阶所组成的乐章。

尽管现代流行乐的听众很难意识到他们所听到的音乐其实是穿越几个世纪的古典乐的回响，但流行乐一直被认为与那些古老的，甚至貌似沉闷的音乐在和声与旋律上有着深刻的渊源。如果没有巴赫的音乐构架，就没有爵士乐，也没有灵魂乐、放克乐或嘻哈乐，更不必说神童乐队了；舒伯特创作时长三分钟的诗歌体合声流行乐的巧妙手法让列侬、麦卡特尼还有阿黛尔的歌唱事业收益颇丰；而贝多芬则是那些饱受命运折磨的创作天才们的先驱：他的音乐同样表达了科特·柯本的音乐所传达的内心骚乱。

在音乐的殿堂里，流行音乐与古典音乐似乎界线分明，而实则有着千丝万缕的联系。在一些古典音乐演奏家看来，这两种类型的音乐往往同根互通，他们能把两者的元素融为一体，相互借鉴。而在一些古典音乐的辩护者看来，古典乐向流行乐靠拢无疑是本末倒置。那么在音乐的世界里，究竟要用怎样的态度去看待两种音乐的关系呢？

Then there’s Mozart, the original pop star, who had a preternatural gift for instantly catchy melodies that kept audiences coming back again and again, and whose preferred chord progressions4. chord progression： 和弦进行，也就是从一个和弦到另一个和弦的定式。have formed the basis of pretty much every great pop song ever since. So whether you prefer a certain type of music to another comes down to taste: there is nothing inherently different about what goes into an operatic aria or a pop song. Like two sculptors working with the same clay, it’s all in the execution.

再来看看莫扎特，这位流行音乐的鼻祖拥有不可思议的音乐天赋，源源不断地创作了无数耳熟能详的旋律，让听众们百听不厌。而他偏爱的和弦进行为几乎每一首流行歌曲奠定了基础。因此，不管你更喜欢哪一类音乐，都会归结到这样的评价：歌剧咏叹调和流行歌曲在内涵上并没有什么与生俱来的区别。就像两位雕塑家用同样的黏土塑像，无非是塑像的过程不同罢了。

Yet, for all the common genetic material,when it comes to market share and revenues,classical music now looks like pop’s weak and impoverished relation. Some apologists for classical music would be appalled at the suggestion it might have something to learn from its younger, cooler cousin: they tend to view ‘pop’ as a dirty word and any attempt to find commonalities as ‘dumbing down’. Witness recently the storm over Nicola Benedetti, one of the most outstanding British violinists of her generation, because she is young and beautiful and chooses to wear glamorous dresses when she performs. Many in the classical world bemoan that she is ‘forced’ to do this to sell records. While it is legitimate to say no performer of any stripe should be compelled to do or wear anything, I suspect this actually masks a deeper prejudice of anything that sniffs of ‘commercial’ or ‘populist’ intentions.

Only connect

I was considering this as I watched Arctic Monkeys headlining Glastonbury one night,backed by a terrific string section.5. Arctic Monkey： 北极泼猴，英国另类摇滚乐团。曾获得全英音乐奖“最佳英国专辑”和“最佳英国团体”两项大奖；Glastonbury： 格拉斯顿伯里音乐节，是英国最负盛名的音乐节之一，每年在萨默塞特郡皮尔顿镇的沃西农场举行。Most of the players on stage were classically trained,sometimes for more than 20 years, and many attended elite conservatoires like the Royal Academy of Music. Now they play in some of the UK’s leading classical chamber ensembles, regularly tackling some of the most fiendish music in the repertoire.6. chamber： 大厅，会议厅；ensemble： 合唱组，舞蹈组；fiendish： 极端的，恶魔般的；repertoire： （表演者的）全部曲目。

北极泼猴主唱Alex Turner

尽管拥有相同的基因材料，古典乐在市场份额和收益上则是流行乐的穷亲戚。一些古典乐的辩护者可能会被这样的建议惊出一身冷汗：古典乐应向流行乐，这位更年轻、更时髦的表亲学习。这些人倾向于把“流行”这个字眼视作肮脏的词汇，把任何在流行乐和古典乐间找共性的企图视作“降低标准”。作为英国新生代最为出色的小提琴家之一，尼古拉·贝纳德蒂最近因其年轻貌美并且在演出时着装闪亮迷人而成为了被抨击的对象。许多古典乐界人士哀叹，她是为了推销唱片“不得已而为之”。 从合理的角度来说，没有任何类型的表演者会被迫做什么或穿什么，但我怀疑这实际上掩盖了一种深层的对于任何能嗅出“商业化”或“大众化”意图的偏见。

只需连接

一天晚上，我观看了北极泼猴乐团在格拉斯顿伯里音乐节的精彩演出，与之配合的弦乐队精彩绝伦。舞台上的大多数弦乐演奏者都接受过古典乐训练，有些甚至超过二十年，其中多人曾在精英音乐学校学习，如皇家音乐学院。现在他们在一些英国顶级古典室内乐团里演奏，日常演奏那些需要极其高超演奏技巧的曲目。

电台司令乐队

The tunes they were called upon to play at Glastonbury probably felt technically unchallenging in comparison. But when the fixer calls to book these musicians for a pop gig, they invariably jump at the chance. That’s partly because of the financial realities:pop recording sessions, as well as live gigs, typically pay more than classical, and there is also the chance for making extra money at the back end. The players receive royalties every time the song is played on the radio.

But there is another reason why these elite musicians relish pop work, unlikely as it sounds. “Playing with a band like Arctic Monkeys or Radiohead7. Radiohead： 电台司令乐队，英国摇滚乐队，被誉为当代最伟大的摇滚乐队之一。, the level of musicianship is so high,” points out classical cellist Chris Worsey, who tells me it was “fantastic and exciting” to be up on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage with the Monkeys on Friday night. “It can be just as creative,inspirational and satisfying as classical work.”

Classical training understandably leads to a very narrow focus—students at elite conservatories are like Olympic hopefuls with a single goal in sight. It is undeniably an art form that requires formidable8. formidable： 令人惊叹的，令人钦佩的。levels of practice, expert technique and dedication.But making music—any music—is ultimately about connecting and communicating with an audience,and classical musicians forget that at their peril. The mud and cheers of Glastonbury may be a far cry from the polished halls and polite applause of the classical realm, but as Worsey suggests, a gig9. gig： 演唱会。like that can be a salutary reminder of what makes music special in the first place.

而他们在格拉斯顿伯里艺术节应邀演出的曲目在技术难度上完全不具有可比性。但是当策划人打电话邀请这些音乐家们演奏流行乐时，他们无一例外地跃跃欲试。部分原因出于资金方面的现实考虑：流行乐录制，以及现场演奏，通常比演奏古典乐所支付的报酬高，并且还有机会在后期赚得更多外快。每当这些曲目在电台播放时，他们都会获得版税报酬。

但同时还有其他原因令这些精英音乐家喜欢演奏流行音乐，尽管这听起来不像真的。古典大提琴演奏家克里斯·沃西指出：“和北极泼猴或者电台司令这些乐团一起演奏时，对音乐素养水准的要求非常之高”，他告诉我与“泼猴们”在周五晚上一同站在格拉斯顿伯里的金字塔舞台上是“非常奇妙和令人兴奋”的。“那就像演奏古典乐一样富有创造性，给人灵感和成就感。”

可以理解，古典乐训练会使人非常专注——在精英音乐学校的学生就像准备冲击奥运会冠军的运动员一样脑海中只有一个目标。毋庸置疑，这是一种需要大量不同程度的练习、专业技巧及献身精神的艺术形式。但是演奏音乐——任何形式的音乐——最终都是为了与观众产生联系和交流，演奏者一旦忘记这个宗旨就要自担风险了。格拉斯顿伯里的泥浆和欢呼同拥有金光闪闪的大厅及彬彬有礼的掌声的古典乐殿堂全然不同，但是正如沃西指出的，一场那样的演出有益于提醒什么使音乐有别于其他。

“A pop gig generally feels more ‘obviously’vibrant and upbeat than a classical concert,” agrees classical violinist Gillon Cameron, who has played on a dizzying number of pop albums, with artists including Radiohead, The Divine Comedy, Gorillaz and Florence and the Machine. “Audiences are encouraged to get more involved, and in a very basic way, it can feel more immediately exciting. As a player as well as an audience member you can’t help but pick up on that vibe.”

“No gimmicks”

If the audience benefits, so do those bands that choose to employ world-class live instrumentalists in the studio or on stage, rather than rely on synthetic strings. “The production values are so high in pop,”Cameron points out. “You have to be a good player,able to sight-read pretty much anything on the day, and sensitive to the structure of the record to immediately understand the sound the band wants.Rhythmic accuracy and quality of sound are vital,and, with recording studio costs so high, there is pressure to get it right swiftly.”

London has an international reputation of boasting some of the finest session musicians in the world. Not only are British players comparatively cheap, they are known to be superb sight-readers,fastidious and reliable. That’s one of the reasons why many Hollywood blockbusters come to the UK to use classical musicians when recording their scores and why an artist like Stevie Wonder10. Stevie Wonder： 史提夫·沃达，美国黑人歌手、作曲家、音乐制作人。was in London

“比起古典音乐会，一场流行乐演出通常让人感觉更‘明显地’有活力有激情”，曾与电台司令、神曲乐团、街头霸王以及佛罗伦萨和机器乐队等合作，为无数流行乐专辑演奏的古典小提琴演奏家吉隆·卡梅伦也这样认为，“观众们得到更多的鼓励参与进去，以这样非常简单的方式，让人立即感到兴奋。作为一名演奏者以及观众的你情不自禁地会被这种气氛感染。”

“无需噱头”

不仅观众获益，那些选择在录音室或舞台现场雇佣世界级现场演奏家的乐队也比那些依赖电子合成弦乐的乐队获得更多好处。“流行音乐的制作水准很高，”卡梅隆指出，“你必须是一名优秀的演奏者，在演出时能很好地即兴演奏出几乎任何乐曲，并对唱片的结构保持良好的敏感度，以便能迅速理解乐队想要的声音。旋律的精准性和声音的品质感是至关重要的，也正因录音室的成本如此之高，迫使我们迅速把录音做好。”

伦敦因拥有一批全球顶尖录音师而享誉国际。英国演奏者不仅价格相对低廉，也因极好的即兴演奏能力、精益求精且踏实可靠的品质闻名于世。这也是众多好莱坞大片要录制配乐时都来英国聘请古典音乐家进行演奏的原因之一。同时也是如史提夫·沃达这样的歌手近来在伦敦制作新专辑的原因——这张专辑的录制集合了包括沃lately to lay down his new album—with a large ensemble of fine classically-trained musicians,including Worsey and Cameron. Talking to a handful of the musicians after the session, I heard the refrain that it was artistry like Wonder’s that inspired them to be musicians in the first place.

格拉斯顿伯里音乐节

When I ask Cameron if he thinks the classical world might even take a leaf out of pop’s book when it comes to connecting with an audience,he concurs. “Not in a gimmicky way, but by naturalising the whole process. That could be, for example, in the way we dress, or by having the conductor come on stage and talk to the audience,”he says. “As long as it doesn’t detract from the art,I would much prefer an audience to really feel engaged in what we’re doing.”

Classical and pop music may sound different,feel different, and even be driven by different objectives. But at the heart of it, their concerns are identical: to transport and affect people through beauty and joy; to open their hearts and minds;and to entertain them. Like human beings, all music boils down to the same essence, and we should celebrate that commonality and harmony,not enforce the dissonance11. dissonance 不一致，不调和。.西和卡梅隆在内的大量接受过良好古典音训练的音乐家。录制结束后，我与少数音乐家进行了交流，他们的想法如出一辙，最初是像沃达作品一样饱含艺术性的音乐激励他们成为音乐家。

当我问及卡梅隆在与观众建立联系方面，古典世界是否应从流行音的教科书中借鉴些什么时，他表示赞成：“不是通过某种噱头，而是通过规划整个演奏过程。比如说，可以是我们着装的方式，或者让指挥家走上舞台与观众进行交流。只要不偏离作品的艺术性，我更倾向于让观众能感到自己真正融入于我们所演奏的作品中。”

古典乐和流行乐可以听起来不同，给人的感受不同，甚至有不同的目标作为表演的驱动力。但是在在本质上，它们共同的关注点是相同的：传播美好和欢乐并以这种方式影响人，开启人的心灵和思想，使人愉悦。像人类一样，所有音乐都归结为一个共同的本质，我们应该为这种相通与和谐而庆祝，而非强化两者的不同。