音乐梦不老

Can someone with no musical talent learn to play the guitar as an adult？ Thats what New York University psychology professor Gary Marcus wanted to find out when he turned 40. Along the way， he discovered that the struggle to learn was as rewarding as playing music itself. The following is the dialogue between a journalist and him：

一个完全没有音乐天赋的人能在成年之后学习吉他吗？纽约大学心理学教授杰瑞·马科斯在他40岁来临之际打算找找答案。而一路学来，他发现努力学习的过程和学会玩乐器一样让他收获满满。以下是记者与他的对话：

Why did you start to play the guitar？

为什么想到要开始学吉他呢？

I always wanted to make music but at the same time I thought it was completely out of my reach. I had several very disappointing experiences as a child trying to learn. I tried to learn the recorder in the 4th grade and my teacher suggested that my talents lay elsewhere when I couldnt play Mary Had a Little Lamb. In graduate school I tried to take something called “Miracle Piano”. At each point， I got stuck on rhythm. It was no miracle.

我一直以来都想做音乐，但这完全不是我能力范围内的事。小的时候，有好几次很失败的经历。四年级的时候我尝试过学笛子，当我无法演奏出《玛丽有一只小羊羔》时老师说我的才华压根不在这儿。在研究生阶段我试着选修了“奇迹钢琴”。我屡屡败在节奏上，这毫无奇迹可言。

Then， I started playing the video game “Guitar Hero”. I was terrible. My wife helped me to play. The first time I ever did anything vaguely rhythmic， I got excited. I practiced the game for a while and made it through beginner and medium. I thought， Maybe I should try a real guitar. The video game was a gateway drug that gave me confidence to try the real thing.

后来，我开始玩一款叫作“吉他英雄”的游戏。我玩得糟糕透了，还是我的妻子帮助了我。这是我第一次做一件与节奏感沾边的事，所以特别激动。我练习了一段时间那个游戏，而且通过了初级和中级。我想，或许我应该去试试真的吉他。那款游戏成为给我信心拿起真吉他的引线。

What was the most interesting part of your learning experience？

在你的学习过程中最好玩的部分是什么呢？

There were a lot of fun things. The most interesting， but also the most scary thing was that I went to a summer camp with 11-year-olds and played in a band. On Monday， we had to start writing a song and by Friday， we had to play it on stage. The kids invited their parents to the performance and I brought mine， too. It was frightening but super fun.

有很多好玩儿的事。最有趣同时也最可怕的事是我与一群11岁的孩子一起参加了一个夏令营，还组织了个乐队。星期一就要开始写歌，星期五就得在舞台上表演。孩子们邀请了他们的家长，我也邀请了我的父母。这非常恐怖，但也超级好玩。

What are the differences between the way children and adults learn？

孩子与成年人在学习的方式上有什么不同？

Kids and adults have different abilities. They own different skills. Adults are more analytical. Kids are more patient and willing to practice the same thing over and over.

孩子和成年人有着不同的能力。他们拥有不同方面的技巧。成年人更具分析性。孩子更有耐心，更愿意一遍又一遍地去练习同样的内容。

Does learning to play music make you smarter？

学习玩音乐让你变得更聪明了吗？

One thing we know is that on average， people who play musical instruments are smarter but we dont know if its causal. Among Nobel Prize winners， there are a high number of musicians， but whether their music lessons made them smarter or vice versa it is a classic chick-and-egg question.

我们所知道的是，通常来说，会乐器的人要聪明一些，但我们不知道这是不是一个巧合。在诺贝尔奖获得者中，有很大一部分都是音乐家，但至于究竟是他们的音乐课程让他们更聪明，还是他们的聪明让他们去学好了音乐，就是个鸡生蛋蛋生鸡的问题了。

My guess is that at the very least， music teaches you self-discipline and the rewards of working slowly to build something awesome. When you first start， you are lost and after a few years， you can do it. Its a wonderful way of learning the power of patience. There maybe other things： it makes your ears more sensitive and that may make you better at picking up languages. Theres some suggestive data on that.

我的想法是，音乐教会你自我克制，以及带给你慢慢做好一件事的成就感。这是一个绝妙的培养耐心的方式。音乐还有很多其他的功能：它可以让你的耳朵更敏锐，甚至还有研究表明，音乐对于学习语言也很有帮助。

Do you think playing music makes you healthier？

你觉得玩音乐可以让你变得更健康吗？

There might be some health benefits. I talk about the idea of “Eudaemonia”， the pleasure of self-actualization or fulfillment. Theres a kind of pleasure from immediate things like food or beautiful scenery， but “Eudaemonia” comes when weve done all that we can to be the people we can be. Part of what keeps me going is that music brings a kind of balance into my life that I think is a wonderful thing.

玩音乐可能会对健康有帮助。我提到了“Eudaemonia”的概念， 因自我实现或成就而产生的幸福感。有一些幸福感是来自即时的感受，比如美食或美景，但“Eudaemonia”来自于当我们为实现自己做出努力的时候。另一个让我持续学习下去的原因是音乐给我的生活带来了平衡。

Should parents make their kids stick with their music lessons and practice？

家长应当督促孩子们学习音乐课和勤加练习吗？

I think that being a good parent is like being a good guidance counselor. You have to help children find what they like to do. If they are very young， you probably do need to nudge them， but not everyone has to be a musician.

我认为一个好的家长就像是一个好的咨询顾问。你一定要发觉他们喜欢什么。如果他们还很小，你可能需要督促一下，但要知道，不是每个人都需要成为一个音乐家。