of the Piano
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Contents Early Keyboards.
目录 早期键盘 。
4 The First Modern Piano.
4 第一部"现代钢琴".
7 Pianos Everywhere.
7个钢琴 到处都是
9 Modern Versions.
9"现代版".
13 Glossary.
13 词汇。
16 Early Keyboards The piano is perhaps the world’s best- known musical instrument.
16 早期键盘 钢琴或许是世界上最出名的乐器。
Its sound is easy to recognize, no matter what type of music is being played.
它的声音很容易被认出来,不管演奏的是哪种音乐.
The piano did not always sound the way it does today, though.
不过钢琴的音调并不总是今天这样
In fact, the piano’s ancestors had very different sounds.
事实上,钢琴的先辈们的音色非常不同.
The first widely used keyboard was the clavichord.
第一个被广泛使用的键盘是clavichord.
This European instrument was first used in the 1400s.
这种欧洲乐器最早被使用于1400年代.
As with many other early instruments, its inventor is unknown.
与许多其他早期仪器一样,它的发明者不详.
It was a long wooden box with wire strings of different lengths stretched inside.
那是个长长的木箱 里面有不同长度的线条
A soundboard lay beneath the strings.
声音板在弦下
The soundboard vibrated with the strings and helped project the tones.
音板用弦来振动并帮助投放音调.
A clavichord could be 122 to 213 centimeters (4–7 ft.)
阴囊可达122至213厘米(4–7英尺).
long.
长.
People set it on a table to play it.
人们把它放在桌子上玩
The clavichord was played in fifteenth-century homes.
克来克霍德在十五世纪的家中被演奏.
When a player pressed a key, a tiny brass blade on a wooden lever hit a string.
当玩家按下钥匙时,木柄上一把细小的青铜刀就打入了一串.
This made a tone.
这造就了一种语气。
How loud the tone was depended on how hard the player pressed the key.
音调有多高取决于玩家按键有多用力.
Still, because of its design, the clavichord was not very loud.
然而,由于其设计,clavichord并没有很大声.
For that reason, people only played the instrument in homes.
为此,人们只在家中演奏乐器.
A Roman mosaic depicts one man playing the hydraulus (left) and another playing the horn (right).
一个罗马马赛克人描绘出一个人出演"海德拉卢斯"(左)和另一个出演"角"(右).
Do You Know?
你知道吗?
The first known instrument with a keyboard was used by the ancient Greeks.
最早已知有键盘的乐器被古希腊人所使用.
It was called a hydraulus (hy-DRAW- luhs).
它被称作"水合"(hy-DRAW-luhs).
It used water to push air through different-sized pipes to create sound.
它用水将空气通过不同大小的管子来推动产生声音.
The harpsichord was first used in the 1500s.
竖琴最早使用于1500年代.
It came in different shapes and sizes that looked very much like today’s pianos.
它的形状和大小各不相同,看起来很像今天的钢琴.
However, it worked differently from both the clavichord and the piano.
然而,它的工作效果与克拉夫霍德和钢琴都不同.
When the player pressed a key, a lever with a quill at the end plucked—rather than struck—a string.
当玩家按下密钥时,端部会拔出一根有毛笔的杠杆,而不是被打出一串。
This made it sound more like a harp than a piano.
这听起来比钢琴更像是竖琴
The harpsichord was the most popular keyboard instrument of its day.
竖琴是当今最受欢迎的键盘乐器.
It was louder than a clavichord, but it had a problem.
它比幽灵还响 但有问题
Players could not control or change the volume, no matter how hard or soft they pressed the keys.
玩家无法控制或改变音量,无论按键有多硬或软.
A harpsichord could have two or even three keyboards.
竖琴可以拥有两把甚至三把键盘.
Many instrument names have Greek and Latin roots.
许多乐器名称有希腊语和拉丁语的根.
The hydraulus got its name from the Greek root word hydro, meaning “water.”
水合物取自希腊根词"水",意为"水". “
The word clavichord comes from the Latin root clavis, meaning “key,” and chorda, meaning “string.”
clavichord一词出自拉丁文root clavis,意为"钥匙"和chorda,意为"弦". “
Can you figure out where the word harpsichord comes from?
你能找出竖琴这个词的来源吗?
The First Modern Piano Bartolomeo Cristofori (bar-toh-loh-MEH- oh kree-STAW-foh-ree) made keyboard instruments in the early 1700s.
第一现代钢琴·巴托洛梅奥·克里斯托福里(bar-toh-loh-MEH-oh kree-STAW-foh-ree)于1700年代初制作键盘乐器.
He wanted to change the harpsichord so the volume could be controlled.
他想改变竖琴 以便控制音量
To do this, Cristofori had to make the instrument work more like a clavichord.
为了做到这一点,克丽斯托福里不得不使乐器的工作更像一款克来福克.
The strings needed to be hit, not plucked.
弦必须被击中,而不是被拔出。
Cristofori changed the mechanism of the instrument and how it worked.
Cristofori改变了文书的机制及其运作方式。
First, he switched from a quill to a hammer.
首先,他从毛笔变成了锤子。
The hammer was covered in leather to create a better sound.
锤子被皮革覆盖,以产生出更好的声音.
When the player pressed a key, the hammer hit the string from below.
当玩家按下键后,锤子从下方打出弦.
When the player released the key, another part, called a damper, came down to rest on the string.
玩家放出密钥后,又一叫"大坝"的部分下来休息于弦上.
The damper stopped the string from vibrating and ended the note.
大坝人阻止了弦能震动并结束了音符.
How Does It Work?
怎么样?
When you press a piano key, a small hammer shoots up and strikes the string above it.
当按下一把钢琴键时,一把小锤子会射出并击出琴上方的弦.
When you release the key, the damper falls back onto the string and stops the note.
当你释放出密钥时,坝人会倒回弦上并停止音符.
This design made it possible to hit strings hard or touch them gently.
这种设计使得重击弦或轻轻地触摸弦成为可能.
Players could now produce both loud and soft notes.
玩家现在可以同时制作出高音和软音的音符.
Cristofori called his instrument the pianoforte, a name made up of the Italian words for “soft” and “loud.”
Cristofori称他的乐器为钢琴佛,这个名称由意大利语“soft”和“loud”等词所组成。 “
In time, the name became just piano.
随着时间的推移,这个名字就变成了钢琴.
Other instrument makers added to Cristofori’s design.
Cristofori的设计中增加了其他仪器制造商。
One, a German named Silbermann, showed his version of the piano to the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
一个是德国人Silbermann,他向著名作曲家约翰·塞巴斯蒂安·巴赫展示了他的钢琴版本.
Bach had written many pieces for the harpsichord and didn’t think much of Silbermann’s instrument.
巴赫为竖琴写了多篇作品,
This made Silbermann so upset that he destroyed it with an ax!
这让西尔伯曼很不高兴 他用斧头把它毁了!
This 1720 Cristofori grand piano is the oldest one left in the world.
这首1720年克丽斯托福里大钢琴是世界上现存最古老的钢琴.
Pianos Everywhere It took a while for European musicians to accept the piano.
无所不在的钢琴 欧洲音乐家花了一段时间才接受钢琴.
In time, though, Bach grew to like the instrument.
不过在时间上,巴赫逐渐喜欢了乐器.
Other famous composers, such as Haydn and Mozart, wrote many pieces for piano.
其他有名的作曲家如海登和莫扎特为钢琴写了多部作品.
By the late 1700s, Europeans wanted to hear more piano music.
到1700年代末,欧洲人想听到更多的钢琴音乐.
Changes made to pianos improved their sound in big music halls.
对钢琴的修改改善了它们在大音乐厅中的声音.
The hammers were covered in felt instead of leather.
锤子是用感觉而不是皮革覆盖的.
The softer felt created a rich, warm tone.
更柔和的人感觉创造了一种丰富而温暖的语气.
Keyboards also grew from fifty-four keys to eighty-eight.
键盘也从54个键发展到88个键.
Wing-shaped grand pianos became longer and larger to provide space for the added strings.
翼形大钢琴变长变大 为所加弦提供空间.
Metal soundboards replaced wooden ones and gave tones a purer sound.
金属音板取代了木制音板,给音量更纯.
Some songs keep many hammers busy!
有些歌曲让很多锤子忙活!
Elegance vs.
(原始内容存档于2018-10-25). Elegance vs.
Elephants Years ago, a person who could play the piano well was said to “tickle the ivories.”
几年前,有人说,一个能弹好钢琴的人“敲打象牙。 “
That’s because wooden piano keys were once covered in ivory from elephant tusks.
因为木制钢琴键曾被象牙所覆盖。
As a result, countless elephants died.
结果无数大象相继死去.
Today, it is illegal to use ivory.
今天,使用象牙是非法的。
Piano keys are now covered in plastic.
钢琴键现在被塑料所覆盖.
At first, all pianos were grand pianos.
起初,所有的钢琴都是大钢琴.
By the nineteenth century, however, pianos were very popular in Europe and North America.
然而到19世纪,钢琴在欧洲和北美非常受欢迎.
To keep up with demand, companies began making smaller, less expensive pianos.
为了跟上需求,公司开始制造更小更便宜的钢琴.
More people were then able to buy pianos that fit in their homes.
之后有更多的人能够购买适合自己家中的钢琴.
Louis Pratt, shown here in 1955, was a master ivory cutter.
路易·普拉特(Louis Pratt),1955年在这里出道,是一名象牙剪接大师.
His company made ivory piano keys from African elephant tusks.
他的公司用非洲象牙制作象牙钢琴钥匙.
Women and the Piano In the nineteenth century, women were encouraged to play the piano.
妇女与钢琴 在十九世纪,人们鼓励妇女弹钢琴.
The idea was not to turn them into performers but rather into wives.
想法不是把他们变成表演者,而是变成妻子。
Women with musical ability were considered refined and charming.
具有音乐能力的妇女被认为是精致而迷人的.
Knowing how to play the piano also made it possible for women to give lessons.
懂得弹钢琴也使妇女得以上课.
Becoming a piano teacher let women earn their own money at a time when such opportunities were limited.
成为一名钢琴教师,让妇女在这种机会有限的时候挣取自己的钱。
An old postcard shows a woman and child playing a duet.
一张旧明信片显示一个女人和孩子玩一对一.
Famous Pianists Many world-class pianists have made a name for themselves playing different types, or genres, of music.
著名钢琴家 许多世界一流的钢琴家都为自己出名,演奏出不同类型或流派的音乐.
Some of them are: Scott Joplin The son of a railway worker, Joplin was the “King of Ragtime.”
其中包括: 斯科特·乔普林 铁路工人Joplin的儿子是“Ragtime国王”。 “
His “Maple Leaf Rag,” published in 1899, is the most widely known ragtime hit.
他于1899年所出版的"枫叶拉格"是最广为人知的"破烂打".
Sergei Rachmaninoff (syihr-GYAY ruhk-MAH-nyi-nuhf) The early twentieth-century Russian composer was also an accomplished pianist.
谢尔盖·拉赫曼尼诺夫 (syihr-GYAY ruhk-MAH-nyi-nuhf) (英语). 二十世纪早期的俄罗斯作曲家也是一位有成就的钢琴家.
He wrote and performed many beautiful classical piano pieces.
他写作并出演了多部美丽的古典钢琴作品.
Billy Joel The “Piano Man” made a name for himself starting in the 1970s by writing and performing rock tunes that featured the piano.
比利·乔尔 " 钢琴人 " 从1970年代开始,通过写作和表演以钢琴为特色的摇滚曲调为自己取名。
As more and more pianos were sold, people began to play different types of piano music.
随着越来越多的钢琴被出售,人们开始演奏不同类型的钢琴音乐.
For example, African Americans sang and played gospel songs on the piano.
例如,非裔美国人在钢琴上演唱并演奏福音歌曲.
They also began experimenting with new styles of music.
他们还开始尝试新的音乐风格.
This led to the birth of ragtime, a jazzy form of music written just for the piano.
这导致了为钢琴作曲的一种爵士乐形式"ragtime"的诞生.
Modern Versions When recorded music came along in the early twentieth century, piano sales dropped.
现代版本 20世纪早期被录制的音乐出现后,钢琴销量下降.
People could listen to piano music in their homes without having to own or play a piano.
人们可以在家中收听钢琴音乐,而不必拥有或演奏钢琴.
Piano makers came up with a new way to make pianos more attractive to buyers.
钢琴制造者想出新的方法,让钢琴对买家更具吸引力.
They built self-playing pianos.
他们建造了自弹钢琴.
These instruments had a mechanical device that was pumped by foot pedals at the bottom of the piano.
这些乐器有一个被脚踏板泵入钢琴底部的机械装置.
The device held rolls of paper.
装置拿着一卷纸。
Holes punched in the paper rolls caused notes on the piano to play by themselves when the pedals were pumped.
被打入纸卷的洞口使钢琴上被打出脚踏板时被自己弹出音符来.
Anyone could now play the piano— no lessons needed!
现在任何人都可以弹钢琴——不需要教训了!
This player piano from the late 1800s is driven by an electric motor.
1800年代后期的这款演奏家钢琴由一台电动机所驱动.
Digital versions of self-playing pianos appeared in the 1980s.
1980年代出现了自弹钢琴的数字版本.
A person could choose an electronic file, then press a button.
一个人可以选择电子文件,然后按下按钮.
The piano keys would move on their own while the music played.
钢琴键会在音乐演奏时自行移动.
These digital pianos could also be played like a regular piano.
这些数字钢琴也可以像普通钢琴一样演奏.
The eighty-eight keys were weighted to feel just like those on a regular piano.
88把钥匙被加权 感觉就像普通钢琴上的钥匙
A digital piano sounds and feels like a piano but is lighter and cheaper.
数字钢琴的声音和感觉就像钢琴,但更轻而便宜.
Today, many families own electronic, or digital, pianos.
今天,许多家庭拥有电子或数字钢琴。
By contrast, the keys of digital keyboards are not weighted.
相形之下,数字键盘的键没有加权.
The most popular size only has sixty-one keys.
最受欢迎的尺寸只有61个键.
However, these keyboards are light, sturdy, and easy to move from place to place.
然而,这些键盘是轻而易举的,坚韧的,很容易从地上移动.
Some traveling bands use them.
一些旅行乐队使用它们.
Many digital keyboards can produce sounds of other instruments, such as a trumpet or flute.
许多数字键盘可以产生出其他乐器的声音,例如小号或笛子.
Some keyboards can make sound effects, such as a chirping bird, with just the touch of a key.
一些键盘可以发出声音效果,如鸣叫鸟,只有键的触觉.
Cristofori would be amazed at the sounds coming from the newest versions of his invention.
Cristofori会惊讶 从他发明的最新版本发出的声音。
Whether it’s a digital keyboard or a concert grand, though, the piano remains one of the most popular instruments around.
无论是数字键盘还是大型音乐会,
This Australian band includes a digital keyboard player.
这个澳大利亚乐队包括一个数字键盘播放器.