2006年NPR美国国家公共电台九月-Doing Things My Own Way

Welcome to This I Believe, an NPR series presenting the personal philosophies of remarkable¹ men and women from all walks of life.
I believe in honor, faith and service.
I believe that a little outrage² can take you a long way.
I believe in freedom of speech.
I believe in empathy.
I believe in truth.
I believe in the ingredients of love.
This I Believe.

For our series "This I Believe" we hear today from banjo virtuoso³ Bela Fleck⁴. He's won eight Grammies for his jazzy, sometimes haunting style of playing.

It's about as far away as you can get from the brassy sound most people associate with the banjo. Bela Fleck's latest album with his band, the Flecktones, is called the Hidden Land. Here is our series' curator, independent producer Jay Allison.

When artists write for our series, they tend toward a belief in the creative spirit. This is true for Bela Fleck too, but he partially⁶ derives⁷ his belief from his grandfather who applied⁸ his creativity to things other than art, things like plumbing⁹. No matter, says Fleck, personal inventiveness is what's important to him; here is Bela Fleck with his essay for "This I Believe".

I believe in figuring out my own way to do things. This approach can yield great results but it's got its negative sides. Much of my individualist, boneheaded nature comes from my grandfather. Opa grew up in New York's rough and tumble Lower East Side, didn't go to college, but owned and ran two successful businesses: a restaurant and a car wash. He figured out what he wanted to do, and how to do it without studying a manual. He used his own creativity to solve problems as they came up. After he died, realtors tried to sell his home. They discovered he had devised his own way of hooking up the septic system. Nobody could figure out how it worked so it couldn't pass codes but it did work and for many years beyond his time. Sometimes I wonder if my banjo playing would pass codes. I didn't learn to play blue grass, classical music or jazz in school. I took banjo lessons from some of the best, but my breakthrough moments always seemed to come when I left the lesson plans.

I remember seeing jazz great Chick Corea when I was 17. There was a moment of revelation when I realized that all the notes he was playing had to exist on my banjo. I went home and stayed up most of the night, figuring out the scales, modes, and arpeggios for myself, mapping out the banjo fingerboard in my own way.

When I perform with my own group, my map of the banjo is all I need, but when I moved into more conventional jazz or classical situations, I don't always have the tools to fit in. I can barely read music. I don't thoroughly¹¹ understand the conventions of each tradition, and I'm not sure how to voice jazz chords, which notes to leave out, how the scales work, all the rhythmic¹² concepts.

I heard that when George Gershwin wanted to study harmony from Ravel, he was advised against it. Ravel felt that Gershwin would obliterate¹³ the very thing that made him special by learning conventional approaches to rhythm and harmony.

I'd like to think that the same is true for me, but I'm not convinced. I worry that my approach might not be built on a strong enough musical foundation. It is this fear that allows me no rest in my musical pursuits. When I'm at work, whether it's writing, practicing, editing, mixing CDs, I obsess¹⁴. To say that I'm picky is an understatement. Delegating is pretty much impossible. I can be downright controlling. I have to get everything just right. Then one day the intensity¹⁵ disappears. This usually means the project is done.

My grandfather didn't seem to worry that he was making it up as he went along and I tried not to either. I believe in living with and giving in to my obsessive¹⁶ side when it serves the music. I believe in doing things my own way and I want them to last, just like my grandfather's plumbing.

Bella Fleck with his essay for "This I Believe" recorded in our studio on Cape¹⁷ Cod¹⁰ where we produce this series. After he finished reading, Fleck played this song he wrote for his grandfather who also gave Fleck his first banjo.

To see all the essays in our series or to submit one of your own, visit NPR.org.
For This I Believe, I'm Jay Allison.

This I Believe is produced for NPR by This I Believe Incorporated and Atlantic Public Media. For more essays in the series, please visit NPR.org/ThisIBelieve.
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banjo
班卓琴, 五弦琴
brassy
sounding hard and loud like the sound made by a brass⁵ musical instrument
rough and tumble
1
[uncountable] a situation in which people compete with each other, often in a cruel way
rough and tumble of
the rough and tumble of public life
2
[singular,uncountable] noisy rough behaviour when playing or fighting, especially by children
rough-and-tumble adjective [only before noun] Most boys enjoy rough-and-tumble play.
arpeggio
The playing of the tones of a chord in rapid succession rather than simultaneously¹⁸.
琶音：快速连续而非同时地演奏弦乐器的乐音
downright
used to emphasize that something is completely bad or untrue
Jed's just downright lazy. It's downright disgusting!
downright adjective [only before noun] That's a downright lie!

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 virtuoso   

n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手

参考例句：

• He was gaining a reputation as a remarkable virtuoso.作为一位技艺非凡的大师，他声誉日隆。
• His father was a virtuoso horn player who belonged to the court orchestra.他的父亲是宫廷乐队中一个技巧精湛的圆号演奏家。

4 fleck   

n.斑点，微粒 vt.使有斑点，使成斑驳

参考例句：

• The garlic moss has no the yellow fleck and other virus. 蒜苔无黄斑点及其它病毒。
• His coat is blue with a grey fleck.他的上衣是蓝色的，上面带有灰色的斑点。

5 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

11 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

12 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

13 obliterate   

v.擦去，涂抹，去掉...痕迹，消失，除去

参考例句：

• Whole villages were obliterated by fire.整座整座的村庄都被大火所吞噬。
• There was time enough to obliterate memories of how things once were for him.时间足以抹去他对过去经历的记忆。

14 obsess   

vt.使着迷，使心神不定，（恶魔）困扰

参考例句：

• I must admit that maps obsess me.我得承认我对地图十分着迷。
• A string of scandals is obsessing America.美国正被一系列丑闻所困扰。

15 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

16 obsessive   

adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的

参考例句：

• Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。

17 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

18 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。