VOA标准英语2010年-Mountain Guitar Maker Enjoys Worldwide

Wayne Henderson has earned a reputation as one of the best acoustic¹ guitar makers³ in America.  He has made guitars for some half a century in his hometown in the mountains of Virginia, about 570 kilometers southwest of Washington.  There is a long waiting list for his much-coveted⁴ instruments.  Even legendary⁵ guitarist Eric Clapton had to wait 10 years for his Henderson guitar to be ready.  Our producer visited Henderson's workshop, set deep in the Blue Ridge⁶ Mountains, and brought back this story.  

"That sounds really good now,  all that tone, ring and everything going on," said Wayne Henderson.

With his keen ear for the vibration⁷ of each piece of wood he uses, Wayne Henderson is known - especially among musicians - for his finely-crafted guitars. 

"Well when I am making these guitars, people always ask me how do you do it," he said. "And I just take this, a good sharp whittling⁸ knife like this and cut away everything that does not look like a guitar." 

Sounds simple, but it takes a long time.  Normally there is a five to 10-year wait for a Henderson guitar.

"Because you do this little process like I am doing right here right now so slow and it takes me long time to do everything," said Henderson. "And I do it slow and easy and try to do exactly right."

 

Henderson, who is now 63, says he started to make guitars as a young boy, out of necessity.

"My family played Old Time Music and my cousins and the people around house played but I couldn't afford a good guitar," he said. "I always made things so I thought I might be able to make one.  That is what really got me started."

Starting from this guitar made out of a cardboard box and fishing line, and this one, bearing serial⁹ number "one," Henderson has been making acoustic guitars for friends, neighbors and others for nearly 50 years in his hometown in Grayson County, Virginia.  He builds guitars from Appalachian spruce and nearly-extinct Brazilian Rosewood.

"Besides great material, they have to be put together right," said Wayne Henderson. "You know the thickness, tolerances¹⁰ of wood has to be exactly right for the right tone, and volume of a soundboard has to be measured exactly, and that's done mostly by ear. You can hear the wood sort of speaks to you while you are working on it."

So far, Henderson has built about 500 guitars.  He does not have regular assistants in his roadside workshop next to his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  But folks are often dropping by to lend a hand.  Don Wilson has driven up from Florida every few months since the early 1970s.

"It is a 500-some-mile [800 km] trip and in eight hours I am here," he said. "It is a vacation to me to be included.  It is not just a guitar.  It is the whole atmosphere of this shop. You never know who or what might walk through the door.  All of our guitar friends and the music and that [is what] I enjoy."

Friends and music lovers are always welcome in his cluttered¹¹ shop and play mostly traditional Bluegrass music together.  Henderson says that is another reason why it takes long time for him to build a guitar.

"The music has just been a way of life for me for as long as I can remember," he said. "And not many days goes by when I don't hear music, or see music, or feel music, or some way or another have some connection to an instrument."

Henderson is also in demand as a performer. He feels equally at home at a local event or a prestigious¹² stage such as Carnegie Hall.   He received a National Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1995 for contributions to American Culture.

He also toured the world playing traditional American Bluegrass music for the nation's cultural exchange programs. 

"I've been real fortunate to get to travel and play my music," said Wayne Henderson. "When I was a kid I never dreamed ... I'd never been out of this community right here.  I've lived right here in this community my entire life. "

Henderson also sponsors an annual music festival to raise scholarship money to help young musicians. 

"Wayne [is] just a very humble¹³ hero in this area," said Becky Ward¹⁴, president of the Wayne Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition. "So we honor him in having a festival in his name.   We have a guitar competition in which the [top] winner wins a Wayne Henderson handmade guitar, which is a very coveted item." 

"I've really been blessed with being able to do what I like to do, and being able to sort of make a living at it, or being able to still be here," said Henderson. "I can't imagine doing anything different."

Beyond his great talent as a guitar maker² and musician, Wayne Henderson is known as a friend to everyone and shares his talent and knowledge unselfishly.   Henderson says if he were born again, he would like to do exactly the same thing.
 

1 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

6 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

7 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

8 whittling   

v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Inflation has been whittling away their savings. 通货膨胀使他们的积蓄不断减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is whittling down the branch with a knife to make a handle for his hoe. 他在用刀削树枝做一把锄头柄。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

10 tolerances   

n.宽容( tolerance的名词复数 )；容忍；忍耐力；偏差

参考例句：

• Not only must the centers decrease, but the tolerances to produce quality bonds must also decrease. 不仅中心间距减少，而且产生优质连接的容限也必须减少。 来自辞典例句
• Then analysis the reasons and influencing factors of such tolerances. 最后分析出现误差的原因以及影响因素。 来自互联网

11 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

13 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

14 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。