VOA标准英语2012--Iranian-American Musician Mixes Music Styles

Iranian-American Musician Mixes Music Styles

At home in Austin, Shafinury plays the Persian setar. Iranians love this music, but Shafinury says others are intrigued¹ by it.

"Americans find it exotic, mysterious and interesting, but they can relate to it," he says.

On a hot day in Austin, Shafinury sometimes shares his music with friends on a hillside near a spring-fed pool. 

Shawn Bayly plays rock and blues² with a local band, but he joined in the Persian jam.

"I like to listen to everything and I like to try to play everything I hear," Bayly says. "I was listening to him and trying to find the chords and accentuate³ some of the melodies."

Fared Shafinury was born and raised in Texas. His parents immigrated⁴ from Iran, and he heard classical Persian music at home and everything from country and rock to Mexican Tejano outside. 

"I don't know if I am Iranian, American, Hispanic, Texan," adds Shafinury. "Texan is an identity. Who am I?" 

He says he plays music to sort it all out. 

Although the melodies are first and foremost Persian, other influences creep in.

He says Persian music leaves ample room for improvisation⁵. 

"It's very jazzy, actually. Persian music has these scales and within the parameter⁶ of these scales you have different melodic⁷ frameworks and within each framework of melody you have some liberty to improvise⁸ and create upon," Shafinury explains.

Whether playing solo or with a group of Iranian and American musicians called Tehranosaurus, Shafinury says his goal is to bridge cultures. 

"That's my ultimate goal. It is to bring understanding between cultures, between nations, between different people from all walks of life," Shafinury notes.

This month, Fared Shafinury will play a series of concerts with Tehranosaurus in San Francisco before returning to Austin. 

1 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

3 accentuate   

v.着重，强调

参考例句：

• She has beautiful eyes, so we should accentuate them in the makeup.她眼睛很美丽，我们在化妆时应该突出她的眼睛。
• Mrs Obamas speeches rarely accentuate the positive.奥巴马夫人的演讲很少强调美国积极的一面。

4 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

5 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

6 parameter   

n.参数，参量

参考例句：

• It is the parameter of distribution.这就是分布参数。
• One parameter which always comes into play is the national economy.国民经济是一个经常起作用的参量。

7 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

8 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。