Can someone with no musical talent learn to play guitar as an adult? That’s 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.
一個完全沒有音樂天賦的人能在成人之后學(xué)習(xí)吉他嗎？紐約大學(xué)心理學(xué)教授杰瑞·馬科斯在他40歲來臨之際打算找找答案。而一路學(xué)來，他發(fā)現(xiàn)努力學(xué)習(xí)的過程和學(xué)會玩樂器一樣讓他收獲滿滿。以下是記者與他的對話：

Why did you start this project?
怎么想到要開始學(xué)琴呢？

I always wanted to make music but at the same time, 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 4th grade and my teacher suggested that my talents lay elsewhere when I couldn’t 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.
我一直以來都想做音樂，但這完全不是我能力范圍內(nèi)的事兒。小的時候，有好幾次很失敗的經(jīng)歷。四年級的時候我嘗試過學(xué)笛子，當(dāng)我無法演奏出“瑪麗有一只小羊羔”時老師說我的才華壓根不在這兒。在研究生階段我試著選修了“奇跡鋼琴”。我屢屢敗在節(jié)奏上。毫無奇跡可言。

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.
后來，我開始玩兒一款叫作“吉他英雄”的游戲。我玩兒得糟糕透了，還是我的妻子幫助了我。這是我第一次做一件與節(jié)奏感沾邊兒的事兒，所以特別激動。我練習(xí)了一段時間那個游戲，而且通過了初級和中級。我想，或許我應(yīng)該去試試真的吉他。那款游戲成為了給我信心拿起真吉他的導(dǎo)火線。

What was the most fun part of your learning experience?
在你的學(xué)習(xí)過程中最好玩兒的部分是什么？

There were a lot of fun things. The most fun, but also the most scary, was that I went to a summer camp with 11-year-olds and played in a band. On Day One, you had to start writing a song and by Friday, you had to play it on stage. The kids bring their parents to the performance and I brought mine, too. It was frightening but super fun. (Listen to Marcus’ performance here.
有很多好玩兒的事兒。最有趣，同時也最可怕的是，我與一群11歲的孩子們一起參加了一個夏令營，還組了個樂隊。第一天就要開始寫歌，星期五就得在舞臺上表演。孩子們邀請了他們的家長，我也邀請了我的父母。這非?？植?，卻也超級好玩。

What are some of the differences between the way children and adults learn?
孩子與成年人在學(xué)習(xí)的方式上有什么不同？

Kids and adults are differently able. They bring different skills. Adults are more analytical. Kids are more patient and willing to practice the same thing over and over.
孩子和成人有著不同的能力。他們擁有不同方面的技巧。成人更具分析性。孩子更有耐心，更愿意一遍又一遍地去練習(xí)同樣的內(nèi)容。

Does learning to play music make you smarter?
學(xué)習(xí)玩兒音樂使得你變得更聰明嗎？

One thing we know is that on average, people who play musical instruments are smarter but we don’t know if it’s causal. Among Nobel Prize-winners, there are adisproportionately?high number of musicians, but whether [their music lessons made them smarter or vice versa] is a classic chick-and-egg question.
我們所知道的是，通常來說，會樂器的人要聰明一些，但我們不知道這是不是一個巧合。在諾貝爾獎獲得者中，有很大一部分都是音樂家，但至于究竟是他們的音樂課程讓他們更聰明，還是他們的聰明讓他們?nèi)W(xué)好了音樂，就是個雞生蛋蛋生雞的問題了。

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. It’s 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. There’s some suggestive data on that.
我的想法是，音樂教會你自我克制，以及帶給你慢慢做好一件事的成就感。這是一個絕妙的培養(yǎng)耐心的方式。音樂還有很多其它的功能：它可以讓你的耳朵更敏銳，甚至還有研究表明，音樂對于學(xué)習(xí)語言也很有幫助。

Do you think playing music makes you healthier?
你覺得玩兒音樂可以讓你變得更健康嗎？

There might be some health benefits. I talk about the idea of eudaemonia, the pleasure of self-actualization or fulfillment. There’s a kind of pleasure from immediate things like food or sex, but [eudaemonia] comes when we’ve 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.
玩兒音樂可能的確對健康有幫助。我提到了 Eudaemonia 的概念, 因自我實(shí)現(xiàn)或成就而產(chǎn)生的幸福感。有一些幸福感是來自即時的感受，比如食物或性，但 Eudaemonia 來自于當(dāng)我們?yōu)閷?shí)現(xiàn)自己做出努力的時候。另一個讓我持續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)下去的原因，是音樂給我的生活帶來了平衡。

I’d love to learn to play an instrument, but I don’t have a sabbatical like you did during which I could spend hours at it every day. Do you think it’s still possible?
我很想學(xué)習(xí)一個樂器，但我不像你一樣有休假時間來每天練習(xí)。你覺得我還有可能學(xué)樂器嗎？

I think it’s totally possible. I’ve gotten literally hundreds of emails from older adults who have been learning music for the last 10 or 20 years and they really love it. I’m someone who doesn’t have any natural talent. I’m likely congenitally arrhythmic. I’m close to tone deaf. I had almost no talent. I had more time but less talent than most people. If you have even a little more talent, you might get there faster with less time.
我覺得完全有可能。我收到數(shù)百封來自更年長的人的郵件，他們已經(jīng)堅持學(xué)習(xí)了10年或者20年，并且非常享受。我并不是一個天賦異稟的人。我先天節(jié)奏感不好。我基本上是音癡。我一點(diǎn)天分都沒有。我比一般人有更多的時間和更少的天分。如果你比我多一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)天分，那么你會比我學(xué)得快。

Should parents make their kids stick with their music lessons and practice?
家長應(yīng)當(dāng)敦促孩子們學(xué)習(xí)音樂課和勤加練習(xí)嗎？

I think that being a good parent is like being a good guidance counselor. You have to help people find from within 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.
我認(rèn)為一個好的家長就像是一個好的咨詢顧問。你一定要發(fā)覺他們喜歡什么。如果他們還很小，你可能需要敦促一下，但要知道，不是每個人都需要成為一個音樂家。