Derek Sivers：在15年的练习以后（译）

初稿：2020年08月08日
原文：https://sive.rs/15-years

After fifteen years of practice

译：在15年的练习以后

2010-06-15

Since the age of fourteen, I was determined to be a great singer. But my pitch was bad, my tone was bad, and everyone said I was just not a singer.

译：从我14岁起，我就下定决心要做一个伟大的歌手。但是那时候我的音高不好，音色也很差，所有人都说我成不了歌手。

At seventeen, I started taking voice lessons and practicing two hours every night. I’d go into a soundproof room to sing long tones, scales, arpeggios, and specific song phrases over and over.

译：17岁时，我开始上声乐课，并且每晚练习两小时。我会走进一个隔音的房间，反复地唱长音、音阶、琶音和特定的乐句。

At eighteen, I started touring, performing two to four shows a week, always as the lead singer. Often they were outdoor shows, sometimes with no PA system at all, so I had to learn to project to be heard.

译：18岁时，我开始巡演，作为主唱每周演出2到4次。这些演出很多都是露天的，有时甚至没有扩音系统，所以我不得不努力让别人听见。

At nineteen, I was still practicing two hours a night but still having a problem with pitch. People kept telling me I was just not a singer — that I should give it up and find a real singer.

译：19岁时，我仍然每晚练习两小时，但是音高仍然有问题。人们总是告诉我说我成不了歌手，说我应该放弃并找一个真正的的歌手。

Then I heard Warren Senders singing Indian vocal music, and his pitch was so perfect that I went rushing up to him afterwards to ask how he did it. “How are you able to hit the notes so perfectly dead-on? Are you just natually good at this?”

译：然后我听到华伦·森德斯（Warren Senders）在唱印第安歌曲，他的音高非常完美，在他唱完后我迫不及待的跑到他面前，问他怎么唱的这么好。“你是怎么把音唱的完美无缺的？你是天生的吗？”

He said, “No! When I first started singing, not only was I not within an inch of the note — I wasn’t within a football field of the note! I was horrible!”

译：他说：“不！我第一次唱时，我差的不是一星半点，我连高音的门都摸不着！我糟透了！”

“So how did you do it?”

译：“那你是如何做的？”

He jabbed a finger in my chest, and looked me in the eye. “Practice. Thousands of hours of practice, and eventually I got it. I can show you how.”

译：他用手指戳了戳我的胸膛，并且直视着我。“练习。数千小时的练习，最后我学会了。我可以教给你怎么唱。”

That year, I took a bus out to his house every Wednesday night, and he taught me some esoteric ways of thinking about singing.

译：那一年，每周三晚上我都搭公交去他住处，他会教我一些秘传的唱法。

I continued touring for years, always as the lead singer — still taking voice lessons with different teachers in different cities — still practicing tones, scales, and trouble spots for an hour every night.

译：我一直作为主唱，继续演出了几年，仍然去上不同城市的不同老师的声乐课，仍然每天晚上练一个小时音色、音阶和歌唱难点。

At twenty-five, I recorded my first album. When I gave it to a record producer who was a real mentor to me, he gave it a focused listen and then said, “Derek, you’re just not a singer. You really need to stop trying. Admit you’re a songwriter, and find a real singer.”

译：在25岁时，我录了我的第一张唱片。我把它交给一个唱片制作人，对我来说他是一个我可以信赖的前辈，他仔细地听完了唱片，然后说到，“德里克（Derek），你不是一个歌手。你确实应该放弃尝试了。承认你是一个写歌的人，去找一名真正的歌手吧。”

But I bounced away from that meeting unfazed. I knew I just had more work to do. I toured for three more years after that, always pushing, always practicing, always determined to be a great singer.

译：但是我很快从那次会面恢复了过来，并不感到苦恼【有些拿不准】。我知道我只是还不够好。那以后，我巡演了三年多，一直努力着，一直练习着，一直下定决心要成为一名歌手。

At twenty-eight, I started noticing that my voice was getting good! I recorded a few new songs, and for the first time, I really liked the vocals!

译：在28岁时，我开始注意到我的声音开始变好听了！我录了几首新歌，人生中第一次，我真的喜欢上我的声音了。

At twenty-nine, I had done it. After fifteen years of practice, and about a thousand live shows, I was finally a good singer, at least by my own standards. You can judge for yourself at sive.rs/music, where my old recordings are at the bottom, and new recordings are at the top.

译：在29岁时，我做到了。我在15年的练习和1000多场演出之后，最终成为了一名不错的歌手，至少按我的标准来说。你可以到 sive.rs/music 网址听听，自己来做判断。那个网页中我旧的歌曲在底部，新的歌曲在顶部。

Someone who heard me for the first time said, “Singing is a gift that either you’re born with or you’re not. You’re lucky. You were born with it!”

译：有些人第一次听我唱歌，会说：“唱歌是一种天赋，要么你天生会唱，要么你就不会唱。你真幸运。你天生就会了！”

I had to remember this story now because I’m spending most of my time doing new things I’m not good at. It’s overwhelming to feel so in awe of the people who seem to do it naturally. I’m just a beginner. It may take me another fifteen years, but I’m determined.

译：我必须得记住这个故事，因为我正在投入大量的时间来做我并不擅长的新的事情。对那些似乎自然而然就能做到的人，我感到无比惊叹。我只是一个初学者。我可能要再花十五年时间来做成新的事情，但是我决定去做。