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The Business of Harmonicas 商场琴声

详细资料: 创建于 2010年8月02日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2012年4月30日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：290

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Designer seeks to make the Steinway of harmonicas 设计师盼能造出口琴界的史坦威

He had poured his life savings and the better part of 10 years into the development of the small, nickel-plated harmonica. “Everything comes together at this moment,” said Brad Harrison, standing at the end of his makeshift assembly line. He tightened a few screws, snapped on the cover plate and then took a moment to admire the harmonica, with its handsome dark-wood comb and aerodynamic design.

布莱德．哈里森为了开发小小的镀镍口琴，而投注了自己一生的积蓄以及将近十年的时间。「一切都在这一刻汇聚出结果，」站在克难的装配线末端的哈里森说。他旋紧了几颗螺丝，阖上盖板，然后好好欣赏了一会儿这支口琴：美观的琴格以深色木材制成，并且采用了空气动力学的设计。

With that, Harrison had put the finishing touch on the 33rd instrument manufactured by Harrison Harmonicas, a fledgling company that recently became the only harmonica production facility in the United States.

就这样，哈里森为哈里森口琴公司制造的第三十三件乐器完成了最后的修饰。哈里森口琴公司才刚成立不久，近来成了美国唯一的一家口琴制造商。

So far, Harrison’s B-Radicals have been rolling offthe six-man assembly line at a frustratingly slow pace; sometimes just one or two harmonicas are produced in a day. But the first shipments are significant because Harrison’s design features replaceable reeds, a detail that, in the harmonica world, makes a profound change.

截至目前为止，哈里森的六人装配线仍以慢得令人泄气的速度生产着「激进」系列口琴，有时一天只能制造出一、两把。不过，第一批产品仍然意义非凡，因为哈里森的设计采用了可更换的簧片，这种细部做法是口琴的一大变革。

Quality is in the details 细处见品质

Marketing his instrument as the Steinway of harmonicas and targeting professional players who have long complained about the inconsistent quality of standard, mass-produced instruments, Harrison hopes to ship 5,000 harmonicas this year.

哈里森把自己的乐器营销为口琴界的史坦威，并且把营销对象锁定于专业口琴家，因为大量生产的口琴质量良莠不齐，向来让专业口琴家迭有怨言。哈里森希望今年的货数量能够达到五千把。

But his task has been far from easy. Harmonica production is an exacting business, requiring highly precise machinery. Even the slightest variation can have a catastrophic effect on sound. All of which has resulted in a flurry of false notes in a corner of a repurposed warehouse where workers frequently burst into blues riffs to test the latest instrument coming off the production line and where parts of rejected harmonicas pile high.

然而，这项任务却一点都不简单。制造口琴是非常严谨的事业，需要高度精密的机械。就算是极度细微的误差，也可能严重损及琴音。正因如此，这座经过改装的仓库一隅才会不断传出走调的琴音。员工经常吹奏一段即兴蓝调乐曲以测试刚制造完成的口琴，而被他们打回票的不良品早已堆积如山。

On a recent day, the reed machine had once again gone haywire, bringing production to a standstill. Harrison took a deep breath. “It used to drive me nuts,” he said. “Now …. when things go bad I say, ‘We’ll figure it out.’”

不久之前，簧片机器再次故障，导致整个生产脚步又停顿了下来。哈里森深吸一口气。「我以前常为了这种事情气得发狂，」他说：「但现在……如果又出问题，我只会说：『我们一定会想出解决的办法。』」

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Steinway [ˈstʌɪnweɪ] n. 斯坦威(以优质钢琴著称的品牌) a line of fine piano, named for United States piano maker Henry Steinway, that since 1853 have set the standard for quality pianos

-plated [ˋpletɪd] adj. 表示镀……的

harmonica [hɑrˋmɑnɪkə] n. 口琴

makeshift [ˋmek͵ʃɪft] adj. 临时代用的

comb [kom] n. 蜂窝状的东西; 琴格

screw [skru] n. 螺丝钉；螺栓

snap on 啪地关上 to attach something to something else, causing an audible snap

finishing touch 最后一笔；点睛 a final adjustment of something; some effort or action that completes something

roll [rol] v. 缓缓行进; （机器等）运转；启动；（车）行驶

reed [rid] n.〔管乐器的〕簧片 a thin strip of wood in woodwind musical instruments that produces sound when air is blown over it

detail [ˋditel] n. 细部; 细节

exacting [ɪgˋzæktɪŋ] adj.（工作等）艰难的，辛苦的; 严格的

repurposed [ˌrɪˋpɝpəst] adj. 重新应用的 to use or convert for use in another format or product

riff [rɪf] n.（爵士音乐的）即兴重复段 a short series of chords; a short series of chords; in jazz or popular music, a tune which continues or appears regularly in a piece of music while other parts change or are added

haywire [ˋhe͵waɪr] adj.【美】【口】混乱的；疯狂的

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A history of harmonicas 口琴发展史

What Harrison is trying to figure out is a problem that dates back to the origins of the instrument. Invented in the 1800s and first mass-produced in Germany, the harmonica was designed to play simple, major-key folk tunes. By the turn of the 20th century, it had become a popular everyman’s instrument, in large part because it was easy to master, portable and inexpensive, then selling for as little as 25 cents.

哈里森想要解决的问题，可以追溯到这种乐器的起源。口琴发明于十九世纪，最早是在德国大量生产，原本的用途只吹奏简单的大调民谣。到了二十世纪初，口琴已成了很普遍的庶民乐器，主要是因为口琴容易上手、携带方便又价格低廉，在当时只要二十五美分就买得到。

But in the American South, players began experimenting with the sound, pioneering new techniques that expanded the instrument’s range and developing the intense, soulful wailing that is now a hallmark. The harmonica became a driving force in blues music.

但在美国南方，吹奏者却开始试验各种不同音色，并且开创新的吹奏技巧，不但拓展了这种乐器的演奏领域，也发展出那种情感浓烈的悲调，如今已蔚为口琴的特色。口琴也成为蓝调音乐的一大推手。

By the 1990s, professional harmonica players were tackling more technically difficult material. And increasingly, they turned to custom craftsmen, who took the bodies of mass-produced harmonicas, corrected the flaws and fine-tuned the sound, enabling players to achieve unprecedented levels of musical achievement.

到了一九九０年代，专业口琴家又开始尝试技巧上更为艰难的音乐，也因此愈来愈常寻求订制工匠的协助，把大量生产的口琴交给他们，由他们修正其中的瑕疵，并且仔细调校琴音，好让吹奏者能够创造出前所未闻的音乐杰作。

Ready to roll 蓄势待发

Last winter, the B-Radicals finally began to sing. Selling the harmonicas for $180 each, compared with $40 to $80 for a mass-produced model and $200 to $300 for a customized one, Harrison delivered his shipment in February.

去年冬季，激进系列口琴终于开始发出美妙的乐音。大量生产的口琴要价约在四十至八十美元之间，而订制口琴的价格可能高达两百至三百美元，哈里森则为自家产品订价一百八十美元，而在二月推出了第一批产品。

Musicians who have played the first B-Radicals seem to be giving them good-to-glowing reviews. One of several musicians contacted, Jason Ricci, a blues player, gushed that the instrument “responds faster and easier than any harmonica I’ve ever player.”

吹奏过第一批激进系列口琴的乐手，似乎都给予相当高或甚至是优异非凡的评价。我们联络了其中一名乐手：蓝调演奏家杰森．里奇，他盛赞这件乐器「在我吹奏过的所有口琴当中，这是反应速度最快，吹奏起来也最轻松的一把」。

Harrison is still working out the kinks in his manufacturing process. On a recent afternoon, Harrison sat down in the tuning room to test the two instruments scheduled to be shipped that day.

哈里森仍在设法解决制造过程的各种小毛病。不久前的一天下午，哈里森在调音室里坐了下来，测试两把预定在当天出货的口琴。

He put a harmonica to his lips and played a quick, jazzy tune. When he finished, he smiled with satisfaction and said: “We hit every note.”

他将一把口琴举到唇边，吹奏了一首带有爵士风味的轻快曲调。他吹完之后，脸上露出满足的微笑，并说：「每个音都正确无误。」

−by Colleen Mastony

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