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第二十九篇 Ill Be Bach1.Composer David Cope is the inventor of a computer program that writes original works of classical music. It took Cope 30 years to develop the software. Now most people cant tell the difference between music by the famous German composer J. S. Bach (1685-1750) and the Bach-like compositions from Copes computer.作曲家大卫科普发明了一个电脑软件,它能编写出古典音乐的原创作品。科普花了30年才完成这个软件，现在，科普的电脑写出的作品与德国著名作曲家J.S.巴赫写的作品很相似，很少人能分辨出其中不同。2.It all started in 1980 in the United States, when Cope was trying to write an opera. He was having trouble thinking of new melodies, so he wrote a computer program to create the melodies. 这一切始于1980年的美国，那时科普正在写一部戏剧，但是他无法创作出新的旋律，于是他编写了一个电脑软件来帮他编曲。At first this music was not easy to listen to. What did Cope do? 最开始的时候，软件写出的乐曲并不动听。科普是怎么做的呢？He began to rethink how human beings compose music. 他开始重新考虑人们作曲的方式。He realized that composers，brains work like big databases. First, they take in all the music that they have ever heard. Then they take out the music that they dislike. Finally, they make new music from what is left. 他认识到作曲家的大脑就像一个大数据库，他们先吸收他们听过的所有音乐，然后去除他们不喜欢的，最后再根据留下的音乐来创作出新的旋律。According to Cope, only the great composers are able to create the database accurately, remember it, and form new musical patterns from it.科普认为，只有伟大的作曲家才能建立好的数据库，并且能熟记于心，从而创造出新的音乐。3.Cope built a huge database of existing music. He began with hundreds of works by Bach. The software analyzed the data：it broke it down into smaller pieces and looked for patterns. It then combined the pieces into new patterns. Before long, the program could compose short Bach-like works. They werent good, but it was a start.科普根据现有的音乐建立了庞大的数据库，最开始的时候，数据库包含了几百部巴赫的作品。科普的软件将这些数据进行分析：首先它讲音乐拆解成小的片段，从中找出固定模式，然后将片段合成新的模式。不久，这个软件就能够写出和巴赫风格很像的小曲子。它们并不完美，但这只是个开始。4.Cope knew he had more work to do-he had a whole opera to write. He continued to improve the software. Soon it could analyze more complex music. He also added many other composers, including his own work, to the database.科普知道，他要做的还有很多他得写出一整部歌剧。他进一步完善他的软件，不久它就能够写出更复杂的音乐了。他还在数据库中加入了一些其他作曲家的作品，其中也包括他自己的作品。5.A few years later，Copes computer program, called “Emmy”，was ready to help him with his opera. The process required a lot of collaboration between the composer and Emmy. Cope listened to the computers musical ideas and used the ones that he liked. With Emmy, the opera took only two weeks to finish. It was called Cradle Falling, and it was a great success! Cope received some of the best reviews of his career, but no one knew exactly how he had composed the work.几年后，科普的软件“艾米”已经能够帮助他创作歌剧了。创作过程需要作曲家和艾米共同配合。科普聆听艾米写出的音乐片段，从中选取他认为好的。有了艾米的帮助，科普之用了两个星期就完成了这部歌剧，叫做摇篮坠落。演出获得巨大成功，科普也得到了他有生以来最高的评价，但是没有人知道他究竟是怎样创作出这部歌剧的。6.Since that first opera, Emmy has written thousands of compositions. Cope still gives Emmy feedback on what he likes and doesnt like of her music, but she is doing most of the hard work of composing these days!从那以后，艾米已经写了上千部作品。科普现在依然会给艾米反馈，告诉她自己哪些音乐是他喜欢的，哪些是不喜欢的，但是现在大部分艰巨的工作是由艾米来完成的！词汇：original/rdnl / adj有独创性的collaboration / klæbren / n合作review/ rvju:/ n评论feedback /fi:dbæk / n反馈注释J. S. Bach约翰塞巴斯蒂安巴赫（德语：Johann Sebastian Bach，1685年3月31日一1750年7月28日），巴洛克时期的德国作曲家，杰出的管风琴、小提琴、大键琴演奏家，同作曲家亨德尔和泰勒曼齐名。巴赫被普遍认为是音乐史上最重要的作曲家之一，并被尊称为“西方现代音乐之父”，也是西方文化史上最重要的人物之一。
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