Gong Linna’s Music Pursuit

龚琳娜的音乐追求

Gong Linna was a struggling folk singer before her lyric-less song Tan Te, or Perturbed¹, composed by her German husband, became an Internet sensation. Her powerful voice, wide vocal² range and dramatic facial expressions drew rave³ reviews. She first performed the 4-minute song in Berlin in 2006, but it wasn’t picked up in China until 2009, when it began doing the rounds on the Internet.

作为一名民族歌手，龚琳娜一直都在努力奋斗着。此前，一首由她德国老公作曲，由她亲自演绎的无歌词歌曲《忐忑》，成为了网络神话。龚琳娜以她有力的嗓音、广阔的音域以及夸张的面部表情而引起如潮热评。其实，龚琳娜首次演唱了这首时长四分钟的歌曲是在2006年的柏林，但直到2009年，此歌才在国内网络上蹿红。

Since then the 35-year-old has been busy performing live all over the country,even at rock concerts, which is rare for a folk singer

自那以后，这位35岁的歌者就忙于在全国各地演出，有些甚至会出现在摇滚音乐会上，这种情况在一位民族歌手身上出现，实属罕见。

"I was not surprised to be introduced to Tan Te as{have performed many of my husband's songs. But the song requires continuous breathing and voicing,which is hard, and I had to practice it over and over again. Lacking lyrics⁴, the song’s meaning is the music itself.”

“对于因演唱《忐忑》而被大家所熟知这件事，我并不感到惊讶，因为我已经演唱过多首由我丈夫创作的歌曲。但这首歌需要不断的换气、发声，难度挺大的，所以我必须反复练习。没有歌词，这首歌的意蕴就是音乐本身了。”

Her husband, whom Gong refers to by his Chinese name Lao Luo, says, "The song was originally accompanied by no instruments but human voices, and I experimented with a band supporting her only later.

龚琳娜丈夫的中文名字叫老锣。他说:“这首歌原本就是无乐器伴奏的，只有演唱者自己的声音。只不过之后，我试过用乐队来为她伴奏。”

A star singer in her hometown, Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province,southwest China, she was never shy while performing in front of people. With Guiyang being home to 15 ethnic⁵ groups, Gong would often listen to their folk songs and imitate their dances in her childhood. It was that early exposure that helped mould her distinctive⁶ voice and style, she says.

在中国西南部贵州省省会贵阳的老家，龚琳娜是一位歌唱明星。她在人前演出时，从不害羞扭捏。贵阳市有1S个民族，小时候，龚琳娜经常听见当地人唱民歌，她还模仿他们的舞蹈。她坦言，正是这段儿时的经历塑造了她独特的嗓音和风格。

The musically versatile⁷ young girl enrolled⁸ to study folk music at the Chinese Conservatory⁹ of Music in Beijing at 16. She held her first solo concert in 1999 and cooperated with the China Central Nationalities Orchestra, China’s most prestigious¹⁰ traditional music orchestra. In 2000, she won the Chinese National Singing Competition as best female singer and became a popular figure at various galas.

16岁时，这位在音乐方面多才多艺的年轻女孩考上了中国音乐学院，学习民族音乐。1999年，龚琳娜与中国最负盛名的传统音乐乐队—中国中央民族乐团合作，举行了自己的首场独唱音乐会。2000年，她在全国歌手大赛中获得了最佳女歌手奖，并在各种各样的庆祝盛会上成为一名受欢迎的歌手。

Her future looked bright and promising¹¹, but as time went by, Gong felt anxious and lost. Although she was pursuing fame like other singers, she did not feel at ease with all the lip-synching and stereotyped¹² performances. She returned home and began to live among the ethnic Miao.

看上去，她的前途一片光明且充满希望，然而随着时间的流逝，龚琳娜感到焦虑和迷茫。尽管她同其他的歌手一样追求着名誉，但是她对假唱和墨守成规的表演感到不自在。她返回家乡，开始和苗族人民生活在一起。

"I observed their simple and happy lives. Elderly women would sing all day long一whether combing their hair, cooking or doing housework," she says. "I was determined¹³ to show people that singing should be a happy experience and a way of personal expression, rather than about following rules."

“我会去观察他们简单而快乐的生活。年纪大点的妇女们会唱歌唱一整天—无论梳头、煮饭还是在干家务活。”她说:“我决定要向人们展示一个观念:唱歌应该是一个快乐的经历，是一种个人表达的方式，而不是遵循着什么规则。”

Her struggles ended when Lao Luo and his music entered her life. He has written most of the music for Gong’s six albums so far, He also found her a band,including musicians from around the world. For Gong, who grew up singing with karaoke tapes, singing with a live band was a fresh and challenging experience.

直到有一天老锣和他的音乐走进她的生活，她才结束这种苦苦挣扎。迄今为止，龚琳娜的六张专辑中，多数音乐都是由老锣创作的。他还为她组建了一支乐队，乐队成员来自世界各地。对于伴随卡拉OK磁带成长的龚琳娜来说，在现场乐队伴奏下演唱是一项新鲜并富有挑战性的经历。

After moving with her husband to Berlin in 2004,Gong regained¹⁴ her confidence as a singer. Calling their music new Chinese art music, the couple insist that the essence of traditional Chinese folk songs needs to be preserved even as it is integrated with new forms. In 2003, Gong gave her first performance abroad in an outdoor music festival in the Netherlands.

2004年，龚琳娜和他的丈夫搬到柏林居住，龚琳娜重新树立起作为一名歌手的信心。这对夫妇称他们的音乐是新式中国艺术音乐，并坚持认为，即使中国传统民族歌曲已与新形式融合，民歌的本质仍需要保留。2003年，龚琳娜出现在荷兰一个户外的音乐节上，这是她第一次出国演出。

Tian Qing, director of Research Institute of Music of the Chinese Academy of Arts, calls Gong’s works "a breakthrough in the field of traditional Chinese folk music" and "a chance for the public to get to know this music genre¹⁵".

中国艺术研究院音乐研究所所长田青，称龚琳娜的作品是传统民族音乐领域的突破，并给予了公众一个了解这种音乐类型的机会。

"Unlike other students who follow the teachers’instruction and obey the books, Gong was a serious student with independent ideas,”says Tian, who knew Gong as a student in the conservatory. "The popularity of Tan Te is accidental and Gong is definitely more than that." For Gong, the biggest reward is that "finally I can sing with my own voice on stage".

早在龚琳娜还是音乐学院的一名学生时，田青就认识她了。田青说:“不同于其他学生遵循着老师的指导和课本的指示，龚琳娜是一个思想独立、认真的学生。((忐忑》走红是个意外，而龚琳娜绝对能够做得更好。”对于龚琳娜而言，她最大的收获莫过于终于能站在舞台上，用自己的嗓子唱歌了。