VOA标准英语2013--Artist/Musician Invents Easy-to-Play Instrument

 

Artist/Musician Invents Easy-to-Play Instrument

He designed it that way to encourage everyone, and not just musicians, to play music.

“People are capable of playing a musical instrument, but if you play an instrument and get frustrated¹ with it early enough, you decide, it’s you, there’s something lacking in you,” he said. “I wanted to make an instrument that was a frontal assault on that misunderstanding."

And it only has three stings, which according to McNally, makes it a lot easier to play than other stringed instruments.

"The frets² are spaced to give you just a major scale Do-Re-Me…and that means that when people squeeze one string, they get a couple of notes in the background for free, and they get the notes of a major scale, no wrong notes," he said. "So you can cover maybe 80 percent of most popular music with a Strumstick, but you’re only playing in one key at a time.”

McNally sells about 3,000 Strumsticks a year. The price ranges from $170 to double that, depending on the woods used and decorative³ elements.   

Many of his sales come from events like the Smithsonian Craft Show, one of the most difficult craft shows to get into.  

This year, about 120 artists were selected to present a wide variety of one-of-a-kind or limited edition works in 12 different media; everything from jewelry⁴ boxes disguised as books and bookends, to ceramics⁵, glass and so-called wearable art.

“I’m always extremely grateful when I get in,” said McNally, “because it’s obviously a good show to do in terms of business, but the thing that’s almost more important is that the people who come to the show, the public, are very educated about craft.”

Proceeds from ticket sales and donations go towards education, research and outreach at the Smithsonian Institution. 

1 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 frets   

基质间片； 品丝（吉他等指板上定音的）( fret的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The river frets away the rocks along its banks. 河水侵蚀了两岸的岩石。
• She frets at even the slightest delays. 稍有延误她就不满。

3 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

4 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

5 ceramics   

n.制陶业；陶器

参考例句：

• an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
• The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。