VOA标准英语2013--Artist/Musician Invents Easy-to-Play Instrument
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2013年(五月)
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 frustrated 1 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 frets 2 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 decorative 3 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 jewelry 4 boxes disguised as books and bookends, to ceramics 5, 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.
- 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》
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。