内容简介

同样表示 “一首歌”，英语里却有许多不同的说法。不同单词对应不同的场合、音乐形式和谈论音乐的角度。比如，“tune” 和 “melody” 侧重描述 “曲调，旋律”，而 “track” 则多指专辑中的  “一首曲目” 或音频剪辑软件中的 “音轨”。听节目，跟主持人步理和 Becca 一起辨析 “music”、“tune”、“melody”、“track” 和 “sound” 这五个单词的区别。

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（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Buli
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC 英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。We are here to answer your questions about English language, culture and life. I'm Buli, and I'm with Becca, who is here to help me answer this week's question. Hi Becca, how are you?

Becca
Hey, Buli, I'm well thanks. I'm in a pretty good mood because the cafe is playing some relaxing jazz music.

Buli
Oh cool, I love their chill playlist. Hey, that's got me thinking about the question that we've just received. It's about how we talk about songs and music. 一位听众向我们发来了这样的问题：

Question
Hi. I found your programme about different words to describe a picture very useful! Could you please also help me learn the difference between these words to describe a song as well: 'music', 'tune', 'sound', 'track'. How are they used differently when talking about a piece of music? Thank you!

Buli
在英语中，经常会出现多个单词和同一个概念相联系的情况。比如，这位听众就提到了，当人们在谈论一首 “歌” 的时候，会使用诸如 “music”、“tune”、“track” 等不同的单词。在本期节目中，我们就来看看这些单词之间有什么区别。

Becca
Oh, the programme music is a bit loud. Would you mind turning it down, Buli?

Buli
Sure. But if I turn it down too much, you might not be able to hear the melody.

Becca
I suppose so. Why don't I just hum the tune instead? [Becca sings]

Buli
Hmm, when you hum it, it doesn't have the same energetic sound.

Becca
OK, what about this? [Becca sings]

Buli
OK, OK. It's a bit better, but it sounds a bit like that track from that popstar you like. We don't want to get in trouble for plagiarism!

你正在收听的是 BBC 英语教学制作的 “你问我答” 节目。在本期节目中，我和 Becca 正在辨析几个能够用来描述一首 “歌” 的单词：“music”、“tune”、“melody”、“sound” 和 “track”。

Shall we talk about these different musical terms, Becca?

Becca
Yes! We'll start with 'music'. 'Music' is the general term. Music can be in the form of a live performance – with people playing music in front of you, or it can be recorded audio. For example, the cafe was playing recorded jazz music.

Buli
单词 “music” 的意思就是 “音乐”。它既可以宽泛地指 “音乐” 这种艺术形式，也可以指 “a piece of music（一首具体的音乐作品）”，或者任何正在播放的音乐或歌曲等等。

For example, when you asked me to turn down the programme music, you meant the volume of it as a whole.

Becca
Indeed. Now, a 'tune' and a 'melody' are quite similar. They refer more to the rhythm of the music rather than the lyrics or the words. That's why we can hum a tune or a melody. We can also say a piece of music or song is 'out of tune' if the pitch – that is how high or low a sound is – is wrong.

Buli
是的。“Tune” 和 “melody” 通常指的是歌曲的 “曲调，旋律”。比如，如果我们想说一首歌的 “旋律特别容易让人记住，甚至听着有些上头”，就可以说这首歌 “has a catchy tune”。再比如，当我们在夸奖一首歌 “has a beautiful melody” 的时候，意思就是这首歌的 “旋律非常优美”。

除此之外，有时人们也会在口语中用 “tune” 来表示 “一首歌”，特别是现代的流行歌曲。

Now, what about sound?

Becca
Sound is the character or quality of the audio, like the tone, style, or production. Like when I hummed the programme music, you said it didn't have the same energetic sound. And we'll often talk about a musician's sound to mean their overall musical identity. For example, that popstar I love has a very upbeat sound – the music she plays and sings makes me want to dance!

Buli
So, we can say that 'sound' is about the style, but not the structure of a song?

Becca
Exactly.

Buli
单词 “sound” 的意思就是 “声音”。在谈论音乐时，人们通常会用 “sound” 来指代歌曲的 “品质，质量” 或者一名歌手的 “声音质感”，它更像是声音给人的感觉而不是其中具体的歌词、曲调、节奏等元素。就比如，我们可以说一首歌 “has a powerful sound（十分具有力量感，震撼人心）”。

And lastly, how is 'track' different?

Becca
A track is a recording of a specific piece of audio. In everyday language, a track usually means one recorded song, especially in digital contexts. I might say that 'track 3 of the new album is my favourite', or that 'the playlist is full of great tracks'.

Buli
没错。和其它几个单词相比，“track” 所指的对象更为具体，通常描述的是 “录制在一张专辑里、一张光盘或者一盒磁带等介质上的一首歌曲”。在音乐的制作阶段，“track” 还可以指音频中 “一个独立的、可以单独调整的音频轨道”，比如，单独用于录制吉他、钢琴或人声的 “音轨”。

Becca
Yes! Now let's finish this programme, Buli, because I want to play you a new track by my favourite popstar. I think you'll like the sound!

And remember, if you have a question that you'd like us to answer, you can email us too at: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Buli
你还可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye!

Becca
Goodbye!