Listening to music

Many books have been written on the mysteries of musical form, yet few make it clear that form is not a mould into which the composer pours his music, but a logical process of presenting those ideas most effectively.

If we were asked to explain the purpose of music, our immediate reply might be “to give pleasure”. That would not be far from the truth, but there are other considerations.

We might also define music as “expression in sound”, or “the expression of thought and feeling in an aesthetic form”, and still not arrive at an understanding of its true purpose. We do know, however, even if we are not fully conscious of it, that music is a part of living, that it has the power to awaken in us sensations and emotions of a spiritual kind.

Listening to music can be an emotional experience or an intellectual exercise. If we succeed in blending the two we are on the road to gaining the ultimate pleasure from music.

Looking into ourselves, to find out what exactly we feel while listening to one of the greatest symphonies it seems to be a complex of emotions, excitement and at the same time peace, love for others and a desire to do something for them, a wish to be good and a delight in goodness, a pleasant languor and a funny detachment as though we’re floating above the world; and perhaps if we had to combine all those feelings into one and give it a name, the name would be happiness.

I. Answer the following questions:

1) What is the purpose of music in your opinion?

2) In your opinion should musicians have musical training?

3) What musical genres do you know?

4) What genre do you prefer? Why?

5) What role does music play in you life? Do you want music just to make you happy or does the music that you prefer vary with you mood? How does it vary?

6) Do you agree that music does not appeal to our senses alone but also to our intellect? Give your reasons.

7) Do you agree that music has not a merely aesthetic effect on the listener but also an ethical effect? Provide arguments.

8) What feeling does music arose in you?

II. Make a summary of the text.

III. Find corresponding definitions of different musical genres:

IV. Agree or disagree with the following:

1. Duet is a composition for six singers.

2. Modern music is played only on the electronic instruments.

3. Harp is a small wind instrument.

4. Good music is never composed for films.

5. Tune is unimportant for music.

6. Young people love only serious music.

7. In fact nothing depends on the accompanist.

8. The lyrics for the songs are generally written by composers themselves.

9. It’s impossible to transcribe a folk song for the orchestra.

Read and translate Text II and answer the question: what is the main characteristic feature of jazz?

Jazz

Jazz was born in the city of New Orleans in the United States during the early years of the 20^th century. It sprang up as black people got together in bands that often played at parades and funerals in the streets of the city. They used instruments like cornets, clarinets and trombones left over from the Civil War to create the bright, strident sound of traditional jazz. White musicians also began to play jazz and a white band called The Original Dixieland Jazzband made the first jazz record in 1917. However it was black musicians who created and advanced jazz.

In traditional jazz a trumpet or cornet leads the band with a clarinet playing high above and a trombone beneath. A rhythm section of tuba or string bass, a guitar or banjo, and drums keep the beat going. A piano or saxophone may be added.

The music is usually happy and lively, the bands playing well-known tunes often containing several sections like rags. They also play blues which have the sad feeling of blues singers, who sometimes sing with bands. The musicians each play their part in their own particular way changing the rhythms and notes and inserting their own phrases.

However, although traditional jazz musicians improvise together in this way, they do not spray very far from the original tune so that it can still be recognized.

V. Make a plan of the text and retell it.

VI. Give a talk on your favourite musical genre (mentioning its characteristic features, used instruments, etc.).

Read and translate Text III and say what new information you have got from it.