Unit 2 The universal language

Enjoy the video together! What emotions do you feel from this song? Sadness? Gratitude( 感激 )? Love? Happiness? Fear? Anger or Hatred( 憎恨） …?

Music is what feelings sound like. Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words. It can be regarded as the universal language. Music is more than just sound --- it is a way of thinking! This unit introduces and develops the theme of different types and styles of music.

What do you know about music? kinds of musical instruments types of music famous musicians

kinds of musical instruments Piano Saxophone ( 萨克斯管 ) Flute ( 长笛 ) Guitar Violin Trumpet ( 小号 ) Drum Guzheng Erhu

Folk 民谣 Rock’ n’ Roll 摇滚乐 Classical 古典音乐 R&B 节奏布鲁斯 Country 乡村乐 Jazz 爵士乐 Pop 流行 Blues 布鲁斯 Rap 说唱 types of music

Blues It’s a type of slow sad music with strong rhythms, developed by African American musicians in the southern US.

It is a musical style that started in the USA at the end of the 19th century. It’s a type of modern music with a rhythm in which the strong notes are usually not on the beat and which is usually improvised (= invented as it is played). Jazz

Rhythm and blues (R&B) Rhythm and blues (often abbreviated as R&B) is a type of popular music of the 1940s and 1950s which has a strong beat.

Rock ’n’ Roll It was popular in the 1950s. It has very loud sound with strong beat. The Beatles （甲壳虫乐队） Beyond Michael Jackson

It has been popular since the 1950s, usually with a strong rhythm and simple tunes. Pop

It’s considered to be serious. It has a value that continues for a long time. Classical music

It’s a kind of traditional music from a particular country, region or community. Folk

It is a type of popular music with a strong rhythm in which the words are spoken, not sung. Rap

It’s a type of music that comes from the folk music of the southern and western US. Country

Opera It is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (libretto 剧本 ) and musical score ( 配乐 ), usually in a theatrical setting.

Chinese opera is a traditional form of theatre in China. Chinese opera singers often wear bright clothing and face paint. A Chinese opera performance includes elements such as dance, song, dialogue, swordplay 剑术 and acrobatics 杂技.

Lang Lang is a Chinese concert pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. Lang Lang ( ) Some Famous Musicians

Chinese classical pianist, who is most well known for being the youngest pianist to win the International Chopin Piano Competition ( 肖邦 国际钢琴比赛 ), in 2000, at the age of 18. Li Yundi ( )

Chinese contemporary classical composer ( 作曲家 ) and conductor ( 指挥 ), most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, as well as composing music for the medal ceremonies at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Tan Dun ( )

Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) 巴赫 He was a German composer and musician. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( ) 莫扎特 Austrian composer, possibly the greatest musical genius of all time composed more than 600 pieces of music, though he only lived 35 years.

Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) 贝多芬 German composer and pianist, who was the most outstanding figure in the transition between Classical and Romantic periods and one of the most famous classical music composers of all times.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ) 柴可夫斯基 Russian classical music composer, who wrote in a variety of genres. Best known works: three ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and the Sleeping Beauty)

Frederic Chopin ( ) 肖邦 One of the best piano composers in history. Just like Mozart, Chopin was a very gifted child and established himself as one of the foremost (=most important or best) Polish composers at a very young age.

He was an Italian composer whose operas are among the important operas played as standards. Puccini has been called “the greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi ( 意大利歌剧作曲家 )”. He successfully developed his work in the realistic verismo style ( 写实作风 ), of which he became one of the leading exponents. Giacomo Puccini (December 1858 – 29 November 1924) 普契尼

Discussion 1. What is your favourite kind of music? What do you like about it? 2. Do you know of any famous musicians? What do you know about them? 3. Have you ever watched an opera? What do you know about Chinese opera?

1. My favourite kind of music is classical music. Classical music uses orchestras to create music. I like listening to music played by orchestras. You can hear things played on instruments from all of the different families— woodwinds, strings, percussion and brass. Also, classical music tends to be slower, so it makes me feel calm when I listen to it.

2. The musician I like most is Jay Chou. Many people may think that he is just a pop singer, but I consider him to be a pop musician. He is talented not only in writing songs, but also playing the piano. He sings about broken heart, urban stress and young dreams which attracts young people who have similar thoughts. That is why many teenagers in China like him so much.

3. Yes. I attended Chinese opera with my grandfather when I was a child. A Chinese opera performance includes elements like dance, dialogue, swordplay and acrobatics. The music instruments used for Chinese opera include gongs, cymbals, drums and stringed instruments. A character’s age, gender and personality are shown through the makeup, movements, props and colour of the costumes. Chinese opera uses music to express themes like love, betrayal and hope.

1. Collect more information about music. 2. Read the new words in this unit. 3. Preview the Reading on P18-19.