The universal language

UnitUnit

22

Welcome to the unit

How do people from different countries communicate with each other?

Music: universal language?

violin guitar

drum accordion

saxophone

BrainstormingVocabulary related to music• kinds of music

• people related to music

• musical instruments

• classical music, pop music, folk music, swing music, blues, jazz, rock and roll, rap, opera

• musician, singer, composer, pianist, violinist

• guitar, piano, violin, drum

Picture 1

(Jazz is a musical art form.At the beginning of the 20th century, jazz music was the most popular type of music.Most musicians at that time were black.)

What are the people doing in this picture?What do you know about jazz?

Do you know any famous jazz musicians?

Jazz musician: Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong,one

of the most famous jazz

musicians,was born in New Orleans.He

created wonderful jazz music with his

trumpet( 喇叭，小号）

Picture 2

Chinese opera is a traditional form of theatre in China.It started in the Tang Dynasty when Emperor Xuanzong founded the ‘Pear Garden’.A Chinese opera performance includes elements such as dance,song,dialogue,swordplay and acrobatics( 杂技 ).And a character’s age ,gender( 性别 ),movements,props( 道具 ),and the colour of the costumes( 戏服 )

What is Chinese opera?

• Do you know any famous Chinese opera

performers?

What does Chinese opera sound like?

To some young people nowadays ,the music accompanied by

gongs （锣） ,cymbals （钹） ,drums and stringed instruments sounds a bit ‘shrill’( 尖声的，

刺耳的） and ‘noisy’. However,the stories and the melodies are unique.

Chinese opera master: Mei Lanfang

Li Yugang

Do you know any famous

Chinese opera?

Opera the White-haired lady

Picture 3

（ The violin belongs to the string family of instruments.It is made of wood and uses strings)

What is the girl doing in this picture?

What do you know about the violin?

Do you know any famous violinists or the violin solo( 独奏） or concerto( 协奏曲）？

Violinist: Paganini

Picture 4

The piano is a large musical instrument

which consists of a long row of black and white keys attached to a wooden box,inside of that are metal strings.)

What is the man doing in this picture?

What do you know about the piano?

Do you know of any famous pianists?

Composer and pianist: Beethoven

Discussion

• What is your favorite kind of music?

• Who is your favorite musician?

• Have you ever watched an opera? What do you know about Chinese opera ?

Make up a dialogue Ask you partner what kind of music he/she

likes best and why he/she likes about it.

You may start your dialogue like this:A: Hello, XXX. I heard that you like music

very much. Could you tell me what kind of music you like?

B: Sure. I like …

A: why do you like it?

B: I think the reason why I like this kind of music is …

…

Franz Suhubetr was a famous musician in the world .But he lived a very hard life and often went hungry. One day he was very hungry and went to a small restaurant, hoping he might meet some friends there to borrow some money .He looked round the restaurant but found nobody .Then his eyes fell on piece of paper on one of the tables .On it was a short poem .He read the poem and liked it very much .So he sat down and began to write a piece of music for the poem .Then he took his work to the owner of the restaurant .He only received a dish of beef and potato for it.

The Story of Schubert's Famous Piece of The Story of Schubert's Famous Piece of MusicMusic [[ 一首舒伯特名曲的遭遇一首舒伯特名曲的遭遇 ]]

Summary

Chinese opera is a kind of music with a long history. But some young Chinese don’t like it at all. Some even think that it is noisy.

From your dicussion ,we know ,different people like different kinds of music

Homework1. Write a short passage about your

favourite musician.

2. Preview the reading.

Thank you for li

stening

Thank you for li

stening

! !

Goodbye !

Goodbye !