Host 1: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! We are glad to welcome you in our music salon!
Host 2: Today we'll have a fascinating journey into the world of music. We'll talk about different genres of music, their background and roots.
Host 1: We`ll listen to the best works and songs together with outstanding singers and musicians of various times.
Host 2: It`s interesting to hear your opinion about music. What role does music play in our life?
Pupil 1: People cannot imagine their life without music. We listen to music, dance to music or learn to play musical instruments. Music has become the part of our life. There is music everywhere: at home, in a concert hall, in the park, at the seaside, in the forest and even in the street, on the radio and TV. The notion of music has been varying with time, place and culture. Do you know what music reflects?
Pupil 2: I know, in the ancient world music was thought to be magic, the voice of gods. It is not a combination of pleasant sounds only. It is said to be an art, or a form of entertainment, which reflects our life and emotions. Music strives to speak to people of what is the most important and urgent.
Pupil 3: Well, different people like different kinds of music or different genres of music. There are many definitions for music and divisions of music. Among larger genres are classical music and popular or commercial music which itself can be divided into the most popular genres of music like rock, metal, disco, pop-music, jazz, rave, hip hop etc.
Host 2: Can you guess when music appeared? I wonder if music existed in ancient times, what songs our distant ancestors sang.
Host 1: It`s difficult to say, we can only imagine.
The Scene with Ancient People
Boys: Hello, Darling!
Girls: Nice to see you! It's been a long time
Boys: You're just as lovely as you used to be.
Girl 1: What's that darling?
Girl 2: How am I doing?
Girls: We are doing all right
Girl 1: Except I can't sleep
Girl 2: And I cry all night till dawn.
Boy 1: What I'm trying to say is I love you
Boy 2: and I miss you
Boys: And we're so sorry that we did you wrong.
Students are playing ancient instruments.
Pupil 4: Ancient music pursued religious goals. They were very sensitive to music. In the majority of countries musicians were clergymen or even priests and the ability to play some musical instrument was considered to be sacred or divine. Improvisation was greatly appreciated. That's why there were no records of ancient music for thousands of years
Pupil 5: Nowadays attitude to the music of ancient civilizations in the world is different. For example, Egyptian music is considered to be long outdated, whereas in China and India ancient music is an essential part of modern music. As time went on, new genres appeared, others disappeared. Fortunately, our generation has the opportunity to enjoy a number of genres of music.
Host 1: You`ve got off to a flying start. And now it`s time to set off our musical journey.
The Blues sounds.
Host 2: Can you name this musical style? What have you found out about the Blues?
Pupil 1: The early history of the Blues is almost entirely Negro. Its musical traditions date back to the 1860s. The term Blues may have originated from "blue devils", meaning sadness, so the Blues has been associated with the idea of melancholy and depression since the time of Queen Elizabeth. When African and European music began to merge, creating what would eventually become the Blues, slaves sang a song about their sufferings and hardships.
Pupil 2: They claim that the first recorded the blues song was "Dallas Blues", which was published in 1912 by Hart Wand, a white violist from Oklahoma City. (Listening to the song "Dallas Blues") The first instrumental blues appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. It was Mamie Smith who recorded the first vocal blues song "Crazy Blues". (Listening and watching the video "Mammie Smith")
Pupil 3: In the twenties, blues became a national craze. The leading blues singer of that time is Bessie Smith (listening to the song). And the other leading one is Billie Holiday (listening to the song). By the way, recordings by Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday were sold like hot cakes - for a million.
Pupil 4: Since the sixties, rock guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, B.B.King and other musicians continued to make fantastic music in the blues tradition.
Pupil 5: One of the timeless classical songs is "I just called to say I love you" by Stevie Wonder. It`s a romantic ballad that speaks to the hearts of listeners. Through its timeless message, this song reminds us to cherish and express our love for those who are dear to us. So, the next time you feel overwhelmed with emotions, take a moment to call someone you love and let them know how much they mean to you. After all, love is a language that transcends words, and this song beautifully captures that sentiment.
Host 1: I think that everyone will listen to this song with great pleasure and sing it together with Stevie Wonder. (Everyone listens and sings the song "I just call to say I love you")
Host 2: As we can see the Blues is very charming, touching and tuneful. And what was the next stage of the development of music? Listen and try to guess. (Listening to Louis Armstrong)
Host 1: Do you know who performed this well-known song? Have you guessed the style of the song?
Pupil 1: It was jazz. Jazz is a musical art form that appeared at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in the US. Jazz arose as a combination of several musical cultures of different peoples- African rhythms and European harmony. They need to consolidate the inhabitants of the New World led to the unification of many traditions and, as a result, to the creation of the single culture. The result of the mixing process was first the start of ragtime, blues and proto-jazz, and then jazz appeared in the generally accepted genre.
Pupil 2: At the same time, New Orleans jazz is considered to be traditional, which was performed by musicians in New Orleans and Chicago in 1900-1917 and recorded their records throughout the 1920s.
Pupil 3: The style of orchestral jazz, which developed at the turn of the 1920s-1930s as a result of the synthesis of various stylistic forms of jazz music, was called swing, which means "swinging", but in jazz it is a characteristic type of pulsation based on constant rhythm deviations, which create the impression of great energy.
Pupil 4: America gave the birth to many well-known jazz musicians: Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Art Tatum.
The song "Let my people go" is performed by Louis Armstrong. Some pupils act out it, imitating the singer.
Host 1: Jazz is perfect. But I think it was not so popular around the 1950-s. What were the new styles? Do you know?
Pupil 1: In the 1940s and 1950s new styles of music emerged. Swing, rock-n-roll and singers like Chuck Berryand Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck and Jerry Lee destroyed the laws of morality that had been imposed by the Church for centuries.
Pupil 2: In the 1950s Elvis Presley became the King of rock-n-roll in the USA. (- the song). There Elvis recorded his first song in 1954. He sold millions of records and starred in 33 films in Hollywood. Elvis' songs are still popular today. People often love to imitate him.
Pupil 3: One of his best songs "Love me tender" that was first sung by him in the 20th Century Fox picture "Love me tender". His three brothers have come home from the Confederate armies. He is the youngest brother who`s been left back home and he sings this song to his mother and his young bride
Host 1: Now we can hear this song and watch Elvis. (Watching the excerpt from the film with the song "Love me tender")
Host 2: Incredibly beautiful words and music and the sensual voice of great Elvis make this song eternal. It's cool!
Host 1: It`s really cool. Let show go on. Do you know that the 70s was the time of revolution in rock music?
Pupil 1: Yes. The music had become aggressive. It was a protest against the order and rules. Hard Rock appeared in the 60s in Britain, and acquired its familiar look in the 70s with the first release of albums by music bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin. The latter is still the epitome of this genre.
Pupil 2: One of the most important albums in hard rock is «Back in Black» by AC/DC (- the song). Motley Crue, Def Leppard, and Judas Priest have influenced the forming of this genre.
Pupil 3: The most striking band is Guns'n'Roses. Their music has been called "hurricane hard rock, and the best album «Appetite for Destruction», released in 1987, was sold in 32 million copies.
The pupils play and sing - Radiohead СREEP
Pupil 1: Hard-rock later turned into techno-rock with its machine sounds, showing that the civilization of machines can do everything better, faster than humans. The Bands "The Kraftwerk" (Germany), Depeche Mode, Prodigy (UK), Scooter (Germany) are bright representatives of this style.
Pupil 2: In the 21st century, Technometal and Electronic Rock appeared with the bands "Linken Park" (USA), "Rammstein" (Germany). The German rock band The Scorpions was and remains extremely popular. They sing in English. When they first visited Moscow, they wrote their famous "Wind of Change" in 1988, a unique composition in their repertoire. (The pupils play and sing the song "Wind of change" by Scorpions)
Host 2: It does sound melodies. I know that rock has to be harder. Is there any other type of rock?
Pupil 1: Metal became a follower of hard rock. It was characterized by a heavy, overloaded electric guitar sound, fast drums and frequent use of extreme vocal techniques.
Pupil 2: Those who are interested in this kind of music have probably heard of the Big Four of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, which not only became popular in this genre, but also started a trend and greatly developed it.
Pupil 3: The kings of metal are eventually Metallica and its "Black Album'. This release made Metallica the main metal band on the planet. (The pupils are playing the guitar)
Host 1: It was magnificent. Today we've had a unique opportunity to listen to such talented students in the English lesson.
Our time is out. Many thanks to everyone for participating in our event.
Host 2: I think that you enjoyed our lesson and learnt much more about music. We are the champions! (Everybody sings the song "We are the champions")