Discussion Topic - Musical instruments
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Discussion Topic - Musical instruments.
Part 1: Introduction and Interview
Q. 1. Which musical instrument do you like listening to the most? [Why?]
Answer: I like listening to “piano” music the most because it makes me feel relax when I am in a restless mood. Besides, this musical instrument creates a very sparkling and fleeting sound which is so pleasing to the ears unlike anything else.
Q. 2. Have you ever learned to play a musical instrument? [Which one?]
Answer: Yes, I did learn to play the guitar during my early high school year because I thought that playing this great musical instrument would make me famous one day, but that just didn’t happen because my family rather wanted me to get busy and serious with my studies rather than forming a music band.
Q. 3. Do you think children should learn to play a musical instrument at school? [Why/why not?]
Answer: Yes, I do think that children should learn to play a musical instrument at school because different research findings show that it helps children do better in academic performance by increasing their IQ’s, hand-eye coordination, listening skills and overall patience. Besides, I believe that some sort of recreation and fun activities make children more interested in school and study.
Q. 4. How easy would it be to learn to play an instrument without a teacher? [Why?]
Answer: In my opinion, it wouldn’t be really easy to learn to play a musical instrument without a teacher because it involves “translating” difficult musical notes. It also involves complicated math (such as “counting rhythm”). Besides, people wouldn’t be able to understand what things are to learn first and which to learn later, but a teacher can easily solve that problem for the students.
Part 3: Details Discussion
Q. 1. What traditional musical instruments are there in your country?
Answer: People in my country love music whether they come from traditional instruments or contemporary ones. Anyway, some of the traditional musical instruments in my country are identified as “sitar” (a plucked stringed instrument), violin (a wooden string instrument with a very high-pitched sound), flutes, harmonium, “ektara” (an one-stringed musical instrument), “dotara” (a two-stringed instrument), “dhak” (a huge wooden-made, “membranophone” instrument that looks like a “cylinder”) and “dhol” (a wooden-made, double-headed drum). “Khomok” (a kind of tension drum which is played by placing the drum body under the arm) is also considered to be a traditional musical instrument in my country.
Q. 2. Do you think traditional musical instruments have a place in modern society? Why/Why not?
Answer: Yes, I do think that the traditional musical instruments have a place in modern society because people can always combine the tunes, generated by the contemporary and modern musical instruments, with the traditional ones to create a unique kind of music. In fact, I have already seen how music artists in my country are creating a new “breed” of music by combining both the traditional and contemporary instruments that are being enjoyed and appreciated by all kinds of music lovers. Besides, traditional musical instruments are considered to be a part of a country’s national identity and cultural heritage, and therefore, it is only natural that people would want to learn about them at some points of their life.
Q. 3. How do you think traditional music could be made more popular?
Answer: Traditional music plays an important role in preserving the cultural heritage of a country, and as such, sincere efforts should be made to make them popular. In fact, big companies and corporations can play a huge role making it popular by sponsoring more and more traditional music artists on radio and television shows. Governments can also dig into the best traditional music of their countries and play them in all kinds of government offices and organizations from time to time. Besides, schools and colleges also can encourage their students to learn about traditional music by announcing “prizes” for the best learners and performers at different levels.
Q. 4. Do you think the musical instrument is an integral part of music? How?
Answer: Yes, I do think that musical instrument is an integral part of the music as they seem to add the much-needed tunes, melody and beat (rhythmic movement) to any kind of music to be liked by the music lovers. Besides, without the presence of any musical instruments, music artists aren’t seem to be able to fully attach their “emotions” in order to rendering a “special effect” (such as the feeling of “love”, “romance”, “sadness” or “joke”) to their musical performances. Finally, it is because of these musical instruments that we are able to easily figure out whether some songs are classical, rock or heavy metal.
Q. 5. How has globalisation affected the type of musical instruments musicians use these days?
Answer: Globalisation has affected the type of musical instruments, used by the musicians these days, in some very significant ways. For example, any musician these days can collect a certain type of musical instrument from any part of the world in a matter of days, if not hours, in order to experiment it with some of his favourite songs. He or she even connect with another musician or music director from another country, thousand miles away, and have a live video chat in order to understand the special musical effects of a particular musical instrument. In fact, in a globalised world, no musical instruments today could be considered “unique” to a particular country or culture.
Q. 6. Will the musical instruments used these days change in the future?
Answer: If this “change” in the question above means that the musical instruments, which are used these days, will suddenly vanish one day, or people will stop using them one day in the future, I am afraid that it is just wishful thinking. But, if this “change” means that these musical instruments would be used to bring more and more diversities and appeals in world music in the future, then it is certainly a possibility. Besides, it is also a possibility that some more new musical instruments will appear in the future in order to complement the musical effects and appeals of the existing ones.
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