"Music" by D.Klochkov, V.Reznikova

There are different kinds of arts: literature, dancing, painting and drawing, sculpture, architecture, theatre and cinema, music. We can hear music everywhere: in the streets and at home, on the radio and on TV, in shops and parks. People all over the world are fond of music. They listen to music, dance to music, and learn to play musical instruments.

There are many legends which say about the origin of music. Primitive people made music that had some religious meaning. When it was performed, the spectators usually danced, drummed or clapped hands and sang to the music. The first instruments were of the drum type. Later man invented wind instruments made from the horns of animals and then stringed – the simple lyre and harp, from which he developed the instruments played with a bow.

At different times people preferred different kinds of music. Speaking about the 20th century, there existed classical music, pop and jazz, rock-n-roll and blues, rock, disco and so on. “Pop” is popular music. It was born in the USA in the 50’s. Pop is the music for the young. Pop songs tell us about love and our feelings, having a good time and growing up, dating and dancing. The music makes us happy or sad, it sounds strange or amusing. The real breakthrough in pop music has been the emergence of “disco” in the 1970s, such groups as ABBA, Boney M, Dschingis Khan, Bee Gees. The most popular pop stars of the 80’s were, of course, Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Rock, the music of the 60s, had a lot of prominent musicians and singers in America, but it was English groups that changed pop music: the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. When pop music started to get boring, new sounds as heavy metal or hard rock appeared. In the USA a different kind of music was developing – punk. The music was loud and unmusical, angry and ugly, and pessimistic. Another type of the music of the city streets – rap – reflected dark feelings and problems of the streets and a new danger – AIDS.

Nowadays the sound is changing greatly. Computers are very important. Samplers can take any sound and make it into part of a new sound. CDs are more important than records. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the electric guitar – the main musical instrument of pop.