第三类 音乐

01 Is music important and why?

1.1 Yes

1.1.1 放松+丰富情感

Music relaxes us and enrichesour emotions. Listening to a peaceful piano piece, such as Canon in D Major relaxes us after a long day at work; an exciting symphonykeeps us motivated at work; more importantly, when disappointed in love, we feel much better after listening to pop music, as if the singer was directly comforting and encouraging us.

1.1.2 表达用语言无法表达的内容

Music says things that cannot be said in words. Once a great musician performed his favorite piano piece to his friends. Everyone enjoyed it. One person in the audience asked what the song was about. The musician paused, smiled, shook his head and played the whole piece again, and said,“Well, it's about that.”

1.1.3 听到音乐才能开始新的一天

Music gets my day started. On a cold winter morning, one just cannot resist the temptation to stay 5 more minutes in his bed, and 5 minutes usually ends up being an hour. Later I found a solution to solve the problem: music. As soon as I hear the arousing sound of a violin solo, singing like an exciting human voice, my body responds naturally. I feel pumped upand ready to get up willingly.

1.1.4 留下记忆

Music gets under our skin. It creates strong feelings, and it creates strong memories. Try singing Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas and you'll understand. Are there images and memories rushing back to your mind? The tone and melody arousesstronger feeling than mere words.

1.2 No

1.2.1 忙起来顾不上

Although I do enjoy music from time to time, I don't think it's indispensable. When I get busy in work or study, I often forget about music for months. More importantly, I do not feel anything was missing in my life. Some would argue that music is an important way to relax, but I am able to find an outletfor stress through other means, such as hanging out with my friends in a beer house, going on a ski trip, or playing computer games.

02 What kinds of music are there?

2.1 年轻人喜欢的类型

Pop, Rock, Electro, R&B

2.2 成年人喜欢的类型

Jazz, Blues, Classics, Musical, Opera

03 Which is your favorite type of music? Why?

3.1 流行音乐

I love pop music because everybody loves pop music. I expressed my eternal love for my first girlfriend with Simple Love, a pop song written by Jay Zhou. I guess that young people can relate more to pop music than any other kind, both because of its romantic lyricsand the easy but catchy melody. I can never truly wake up from sleep every morning before listening to some good pop music. I can easily spend more than an hour on music apps such as Wangyi Music, searching for inspiring songs, commenting and sharing my favorite ones on the Internet.

3.2 蓝调音乐

I love R&B, especially David Tao's songs. The genre is way more emotional than any other type, and that's because R&B music is filled with delicate transpositionsand variationson end notes, which allows singers to express more subtle changes in emotions. My favorite piece is his Regular Friends. The song resonateswith me so much. It perfectly expresses the powerlessness and longing for unreachable love.

04 Which is your least favorite type of music? Why?

4.1 歌剧和音乐剧

I hate opera and musicals. I have no idea why anybody would enjoy such performances. It just seems crazy to have performers sing, dance, and have dialogues within the same setting. It appears to me that opera and musicals are simply chaos. Why can we not just enjoy one simple type of performance at a time? The mingling of these two forms sickens me, especially when actors' linesare sung out dramatically. Also, operas are sung mostly in Italian, which I cannot understand. The key is often either too high or too low, which I cannot relate to. I like something I can sing along with.

4.2 流行音乐/摇滚音乐

I hate pop/rock music, because everybody is so crazy about it. Some people just don't realize how loud they are playing the music at night. I almost got into a fight with my downstairs neighbor last year just because they were playing music too loudly and partying without inhibitions. The same issue applies to those who play loud music in the morning. A previous roommate of mine has this habit of setting his alarm clock using rock music, and the problem is that he usually gets up around 5:30 a.m.

05 In what way do you listen to music and why?

5.1 在学校/公司

I listen to music at work/school. My office/library is so noisy and can literally turn into chaos during the busiest hours. So, the best way to focus on my work is to put on my noise cancelling earphones and listen to some soothing music. All the constant chatter from my colleagues/classmates instantly disappears, and the world soon turns into a better place.

5.2 在家

I listen to music at home. After a long day at work/school, I just need some time alone to peacefully enjoy some music that I love, to relax and feel alive. In order to maximize my listening experience, I spend thousands of dollars on BOSE's best loudspeakers. The steady and low pitch of the bass can take my mind offstressful work immediately. Sometimes I get inspired by music and improviseon my guitar or piano to blow off some steamtoo.

5.3 在路上（开车、坐车）

I listen to music on the road. I have to ride a car/take a subway every day for 2 hours. Music kills timeand enriches my emotions. I love listening to FM radio stations such as 88. 7 ( Hit FM ) and 91. 5 ( Easy FM) . The former plays pop music, mainly from top lists of US and UK. The latter has a session called All that Jazz. Sometimes I prefer jazz music without lyrics after a long day of work.

06 Is there a musician that you like? How much do you like him/her? Why?

6.1 邓紫棋G.E.M / Gloria Tang Tsz-Kei

I adore her as a goddess. I first saw her brilliant performance on I am a Singer, a famous Chinese reality showthat was aired on Hunan Satellite TVin 2013 . I was totally absorbed by her unbelievable voice registerand her ability to perfectly execute the high notes. What's more, everyone is deeply touched by her powerful emotions, which are subtly and ingeniously embedded in her charismaticvoice.

She is so successful yet so young that she instantly became my role model. She got second place on I am a Singer: Season 2 and was subsequently confirmed to take up one of the four posts of the mentor, on another popular music reality show — The Voice of China : Season 4.

6.2 TFBoys

TFBoys is a famous Chinese young idol group who made their debut in 2013. The three members are all cute, vigorous boys with smiles that can dispel all negative emotions. I love them mainly because of their most influential song, the Guide Book of Youth , whose lyrics goes: Follow me, left hand, right hand, a slow motion; right hand, left hand, the slow-motion repeats… The lyrics are extremely rhythmic in Chinese, and the melody is just so catching that it sticks to your mind for weeks, no matter how hard you try to forget it. I bet that 99% of my peers love to sing this song in Karaoke.

6.3 Lady Gaga

My favorite singer is no doubt Lady Gaga. She has an incredible voice. Her singing talent sometimes goes unnoticed because everyone's too busy looking at what she's wearing. People should certainly start appreciating her phenomenalvoice more. Also, when she's on stage, she's on fire. There's never a dull moment when Gaga is on stage. Gaga loves getting dramatic and creative when it's her turn in the limelight. Her songs are inspirational. She conveys positive messages like you should always be who you are, and you are born beautiful. She encourages many fans like me to stay strong and true to ourselves.

6.4 周杰伦 Jay Zhou

Most kids around my age grew up idolizing Jay Zhou, the most influential pop composer and singer in China. He created a unique and long-lasting pop music culture. It feels like a universal language that is spoken unimpededlythrough young generations. It brings back precious memories of my youth.

He is the full package. He is and more than a musician. He is capable of editing, composing, and writing lyrics. He was the first one to bring fresh air to Chinese pop music. Many new generations of singers like G.E.M are his fans, and follow his style.

6.5 贝多芬Beethoven

I love Beethoven. I have listened to all his compositions over and over again ever since I was little. I try to play all his pieces.

I admire Beethoven's talent. He was a musical prodigywho displayed extraordinary talent when he was just 6. However, his life was a tragedy. He died young. His music conveyed this tragic life. Through his pieces, I can feel his despair, sorrow, fight against fate, and passion in life. I personally relate to his experiences and feel inspired by his masterpieces.

6.6 鲁多维科·艾奥迪Ludovico Einaudi

If I'm in love with a musician, I must be in love with his/her songs. Among the many that I love, if I have to name one that I love the most, it has to be Ludovico Einaudi, a modern Italian composer. His famous piece Nuvole Bianche is my favorite of all songs. It translates as“White Cloud”. I like him so much that I listened to all his pieces that I can find on the Internet. And I would also recommend his music to all my friends whenever possible.

His music expresses feelings that cannot be conveyed through words. Although I also love pop musicians, the mainstream theme of pop songs is always love, which can be well communicated through words. But his piece is different. I can clearly sense the sadness within the musical notes, yet at the same time I feel encouraged, soothed, and hopeful. It's really an inexplicableexperience that can only be understood by listening to the piece. Another quality which attracts me is that whenever I cannot fall asleep, his music can somehow relax me, and I always fall into a deep slumberwithin 3 minutes.

07 What differences are there between music today and that in the past?

乐器更丰富

With advancement in technology, music evolves and diversifies. In the past, musical instruments were limited to the basics:piano, strings, flutes, saxophones, and drums. Now, with globalization, we have access to plentiful new instruments including African percussion, eastern string instruments such as erhu, as well as electric guitars, banjos, synthesizers, etc. Plus, everything is digitalized now. A modern composer can compose a piece without touching any real instruments . He can simply compose with virtual instruments provided in various kinds of music software and add all kinds of audio effects.

08 Are those changes good and why?

Yes

The changes are good for the most part. Although some would go nutswith obsessively implementing the new elements provided by technology into songs, leading to a distorted or overemphasized style, most musicians know how to keep the balance and use these newly emerged instruments and special effects wisely.

09 Which musical instrument do you want to learn?

9.1 吉他

I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, since you can easily get tons of fans after a simple performance at school. Another advantage of the guitar is that it is convenient to carry. You can bring your guitar to a party or to the yard of your dream girl/boy.

9.2 钢琴

Piano is definitely my favorite instrument, because it is so classy. Unlike the guitar, which often reminds me of buskers, the piano reminds me of an elegant concert in the Grand National Theater. I also like pianists more than guitarists. The former definitely knows more about the essence of music.

9.3 大提琴

I have always wanted to learn how to play the cello ever since I saw a cello player at my favorite composer's concert. Of all the players on stage, the keyboardist, the violinist, the bass player, the drummer, the cellist undoubtedly grabbed my attention the most. Although both the violinist and the cellist are playing with almost identical actions with their arms, pulling the strings with a bow, the latter's pulling is definitely more graceful due to its greater force and wider range of both horizontal and vertical movement. The violin, in contrast, despite its engaging sound, simply just does not look as grand as that of the cello when played by great musicians.

10 Do you enjoy live concerts or recorded music?

10.1 演唱会

Of course, live concerts are the better choice. I just went to my favorite composer's concert two weeks ago, at the Tianqiao Arts Performing Center , and it was just mind-blowing. I mean, I know his pieces so well that I could sing along without any effort on any piece that he composed since the 1980s. But still, when I saw his real performance and listened to his music directly with my ears, I felt something quite different from the recorded music which I downloaded from the Internet; and this difference is hard to describe in words. You just feel that something more is attached to live music. So, I encourage everyone to go to a concert of your favorite singer or composer.

10.2 录制音乐

Well, I like recorded music better simply because it costs less. To begin with, concert tickets today often cost too much, from 200 Yuan to 1,000 Yuan. Last month I heard that my favorite singer was about to host a live concert in Beijing, so I went online to check the price of the ticket. I was shocked. All the good seats were already sold, and the ones left were all corners seats in the front rows. The cheapest would cost like 800 Yuan. So I gave up and went back to my iPhone app, Wangyiyun Music, which is basically free. New songs that just came out are sold at an extremely low price. For example, a song that I am recently crazy about is Taylor Swift and Zayn's I Don't Wanna Live Forever, and it only costs 2 Yuan.