Vocabulary Booster

Intermediate
Sounds of music

Lead-in

A. Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

1. What kind of music do people listen to in your country?

2. What kind of music do you usually listen to?
3. Do you prefer listening to songs in your own language or in another language? Why?
4. How have your musical tastes changed since you were younger? How?
5. When was the last time you went to a concert? Did you like it?
6. Why is music so important to people and culture?

Check it

1. Put the music words from the box into the right column.

hard rock, calming, violin, heavy metal, country, distracting, jazz, cymbals, tambourine, energising,
cello, catchy, techno, reggae, entrancing, flute, moving, relaxing, trombone, classical, blues, trumpet,
saddening, drums, rock & roll, xylophone, unsettling, uplifting, harp, funk

Musical instruments Genres Adjectives

2. Put the musical instruments from the table into the correct category.

1. Wind instruments: ___________________________________________________________

2. String instruments:___________________________________________________________
3. Percussion instruments: _______________________________________________________

Can you add any more?

What is your favourite musical instrument? (Why?) Can you play it? Would you like to learn to play it?
In your opinion, which instrument is the hardest to learn/play?

3. Match the adjectives from the table to their meanings below.

• making someone feel more relaxed and less emotional: _____________

• causing worry or anxiety: _____________
• making someone feel full of energy or enthusiasm: _____________
• making someone feel better: _____________
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).
.
 Vocabulary Booster
Intermediate
Sounds of music

• making someone feel emotional: _____________

• preventing someone from concentrating on something: _____________
• pleasant and making someone feel less stressed: _____________
• very memorable and making you repeat the tune in your head all the time: _____________
• making someone feel sad: _____________
• beautiful or impressive in a way that it takes all of someone’s attention and they can’t stop listening to or
watching it: _____________

Practise it

A. Choose the most suitable adjectives in these sentences.

1. Everyone went silent when the room filled with the distracting/entrancing music.
2. I like the new Madonna hit. It has a catchy/unsettling melody.
3. Soprano Teresa Stratas gave a moving/saddening performance. Everyone was amazed!
4. Music can be relaxing/distracting when you are trying to learn something.
5. Does listening to calming/relaxing music at bedtime actually help you sleep?
6. Uplifting/calming songs from this playlist will make you smile and turn your frown upside down.
7. What is the creepiest, most energising/unsettling song you have ever heard?

B. Read the quote below and answer the questions.

“Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions.” Keith Richards

• Do you agree with the quote? How does music make you feel?

• What kind of music do you find (a) calming, (b) energising, (c) catchy?

C. Use the language from the previous activities to speak in detail about your favourite
song/album/singer.

Example:

One of my favourite songs is “I say a little prayer” by Dionne Warwick. It’s a soul song. The leading
musical instrument here is a trombone. It is very moving, catchy and uplifting.

Use it

A. Discuss the question with a partner.

How popular is live music in your country and are music festivals an important part of the culture?

B. Work in groups. Prepare a presentation about your dream music festival. Consider the
following questions:

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).
.
 Vocabulary Booster
Intermediate
Sounds of music

• What is the name of your festival?

• Where is it?

• When is it?

• How often does it happen?

• How long does it last for?

• How much do tickets cost?

• What sort of music is played?

• Which famous artists/ bands will headline?

• Will there be any other activities?

C. Present your festival to the class, explaining why you made your choices.

Reflection:
3 things you have learnt today
__________________________________________________________________________
2 things you can do better now
__________________________________________________________________________
1 thing you still need to practise
__________________________________________________________________________

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).
.