1 . How to Organize a Music Festival

You love music and you always have. You want to carry out a music festival designed to attract music fans of all ages. Follow the steps and you’ll organize a successful one.

◆Start by making a list of the local bands and artists that you like. You’ve taken this job because you love music, so put your taste to work for you. If you like these musicians, many of the local people will also like them.     1    . You need to have many kinds of music for all age groups.

◆Find a great location that has much open space for outdoor festivals. You need to build a stage so the musicians can be seen from distances.     2    . Not all towns need such license but it is a good idea to check before you start building. For an indoor location, you need to find a theater that is willing to give you enough space.     3    .

◆Hire sound engineers to give the musicians all the help they need.     4    . You can’t expect the musicians to handle these problems because they are playing. Your sound and engineering experts will allow your stars to keep the music playing.

◆    5    . If you are planning your festival for families, the last thing you want is a beer-swilling crowd starting a huge fight. Security people need to be present to make sure that nobody gets the idea that they want to start any kind of ruckus (骚乱).

2 . Classical music is one of the most complex, and beautiful forms of music. It can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and can be appreciated in many different ways.

    1     These elements include melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, and timbre. Melody is the primary musical element, and is what people typically think of when they think of music.     2     Rhythm is the organization of time, and is created by the pulse or beat of the music. Dynamics are the changes in volume, and timbre is the quality of the sound.

Once you have a basic understanding of these elements, you can start to appreciate classical music on a deeper level.     3     Pay attention to the four elements mentioned above. Understand the story it is telling. Try to find out how the different sounds work together. Feel the beat, and sense the changes in volume. Try to appreciate the different sounds.

    4     Seeing the musicians play, and watching the conductor guide the orchestra can be an amazing experience. You can watch videos of classical music performances online, or attend a live concert.

Finally, classical music can be appreciated through its history and culture. Learning about the musicians, the pieces, and the different movements in classical music can help you understand and appreciate it more.     5    

3 . Music has existed since the beginning of time. People have always sung songs, danced to music, and played musical instruments together.     1    , yet it’s often taken for granted. In this text, we’ll explore why music is important and how it can be used in various ways to help improve our lives.

First of all, music has no borders or boundaries(界线).     2    , so it’s easy for us with our differences to find common ground. Besides, it also helps us understand different cultures better by exposing(让……接触) listeners to music from other countries.

    3    . There’s nothing quite like putting on your favorite song when you feel stressed. Studies have shown that listening to music can help reduce stress levels. When we listen to music, our brain releases(释放) dopamine, which helps control our mood.

What’s more, it has been proven that music plays a key role in brain development. This is because it helps with the development of language, motor skills, and emotional intelligence.     4    . It’s been found that music can help you remember things better by connecting them with familiar or meaningful pieces of music.

There’s nothing worse than being nervous before a big event or performance.     5    . Luckily for us, listening to music can help us with that too. As mentioned earlier, music can be great at helping you relax, so using it to calm your nerves before you undertake something stressful can be hugely beneficial.

4 . More and more people enjoy listening to music while they work, believing that music helps boost creativity. But an international study conducted by English and Swedish researchers is challenging that viewpoint.     1    

To come to their conclusions, researchers had participants complete verbal problems designed to inspire creativity while sitting in a quiet room.     2     They found that background music significantly weakened the participants’ ability to complete tasks associated with verbal creativity. The research team also tested background noises such as those commonly heard in a library, but found that such noises had no impact on subjects’ creativity.

The tasks were simple word games.     3     Then, they were asked to find a single word that could be combined with the three to form a common phrase or word. The single word, in this case, would be “sun” (sunshine, sunflower, etc). Participants completed the tasks either in a quiet room or while listening to different types of music.

“We found strong evidence of damaged performance when playing background music in comparison to quiet background conditions.” says Dr. McLatchie. Dr. McLatchie with his colleagues concludes that music disturbs the verbal working memory of the brain.     4     Also, as far as the library background noises have seemingly no effect, the researchers believe that was the case because library noises create a “steady state” environment that doesn’t affect concentration.

“    5     Instead, they demonstrate music, regardless of its types, consistently interrupts creative performance in problem solving,” the study reads.

5 . The earliest known music festival occurred in the 6th century BCE. After centuries’ development, by the late 1960s, Rock bands began to organize their own music festivals. Perhaps the first formal and well-known festival to Rock was the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, which brought that band to the attention of American audiences.    1     It started in 1968 as an event with about 10,000 people.

By 1970, the festival grew to bring in more than 600,000 people, showing the popularity of music festivals to organizers. Many others also began to organize such events. The Summerfest Festival was established in 1968.    2    Interestingly, this festival made cities realize festivals could bring many benefits. This helped to spread the idea of creating not only musical festivals but also other types of festivals, such as those related to food and film.

    3     It drew so many people, making it the first large Rock music festival. Abled as “three days of love and peace”, Woodstock featured many well-known bands and artists, making Rock music festivals known to many Americans and Europeans.

    4     Many genres(类型)now have their own music festivals, ranging from Classical music to Heavy Metal. Countries in every habitable continent have music festivals. Some focus on traditional, folk music.    5     Music festivals have become very popular venues that have become well established as part of summer culture.

6 . Music has long been considered to be an enjoyable pastime for many people.     1    . The mental health benefits from music can’t be argued. Music could also be helping you with many other health problems behind the scenes.

Some experts say that music can be harmful if it is too loud. However, for the same reason, music can be very beneficial if one is in pain. By distracting the mind from the pain, music, people say, can lower stress and anxiety levels.     2    .

Many people enjoy relaxing music in the evening prior to going to bed.     3    . While the validity of the idea is still being assessed, the lowered stress can even be tied back to blood pressure. Similarly, according to researchers, listening to just 30 minutes of soft music every day may help with healthy blood sugar levels, through the lowering of stress and anxiety.

When it comes to heart health, there is speculation (推测) that it’s not the style of music, but rather the tempo (节奏) that makes it so good for your heart health. In one European study, participants listened to music as the researchers monitored their heart rates and blood pressure.     4    . On the other hand, when the music slowed, the participants’ stress and anxiety levels became lower and the effects on heart rates appeared to follow suit.

    5    , which is what makes music so valuable.

8 . Adele’s new album, “ 30 ” , is finally available. Last month, hundreds of millions of us streamed its first single, “ Easy On Me. ” This song arouses feelings not easily put into words, but we can probably agree it is a sad song.     1     Yet sad music does pull us in and lift us up.

    2     When we experience real-life loss, or empathize (体会) with another’s pain, certain hormones are released within us. These help us to tackle loss and pain. They do so by making us feel calmed and supported. Feeling Adele’s pain, or recalling our own, may cause such chemical changes within us.

Psychologically, a key reason we enjoy sad songs is that they profoundly move us. Feeling moved can come from us suddenly feeling closer to other people. Indeed, when we have listened to “ 30 ” , we may turn to reaction videos to see how others feel.     3     And it boosts our feeling of being moved and triggers feelings of comfort and belonging.

We can also think at the spiritual level. Adele’s songs allow us to view the pleasure in terms of the meaning she helps us make. Adele takes hard life experiences and makes sense of them.     4     It takes the pain and suffering of the world and gives it meaning. As philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once put it, someone who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

Ultimately, we listen to Adele’s songs when we want to recall, reflect, or belong. They let us feel her sadness, share our suffering, and connect with others. To all of us, Adele’s songs say:     5    

10 . From Mozart to pop music, tons of people enjoy listening to different types of music while they paint, write or draw. Many believe that music helps improve creativity. But an international study by a group of psychologists is challenging that viewpoint.     1    

To come to their conclusions, researchers had participants complete verbal (文字的) problems designed to inspire creativity while sitting in a quiet room.     2     They found that background music significantly hurt the participants’ ability to complete tasks associated with verbal creativity.

The tasks were simple word games.     3     Then, they were asked to find a single word associated with all three that could be combined to form a common phrase or word. Participants completed the tasks in either a quiet room, or while exposed to three different types of music: music with unfamiliar lines, instrumental music, or music with familiar lines.

Dr. Melatchie and his colleagues conclude that music interferes with (干扰) the verbal working memory of the brain.     4     However, some may argue that the library background noises have seemingly no effect. The researchers explain that is because library noises create an environment of steady state that doesn’t interrupt concentration.

“    5     Instead, they demonstrate that music, regardless of the presence of its content, consistently interrupts creative performance in insight problem solving,” the study reads.