1 . It was a cool October evening. Excitement and family members _______the hall. I was only a 7-year-old girl, but I was the center of _______. Finally, after weeks of preparation, I would _______all my hard work in a dance of performance. “Everything would be_______”, I thought. I waited backstage all _______ in my black tights with a golden belt. In a loud and clear voice, the master of ceremonies _______that my class was next.

My dance class was doing a routine on wooden boxes two feet by two feet, facing the _______. All I had to do in the next move was put one foot on the box next to mine and keep my other foot on my box. It really was an _______ move. I was concentrating so much _______the huge smile on my face and holding my head up that I did not look________I was going. I missed my partner’s box altogether and ________. There I was standing on the stage floor when my classmates were on top of their boxes. I could hear giggles coming from the audience, and I felt the ________rush to my face. I remembered my dance teacher had told us, “If you make a mistake, keep smiling so the audience will not ________.” I did my best to follow her ________ as I continued with the routine.

When the curtain dropped, so did my ________for the evening. I ________bitterly, tasting the salt from the tears that streamed down my face. I ran backstage, but no one could ________me down.

Recently I realized I had been a ________that night. I was ________, but I fought the urge to run off the stage. ________, I finished the routine with a smile on my face. Now when friends and family laugh about the time I slipped during a dance performance, I can laugh too.

Music is one of the most     1     (power) things in my life. Listening to music can help to motivate me in trying time. When younger, I     2     (have) no great love for music as I do now. I mainly listened to what my parents were listening to. Whether I was in the car, the house,     3     anywhere else there was sure to be some Beatles, or Buddy Holly constantly playing in the background. Now as I’m     4    (old), I enjoy it for the reason that it allows me to remember my childhood.

I believe music has the power     5     (express) all sorts of emotion. The song “A little bit longer” by Nick Jonas is     6     an emotional and inspiring song that when I hear it, I always come close to     7     (drop) down tears, especially when I watch it being played live. The effect     8     music can have on our emotions is great, as it can bring people to floods of tears or bursts of     9     (laugh).

I believe music affects people in many ways. To me, music is     10     (extreme) important in my life. I think it brings me closer to my friends and family.

5 . To learn an instrument(乐器) such as the violin or accordion(手风琴)takes years. There are fewer job opportunities and greater competition. Then why are more people than ever before paying a lot of good money to get their children the best music teaching they can afford?

The secret lies in the effect of music on the whole person. It has been found that learning a musical instrument actually increases a person’s IQ over time. Different instruments and different types of music have varying effect, with classical music and the string(弦乐) family coming out on top, potentially increasing your IQ by up to 12 points!

When is a good time to start learning music? Experts have found that even the fetus(胎儿)can benefit from listening to classical music. Surround yourself and your family with good music from the first. The Suzuki Piano Method teaches children from the age of 3 years piano, with two lessons per week. From preschool, children can learn to read music and play from sheet music. Progress in learning your instrument is directly proportional(成比例的)to the amount of practicing.

Is there such a thing as an unmusical child? Shinichi Suzuki says that music is the native home language of all human beings and therefore nobody can be “unmusical”. Of course there are exceptional talents, compared to which others may seem to be slower learners.

Is there any benefit for adults in starting an instrument? Apart from the purely relaxing aspect, yes. Learning an instrument can earn even adults additional IQ points, and as an added benefit in improves your health by reducing your stress levels. Your social life may benefit too, if you are prepared to come out of your box and join occasions such as Ceilidhs (musical get-togethers) or arrange house concerts. It is believed that people who play instruments tend to be more emotionally balanced(平衡) and more patient with themselves, others and life in general.

So go ahead, sign up for that amateur orchestra(业余乐队), dust off your old trombone(长号)or take your first real six-string down from the attic(阁楼); get out there and play!

7 . Top Music Festivals in 2021

Coachella

Selling out fast every year, the Indio desert becomes a fashionable place where the coolest bands are watched by trendy people and celebrities. Near the top of everyone's bucket list of festivals, Coachella is a constant source of annual expectation and a hotbed for musical discussion.

When &. where: April 9-11 &. 16-18, 2021; Indio

Ultra Music Festival

Seen as the ultimate gathering for electronic music fans across the nation and globe, the streets of Miami turn into a bold and bumping party with popular DJs playing what will be the sounds of summer.

When & where: March 26-28, 2021; Miami

South By South West

Regarded as the ultimate trend-setter and launcher of careers, SXSW is an annual showcase of music, films and interactive highlights enjoyed through performances, showcases, talks, screenings and more. Virtually taking over the city of Austin, everyone in the world of music from fans to media flock here to discover the next big thing.

When &, where: March 16-20, 2021; Austin

The Governors Ball Music Festival

Another event which proves the music loving potential of Randall's Island Park is Governors Ball, an exciting and infectious mix of rock, hip-hop, electronic, pop and folk.   Providing a variety of music and food tastes, whether you look to kick back and relax or dance to the beats, Governors Ball has what you want.

When & where: June 11-14, 2021; New York

8 . Nashville, Tennessee is already known to many Americans as Music City, which is famous for country music in the United States and is home to many recording companies. But recently, music recorded for video games, television shows and movies has earned Nashville a new name: Soundtrack(原声音乐)City.

The city is known for very good studio musicians. They work mostly on recordings rather than live performances. Musicians in Nashville have helped to make the soundtracks for some of the most popular video games in the US. These include "Madden", "FIFA", "Call of Duty" and "Star Wars".

Also, more production companies have been bringing their film and TV soundtrack recordings to Nashville, including Netflix, Sony and Focus Features. A program the state of Tennessee established last year gives financial support to companies for doing business in the city.

"Nashville has become one of the major places in the world to record for films, games and television," Steve Schnur told the Associated Press. He is president of music for Electronic Arts (EA), a video game company. In the past, Schnur worked for MTV and music production companies such as Arista. He also worked as a music supervisor on films before joining EA. For a long time, EA recorded soundtracks for their games with orchestras, or large groups of musicians, in Los Angeles, London and Eastern Europe. That changed about seven years ago when Schnur came to Nashville to record music for a game called "Dragon Age Inquisition".

"I work with the musicians in Nashville now. They are both fast and skilled," Schnur added. This proved true even on complex songs written by well-known composers such as Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe, Jeff Russo and John Debney. The music of video games is often very important to the gameplay in creating both emotion and attachment to the storyline. Kris Bowers is the remarkable composer behind the award-winning film "Green Book". He came to Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios and successfully recorded the soundtrack for "Madden NFL 20".

9 . When people think about British music, for the most part they think about the 60s or 70s with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones or more modern artists like Adele or Ed Sheeran. However, stuck between these two ages was, in my opinion, British music’s best period. The 90s were an optimistic time for Britain and indeed Europe, with the economy recovering from the lows of the 80s and the Cold War ending.

One of the defining features of 90s music was the birth of “Britpop”. This was a style of pop music that aimed to promote “Britishness” and commonly featured electric guitars, drums and male singers. Britpop was the style used by world-famous bands such as Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede who became known as “The Big Four”. The summer of 1995 was dominated by the “Battle of Britpop” which was between Blur and Oasis for the number one spot. Eventually, Blur won the battle and Oasis settled for second.

However, the 90s weren’t only for the boys, with major female groups also finding fame, the most well-known of which were “the Spice Girls” who were extremely popular in Britain and around the world. Once again they promoted “Britishness” and had catchy melodies and lyrics, but they also started the “Girl Power” movement which helped empower girls and women worldwide. It isn’t too far to assume that without their music, many female singers and artists who we love today would not have had the confidence to pursue their dream.

British music may have had many great times, however the 90s are often overlooked. Although I was not alive to enjoy the music properly, the 90s had a huge impact on British culture that can be felt today and I feel that the decade should get the recognition it deserves!

10 . At Englands University of Plymouth, Professor Eduardo Miranda has been programming pairs of robots to compose music. Miranda's robots have simple “ vocal cords”(声带)and are programmed to sing and to listen to each other. The robots' unique warbling sounds (颤音) do not perfectly match the human voice, but each machine is exactly sharing music with the other in a new and unique way.

Each robot is equipped with speakers, software that mimics the human voice, a mouth that opens as it “sings,” a microphone for ears, and a camera for eyes. The robots also move. Miranda hopes that by studying his robot vocalists, he can discover something about how and why humans create, perform, and listen to music.

When the robots sing, first one robot makes six random sounds. Its partner responds with more sounds. The first robot analyzes the sounds to see if their sequences (序列)) are similar. If they are, it nods its head and commits the sounds to memory, and the second robot notices and “memorizes” the musical sequence, too. If the first robot thinks the sounds are too different, it shakes its head and both robots ignore the sounds. Then the process continues.

Miranda set up an experiment in which he left the two robots alone in his study for two weeks. When he returned, his little warblers had, by imitating each other, not only shared notes but combined them. The product of their cooperation was far from symphonic, but the robots had begun to combine the notes into their own self-developed “songs”.

With the help of his warbling robots, one of Miranda's goals is to create music that no human would ever compose. Miranda believes the robots are ideal for this purpose because they would not be influenced by any existing musical styles or rules.