ECOLE SUPERIEURE DE MUSIQUE ET DE DANSE

ENGLISH LESSON- LICENCE 3 - 2020

TEXT UNIT 1

REVISION: THEORIES OF MUSIC

A/ MEANING OF THESE MUSICAL WORDS: Music, Sound, Rhythm, Melody,

Harmony, etc.

B/ NOTATION: staff, Musical Alphabet, Clefs, Notes and rests, Accidentals,

Intervals, harmony and form

C/ EXERCISES: Theories of music + Grammar ( Past simple and past perfect)

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 TEXT UNIT 2

UNIT2
George Gershwin, 1898-1937: One of America’s Greatest Composers

George Gershwin was born in New York City in eighteen ninety-eight. His
parents were Russian Jews who had immigrated to the United States. George and
his two brothers and sister had a close, happy family life. George liked playing
games on the streets of New York. He liked exploring the city. He did not like school
or studying. (…).

George heard jazz and blues music spilling out of public drinking places.
However, he did not become seriously interested in music until he heard another boy
playing the violin in a concert at his school. George began to take piano lessons. His
teacher was a fine classical musician. He immediately recognized George's unusual
ability. The teacher wrote about him to a friend: "I have a student who will make his
mark in music, if anybody will. The boy is a Genius, without doubt. "

George studied classical piano. But his strongest interest continued to be

jazz and popular music. At the age of fifteen, he left school and went to work in the
music business. The New York City street where most music publishers had their
offices was called "Tin Pan Alley."(…).The piano players played the songs all day
long to interested singers and other performers. George Gershwin was one of the
youngest piano players in Tin Pan Alley. Soon, he was considered one of the finest
there. He was already writing his own songs.

Gershwin lived only thirty-nine years. Yet, in that short time, he wrote
hundreds of unforgettable popular songs. He wrote some concert works, such as
"Rhapsody in Blue," that are still performed today. And he wrote what many
consider to be the most beautiful American opera, "Porgy and Bess "(…). George
became famous.

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MUSIC INDUSTRY
For African artists concerts were the one of the fews ways to earn in the
industry. Piracy and changing consumer behavior are behind declining sales of
records. Enforcement of copyright law remains weak in Africa. MusikBi is the first
legal music download website of Africa. It does not offer streaming and is limited by
internet speeds in Africa.
African countries (Kenya, Gambia and South Africa) have seen protest over
airtime given to American music. In Zimbabwe 75% of airtime has to be given to local
music. Protective actions have seen the growth of new genres like Urban Grooves
emerge in Zimbabwe. In 2016 Sony Music launched in Africa by opening an office in
Nigeria, traditionally services of western major international studios have not been
available in Africa, the local demand for their music being met through piracy.
From Internet, January, 28th, 2018

FOR UNITS 2 AND 3, USE THE FOLLOWING METHOD:

 VOCABULARY: Musical words to know
 COMPREHENSION: Questions about the text
 LANGUAGE FUNCTION: Future and conditional tenses
 TRANSLATION: Translate a short paragraph from English to French
and/or from French to English
 EXERCISES: Give exercises about the text and the grammar point