LESSON SECONDE 1 MONDAY THE 2 ND OF FEBRUARY
WORDS OF THE DAY
catchy ( prenant)
STEP 1 RECAP ask each other questions
VOCABULARY WORDS
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STEP 2 LET US FIND OUT ABOUT COUNTRY MUSIC
STEP 4 LEARN MORE ABOUT COUNTRY MUSIC REPORT ON YOUR QUESTION
Article 1 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrq2fdm
TO BE DIVIDED AMONG STUDENTS FOR THEM TO REPORT ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS
HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS
1. QUESTION 1 What defines country music, and what different types of country music are there?
2. QUESTION 2 When did country music become popular?
3. QUESTION 3 What instruments does country music feature?
4. QUESTION 4 Why is Nashville so important to country music?
5.
What is country music? Five questions about country music answered
The genre is a massive worldwide industry - it's not just popular in the USA. Statistics show that country music is on the rise in the UK as well. The Country Music Association reported that streaming of country stars rose by almost 50% between 2020 and 2022 and its popularity on these shores is still growing.
PARTNER A
QUESTION 1
What defines country music, and what different types of country music are there?
When people talk about ‘country music’ they usually mean American country music (sometimes also referred to as Country & Western).
Country music is often seen as a style and genre of largely string-accompanied American popular music, usually vocalised, generally simple in form and harmony. The songs in the genre are generally romantic or melancholy ballads, accompanied by acoustic or electric guitar, banjo, violin and harmonicas.
It’s a vast musical genre taking in everything from Bluegrass (which originated in the Blue Mountains of Virginia), Honky Tonk (featuring fiddles and steel guitars), Hillbilly and Outlaw, to more modern genres such as Alt-country.
QUESTION 2
When did country music become popular?
Country music’s earliest roots are in the 17th Century, when predominantly British and Irish immigrants brought their instruments, songs and musical traditions to the USA. Many settled in the Appalachian region (an area that runs from southern New York to northern Mississippi in the eastern US) and the style of music that came to be known as country first developed and flourished there.
Its songs tended to be about hardship and tragedy, failed relationships and the difficulties of life in impoverished rural areas. It really took off as a popular genre with the arrival of radio in the 1920s. Early radio shows like Grand Ole Opry, which began in 1924 and was based in Nashville, Tennessee before later being broadcast nationwide, gave country music exposure - allowing people to listen to, and become fans of bands that weren’t from their local area.
Then during the Great Depression of 1929 rural people were increasingly forced into big cities in search of work, taking their favourite music with them and so exposing it to new, urban audiences. Hollywood further popularised country music, with ‘singing cowboys' like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers becoming big box-office draws in the 1930s and 1940s.
Vocabulary
Roots ( racines)
Hardship = difficulties
Impoverished = poor
QUESTION 3 What instruments does country music feature?
Traditionally, country music has heavily featured stringed instruments such as the fiddle, guitar, violin, bass and banjo. Harmonica and accordion are also often played. Percussion was often provided by a washboard, a ribbed metal sheet which was rhythmically strummed by a musician who used a fork or wore thimbles.
But as country music developed throughout the 20th Century, all kinds of instruments began to be used, including drums, electric guitars, zithers and mandolins. Country singers often use a distinctively ‘twangy’ way of singing, and duets are a common feature.
Vocabulary
To feature = to be present
Stringed = with strings / a string ( une ficelle)
A fiddle = a form of violin
A washboard ( planche à laver)
Ribbed ( à côte)
A thimble ( un dés à coudre)
Zithers ( une cythare)
Twangy ( nasillard)
A feature ( un trait )
QUESTION 4 Why is Nashville so important to country music?
Nashville is the capital city of the state of Tennessee and is generally regarded as the most important city for country music. The town’s connection with country music is tightly woven with the history of radio, which was the way the genre first became so popular in the 1920s.
In 1925 an insurance company started a radio station called WSM in Nashville, which featured a weekly barn dance showcasing country music. The show, re-named The Grand Ole Opry in 1927, was a huge success, and attracted the best country music talent. In 1932 its powerful new antenna meant it could be broadcast across the USA.
Recording companies also began to base themselves in Nashville, locating their studios on what is known as Music Row, further cementing the city’s ties with country music.
Today Nashville is still the centre of the country music scene. It’s the home of the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum and is the venue for some of the largest festivals, including CMA Fest which is staged every year by the Country Music Association.
Vocabulary
Tighly woven ( tissé/ intriqué)
(to) feature = (to) present
A barn ( une grange)
(to) showcase = (to) present / to show
A row ( une rangée)
(to) cement ( consolider)
A tie ( un lien )
HOMEWORK
relire la leçon pour pouvoir répondre aux questions 1 2 3 4
QUESTION 1 What defines country music, and what different types of country music are there?
2. QUESTION 2 When did country music become popular?
3. QUESTION 3 What instruments does country music feature?
4. QUESTION 4 Why is Nashville so important to country music?
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