2017-11-30
668Part 2-style task
Describe a song you like to listen to. You should say
what the piece of music is called
how long you have liked it
when you like to listen to it
and say why you like it so much.
Millie: Well … I’m a little older than most students and when I was young Abbathe Swedish pop group were very famous … I don’t think it was cool to like themeven though they had a huge following but I think now people have realised what wonderful songs they wrote … one piece of music in particular is called ‘Slippingthrough my fingers’ … it wasn’t a massive hit but I love it … it’s a song forparents and it’s all about how quickly our children grow up … it’s a slownumber and like a lot of their songs it’s a very catchy tune … the two women in Abba had great voices and it’s the kind of music you can also sing along to easily … even if you don’t have a great voice … I listen to Abba when I feel like a sing-song … and I especially like to listen when I’m doing the housework … it stops me thinking about the hard work …
Part 3-style questions
Examiner: Is the Internet a good or bad thing for the music industry?
Thomas: On the one hand it’s good for marketing a new musical talent or particular bands but it’s so easy to share and download tracks for free I think it is costing the industry a lot of money …
Examiner: Should music be treated as seriously as subjects like maths or sciences at school?
Carla: I think it should … I don’t think it should be taught in a boring way … I mean making children read music … but I do think they should be encouraged to play instruments and to play things by ear perhaps … to keep the lessons fun …
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Examiner: Where do people usually enjoy listening to music?
Sally: In lots of ways or places … as background music when they are doing something else … at concerts when a band goes on tour … or in clubs or discos …
Another popular topic in IELTS is Arts.
Let’s start with the term Art itself. It’s often used in expressions defining different types of art. There are quite a lot of them.
Fine arts - Type of art that creates beautiful things. It could be painting, sculpture, or music.
Arts and crafts - the activity of making beautiful and useful objects.
Visual arts - creations that we can look at. For instance, painting, sculpture, architecture, film
Plastic arts - every type of art we can touch. Sculpture would be a good example.
Performing arts -a very wide term meaning anything from cinema, theater, or any other form of visual art to modern computer presentations. The key characteristic is that it’s performed.
Now let’s discuss some other words connected with art. Let’s start with watercolor. Firstly it’s a pigment used with water to create paintings. Secondly a watercolor is a painting created with watercolors.
You probably heard the word sketch when discussing some projects, but in art it is a quick informal drawing to capture the essentials of an object.
portrait - is a portrayal of a person showing the person’s face (could be a drawing, a photograph, or a sculpture).
landscape - is a work of art that features a scene of land or countryside (in other words nature)
still-life painting - is a painting featuring anything that does not move.
oil painting - is a technique of painting with oil paints. The second meaning is a picture painted with oil paints.
figurative art - is any type of art that accurately represents an image from the real world.
contemporary art - a bit controversial term. The easy definition is contemporary to us. It means that it has been created during our lifetimes. Usually contemporary art refers to artworks made after 1970 by still living artists.
Now let’s talk about which art styles exist.
Realism - an artistic movement attempting to portray the lives of ordinary people and their environments.
Abstract art is a genre of art which does NOT depict a person, place, or thing in the natural world. Objects are often simplified or distorted.
Another artistic style is impressionism - a style in which the artist captures the image of an object as someone would see it if they just caught a glimpse of it. In other words, it’s about the artist’s impression.
When talking about art many people talk about harmony. Harmony is a pleasing combination orarrangement of things. For instance, a harmony of colors.
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Apart from harmony it’s important to know what composition is. It is the organization of the elements of design in an art work done according to principles of design.
Now let’s discuss what the principles of design are. One of them is unity. Unity is the coherence of an artwork. Unity allows us to feel that all parts of the piece work together.
In general the principles of design refer to the ways in which artists organize the visual elements of art. Traditionally they include: balance, emphasis, contrast, unity, movement, and rhythm. Quite interesting, isn’t it?! Now let’s move on. What trait of character do you think is important to have to create works of art? That’s right, creativity! Creativity is using imagination rather than imitating something.
Another important phrase is focal point, which is the center of interest or activity in a work of art.
| Word / Collocation | Definition | Translation |
| classical music | ||
| taste in music | ||
| a rock band | ||
| to take up a musical instrument | ||
| to be tone deaf | ||
| live music | ||
| a music festival | ||
| liveperformance | ||
| a pop group | ||
| huge following | ||
| a piece of music | ||
| a massive hit | ||
| slownumber | ||
| a catchy tune | ||
| to sing along | ||
| sing-song | ||
| amusical talent | ||
| to play things by ear | ||
| background music | ||
| to go on tour | ||
| creativity | ||
| aesthetics | ||
| to appreciate | ||
| appreciation | ||
| to value | ||
| sophistication | ||
| sophisticated | ||
| cultural heritage | ||
| design | ||
| a pigment | ||
| canvas | ||
| a portrait | ||
| a still life | ||
| a metaphor | ||
| a melody | ||
| a poem | ||
| fiction | ||
| non-fiction | ||
| a composition | ||
| improvisation | ||
| fine/visual arts | ||
| abstract art | ||
| performing arts | ||
| an arty eye | ||
| arts and crafts | ||
| watercolour | ||
| a sketch | ||
| charcoal | ||
| figurative art | ||
| contemporary art | ||
| realism | ||
| abstract art | ||
| artifact | ||
| an art gallery/exhibit | ||
| a motif | ||
| a pattern | ||
| a masterpiece |
