Dexway English Magazine: A1 – Edition 3

Pop music in a Classical setting

A recent music concert was given for a group of Turkish basketball players. Most of the players thought classical music would be very boring and not fun. Many of the players were tired and some even fell asleep.

The musicians had a surprise for the players, though! At one point, during the concert, the orchestra began to play a famous Turkish pop song! The basketball players were very surprised and excited. They thought that popular music would not be played in an orchestra concert. Many people began to sing along to the famous song. Other people stood up and began to cheer to the song they recognized.

Many people will think that popular music is very different from classical music. Some believe that the classical music style is only for older people or wealthy people that will attend the opera and symphony.

(Opera = usually a drama with many songs used to tell the story. Symphony = usually a large orchestra with strings, piano, brass, woodwinds, and percussion).

Sometimes, popular music is thought to be only for the young listener. This symphonic group showed the audience that it is possible to mix many different styles of music. It is not always necessary to keep one style of music separate from another.

An example of a modern opera would be called a “musical.”

A musical has many of the same things as an opera, but with more modern clothing and singing styles. Musicals are very popular in places with large theatres, like New York City. Perhaps, there will be more combinations of “old” and “new” styles as time moves on.

The good musicians know how to keep the attention of the audience. They will probably have more people attend their concerts in the future. Many orchestra groups are starting to follow this example. Many audiences would get very bored hearing a concert of just classical music, but when they hear something they remember from the radio, they pay more attention.

If they enjoy the pop music, they may even begin to enjoy the classical music as well. Maybe the ideas about what kind of music is “classical” and what is “popular” will begin to change.