Assalamualaikum and a very good morning to my fellow friends, teachers and judges. Today, on this fine morning, I would like to present to you a public speech about ‘Music’.
Music. We hear it every day. No matter where we are, music will always be played either on the radio or just by humming a tune. Did you know that music started as early as the Paleolithic era? So music is about 200 000 years old. Wow! It’s so old. Still people enjoy listening to this ‘old’ art for nearly 200 millenniums.
Music is an art which uses sound as its main medium. The word ‘music’ originated from a Greek word ‘mousike’ (musikis), which means art of the Muses (Muses). The Muses are the Goddesses of Greek who loves art and literature.
The elements needed to produce music are pitch, rhythm and dynamics. The pitch is the combination of melody and harmony. Rhythm is the beat of the music. Dynamics are the volume. At first the song starts soft then it gradually starts to get loud. Suddenly there’s an accent and everything settles down and dies away.
An object needs to be vibrated in order to produce sound. Let’s take a guitar for example. We pluck the strings in order to vibrate them. The sound waves then enter the hollow wood and echoes in order to make the sound louder. How about a woodwind and a brass instrument? Ah, but there’s a catch. These two instruments are the same but they are not alike. Both instruments need ‘puff power’. But a woodwind instrument uses holes to indicate different notes whilst the brass family uses valves.
Some standard orchestral instrumental families are the strings family, as in pianos, guitars, violins and so on. Next, the woodwind family. For example, flutes, recorders, bassoons and others. Lastly, the brass family. The family consists of trumpets, French horns, tubas and others. Sometimes, people use imaginary instruments like the air guitar. They are just basically strumming like a guitar but without a guitar. Still the song is playing in their heads.
The music genre is generally endless. It ranges from Acapella to Fusion jazz, Gaana to Muzak also known as the music you here in elevators, Nagauta, a kind of Japanese style of music, to Rumba, Sabar to Zydeco. Sabar is not the Malay word for relax. It is a drumming style found in Senegal
Through music and the lyrics, a massage could be passed through. Moral values could also be found in them. Some song lyrics contain impolite words which should be avoided as it could contaminate the thought. Motivating songs could boost and motivate anyone who listens to it.
Composers are people whose job is to make music. Music could come out as complex as it sounds or even as easy as just making up a tune by humming. It may sound difficult but if you have the will to learn and create music, then it won’t be that difficult. An example of a classical composer that we always hear but seldom know is Ludwig van Beethoven who wrote the song entitled Für Elise. At the age of 26, Ludwig van Beethoven started to lose his sense of hearing. He gradually became deaf but that did not stop him from creating more fantastic music. Don’t know who’s Beethoven? How about we take someone local. Edry Abdul Halim. One of the members of a boy band with the name KRU. He has created music for many Akademi Fantasia candidates and many are a hit!
Music is written theoretically and made real practically. It lives in every one of us. Music is like an international language. Even though we do not understand the lyrics but we understand the melody. The rhythm. The harmony. Everything starts small. In music, it starts with a note. Then, a tune. After that, a rhythm and a melody. Finally, a harmonious song that unites everyone disregarding the race or the background or whatever at all was born. Music unites the souls of Malaysia
Thank you and Assalamualaikum.
