节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-09-06
难易度:Medium
关键字:jug, rhythm, fiddle, whiskey, jug band, washboard, wind instrument
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
Our CULTURE feature this month looks into a style of music that was born in
America around the turn of the last century.
It peaked in popularity in the 1920s, saw a major revival in the 1960s, and now
today is enjoying another revival on an international scale.
Yes, this music's catchy rhythms and joyful melodies are being heard in Europe,
Asia and Australia.
Of course, I'm talking about "jug band" music.
What, you never heard of it?
Well, then let's open our magazines to page 18 and begin reading.
Jug Bands.
Homemade instruments can create some great music.
As they say, a good musician plays the music, not the instrument.
Never was this truer than in the case of jug bands.
Musicians in a jug band use ordinary, homemade instruments (along with some
traditional instruments) to make beautiful music.
An old-fashioned washboard becomes a rhythm instrument.
A pair of ordinary kitchen spoons helps to keep the beat.
A washtub with a broomstick handle and a piece of cord becomes a string bass.
Of course, a jug band always has an empty jug used as a wind instrument.
Well howdy, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
And my name is Ryan.
Now Kaylah, you just said "howdy." Why?
Well, "howdy" is a southern country way of saying hello or welcome.
And today we're talking about some southern culture, so I thought I would say
Howdy.
All right. Well friends, we are talking about southern culture.
And in any culture, music is a very important part.
So we're looking at some southern music.
That's right.
Some... when we're referring to "southern" here, we mean southern United States,
and usually on the eastern side of the United States.
Today we're talking about a very special kind of music called Jug Bands.
All right.
Now first let's talk about jugs.
A "jug" is a container.
It's usually a pretty large container that is round and designed to hold
liquids.
That's right.
And what makes a jug special is even though it is large enough to hold a good
amount of liquid, it's smaller on the top so it's easy to pour.
And you can see examples of jug and "jug bands" on page 18 in your Studio
Classroom magazine.
OK. Well, homemade instruments can create some great music.
Now friends, if something is homemade, that means that someone made it at home,
using their own hands.
That's right.
They did not buy it from a store.
Well, we're going to find out what kind of instruments you can make at home and
just what kind of music they can make.
All right.
As they say a good musician plays the music, not the instrument.
Now this sentence means the musicians are focusing on the music, not the
instrument.
So even though they can play the instrument well, they are more concerned about
bringing the feeling and energy of the music.
All right. And that's important in all kinds of music.
But friends, never was this truer than in jug bands.
That's right. Never was this truer than in the case of jug bands.
Well, that is our Grammar on the Go sentence.
So let's visit Liz.
Hello, friends.
It's time for Grammar on the Go.
My name is Liz.
Our CULTURE article this month is about Jug Bands and how homemade instruments
can create some great music.
We read: Never was this truer than in the case of jug bands.
It just means jug bands are a great example of what was just said in the
previous sentence.
There was never a truer case than jug bands.
But notice the sentence pattern: Never was... than...
It's in inverted order.
In other words, the usual word order that we're used to seeing got switched
around.
This is to attract the reader's attention, and to begin with "never" creates
some very strong effect.
So instead of saying, "There was never a story more depressing than John's
story," we can say:
Never was there a story more depressing than John's.
Or instead of saying, "There was never a person in town more helpful than Owen,"
try saying:
Never was there a person in town more helpful than Owen.
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check out
today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
That's it for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
Thank you very much, Liz.
Now musicians in a jug band use ordinary homemade instruments along with some
traditional, or usual instruments, to make beautiful music.
Now ordinary means they're very common.
Now an old-fashioned washboard becomes a rhythm instrument.
And an old-fashioned washboard is definitely ordinary.
It's extremely common.
What was it used for?
OK. A "washboard" is a tool used for washing clothes.
And it looks like a large board with a lot of bumps on it, and you rub the
clothes on it to clean them.
That's right. And you can see a picture of that.
The first gentleman on the page is holding it on page 18.
Now it can be used as a rhythm instrument.
Now to create "rhythm" is to give the beat or the pattern of the music.
So if you think about rubbing the... the different bumps down and you would hear
different sounds.
Kind of like a drum is a rhythm instrument.
This washboard now becomes an instrument.
Yeah. And rhythm is important in most kinds of music.
It's that "bomb, bomb, bomb" sound in the music.
And so here you can use a washboard to make that.
Or a pair of ordinary kitchen spoons that also keep the beat.
Now "kitchen spoons" do not refer to the kind that you're actually eating your
food with.
A large kitchen spoon is what we're talking about, something you would serve
food with.
And you can use these together, or not together.
And they also create a good rhythm.
We'll teach you how in a little bit.
That's right.
Well, they keep the beat.
And that means you are keeping the rhythm the same.
It is the same beat.
That's right.
You're keeping all the music together.
It's very important for other instruments to hear the beat, so these rhythm
instruments are extremely important.
Well, another ordinary one would be a washtub with a broomstick handle and a
piece of cord now becomes a string bass.
OK. So they're using a washtub here, something that is shaped like a bowl and
you can wash things in it.
And they use a cord, which is also another word for a long string, and they can
use that to make a bass.
That's right.
They're using the broom handle.
That's the long part of the broom that you're holding.
Well, of course, a jug band always has to have an empty jug that is used as a
wind instrument.
All right.
A "wind instrument," friends, is a musical instrument that you need to blow in
order to play.
That's right.
And to have a jug band, it makes sense that you need a jug being played as a
wind instrument in your band.
All right, friends.
Have fun watching this video and then join us for the skit.
(Music).
I want to do something fun.
Great. Let's create some wonderful music on the washboard.
The washboard?
Isn't that for washing clothes?
It used to be. But few people use them for washing clothes today.
OK. So how do you play a washboard?
Well, it's easy.
First, you find a washboard like this one.
Hey, here's a small one.
Great.
If you want, you can add cans or bells or horns, anything that make noise.
That's fun.
Yep.
You also need a strap on your washboard so you can wear it around your neck.
That's a good idea.
Yep. Now put thimbles on your fingertips.
Thimbles?
Yes, the metal things you use when you sew.
Oh, right.
If you don't have thimbles, you can use a spoon.
OK.
And suddenly your washboard becomes an rhythm instrument.
I love it.
But how you play it?
Well, tap the washboard with your fingertips.
Can I scratch up and down?
Yeah. Sometimes you can tap, tap, tap with one hand, and then scratch with the
other.
Tap, tap, scratch...
Like that!
Yeah. Don't forget to play the other things you added from time to time.
I love it.
Yeah. Now all you need to do is practice.
OK.
Isn't that really loud?
Oh, yeah. It's really loud.
So, well... but it's fun.
I think I could play this all day long.
Yeah, just remember the best place to practice.
Where's that?
Somewhere else.
Very funny.
Let's play a song.
OK.
Oh, when the saints.
Go marching in.
Oh, when the saints go marching in.