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There is something about music that is very emotional to us.

Whether the song is just instrumental, meaning it has no words in it, or sung in a language we don't speak, it doesn't mean that we don't understand it.

And because lots of new music comes out of the English speaking world, I thought we could have a little fun talking about this very popular topic.

I have several core memories of my first year in America around 1998 and 1999.

I remember which cassettes I packed to bring with me on the plane.

So I would say that before I started learning English, I started learning American culture.

I mention the Jay-Z song because every time I hear it and I actually heard it today, I think back to that time almost 28 years ago and how catchy I thought the chorus was.

In case you didn't know it, the chorus is sung by children and it goes like this.

Instead of treated, we get tricked.

Instead of kisses, we get kicked.

Hard knock life in this context means a difficult life, a life full of intense struggle.

The only story about an orphan I knew at that point was the little Princess Sarah.

Anyway, all the kids in my school were very familiar with the songs and characters from this production because they've seen the Little Orphan Annie musical and the movie as young children.

The good thing about moving to America at such a young age was that when new artists would come out with new music, I would be learning about them in real time with everyone else, which meant that I quickly became part of that culture.

First thing that comes to mind when I think of the word music is playing instruments.

To continue with the theme of early memories tied to music, I'm going to tell you one more quick little story.

Więc, kiedy zaczęłam szkołę w Ameryce, pamiętam, że wszystkie amerykańskie szkoły mają bandę i każdy student może grać na instrumentach w bandzie szkoły.

but an orchestra is usually bigger and has more string instruments like violins and cellos.

I remember learning Eye of the Tiger by Survivor when I was in the school band.

And since it is an American song, learning to play it helped me understand American culture better.

So when I joined the band, I picked the flute.

Because the most popular instruments in the band were the flute, the clarinet and the trumpet.

The flute felt very soft and feminine, so I decided to go with it.

And if you're wondering how a poor immigrant family had money for an instrument that cost $500 or more, we didn't.

I think my parents made monthly payments for that thing for years and years.

I did play in the band for about four or five years, so I think we got our money's worth.

I remember the band teacher once in a while asking me questions about what it's like to have to learn a new language and being amazed with how quickly kids can pick it up.

I specifically remember him asking me, but how do you learn about the meaning of words that don't come up every day?

I know in this case melody and melodia are pretty similar, but I understood his point.

What the teacher may not have realized was that during every band class he was teaching me something new, even if he didn't know it.

Today I say you just have to immerse yourself in learning and not stop.

So my music education started by learning the basics.

When you're playing an instrument, you're reading sheet music to know which notes to play.

On the sheet music, we always have five horizontal lines, lines going across, where the notes are written called the staff.

There are also vertical lines or bar lines that organize music into shorter sections.

We count the beats within a bar.

Did you know that the Beatles, the rock band, are named after the insect, the beetle?

But the play on words within the band's name is that it's spelled like the beat I was just talking about.

So the name has a double meaning, which was intentional.

When I think of sheet music, I think of what's called a musical score.

Mówię ci to, bo kiedy myślisz o twoim ulubionym filmie, prawdopodobnie też myślisz o filmie, który jest instrumentem muzycznym filmu.

Let's say Taylor Swift is doing an interview to promote her new album.

that are going to be released as singles.

She may talk about the songwriting process and her musical or artistic influences.

Not every artist or singer writes their own songs.

That's why I think they call themselves artists or entertainers.

We know that usually one person creates the music or the beat, depending on the genre, and someone else writes the lyrics or the words.

And music genres are used the same way in Polish and in English.

There's also R&B and country, which are very popular in America.

Although some artists or songs under those two genres may see some popularity internationally, the majority of their listeners live only in certain areas of the States.

Maybe you prefer music in the background when sitting at your desk at work.

Sometimes I put on one of the playlists on Spotify under the focus category and it helps my mind relax.

These days I feel like I get so little time to listen to anything that I usually end up sticking to podcasts.

So I can maybe learn something or hear an interesting conversation.

Most of the time, choosing what to listen to will depend on your mood.

Let's say you're going through a breakup.

If you're in a mood to work out, you'll want to listen to something that gets you pumped up and gives you energy.

There is a song or a whole playlist for anything you're going through and any mood you're in.

I feel like I packed a lot into this episode, but there's so much more we could cover about the music world.

Thanks for listening.

I hope you're staying warm out there.

If you have any questions about this episode or any other episode, shoot me an email at viola.at naturalneangielski.com And if you're enjoying the podcast, leave me a comment or a rating wherever you stream your podcasts.