Book Sharing—Ludwig Van Beethoven and The AB Guide to Music Theory
V: Lee Yuen Ting Vanessa, 3B11
P: Leung Sin Yu Polly, 3B13
Vian: Ng Ching Wai, Vian 3A14

P: Hi, Vanessa! What are you doing now?

V: Hi, Polly! I’m reading a book called “Ludwig Van Beethoven”. It is written by _________. It is about the life of Beethoven. He was a well-known composer. Do you know him?

P: Of course. He was born in Germany in1770. At an early age, Beethoven took an interest in music, and his father taught him day and night. Without a doubt, he was gifted. Unluckily, when he was 30 years old, he began to lose his hearing.  But, his hearing loss did not affect his ability to compose music

Vian: Ah, I know Symphony No 9 was composed when he was deaf. I know this music was marvelous. At its premiere, Beethoven knew the audience loved it. Symphony no.9 was wildly accepted by the audience. Do you know why?

P: oh! I don’t know. He was deaf, how could he hear the feedback from audience?

V:  After the orchestra finished playing the symphony, Beethoven turned round and saw the tumultuous applause of the audience.   Polly, I really admire Beethoven.  Although he faced problems and difficulties in his life, he still tried his best to fulfill his dream. He never thought that deafness was an obstacle. He was really a role model for us.

P: I totally agree with you. I think we should learn from him. Ah, Vanessa, I know that you are going to have your Grade 5 theory music exam in December. Have you started your preparation?

V: No, I don’t know what I should do? Can you give me suggestion?

P: Don’t worry! You can read a book called “The AB Guide to Music Theory”. It is written by_____________. This book contains a lot of useful music knowledge such as the basic concepts of chords, transposition, part writing etc. It will help you to understand more about music theory.

V: How about ornaments? Does the book talk about this? There are many types of ornaments and I find this is a bit difficult.

P: Sure. The different ways that you can interpret for ornaments change frequently throughout music history. This book can help you understand them easily. You can borrow this book from our school library.

Vian: Ah, Don’t you know that besides learning basic music theory, you also need to know all western instruments well. Hm, let me introduce a book to you. The book is called ‘An introduction to the instruments of Orchestra’, written by Ng Lai Choon. It introduces many types of instruments in details, with briefly descriptions and explanations of the instruments. The pictures in the book show every part of the instruments clearly and tidily. After reading this book, I really want to learn an instrument. As Hong Kong students are getting busier with their studies now, they don’t have much time to learn musical instruments. I think all of us should try on some instruments if we have time, and this helps improve our know ledges too.

V: Schoolmates, music is magical and it helps us to relax. If you are interested in music, you can read more books about musicians and music theory. We hope all of you can enjoy music. This is the end of our sharing. Thank you.