【明報專訊】Hi, I am Chattie. I am a cloud. I have been travelling around the world and have seen a lot of people and places. I like all kinds of arts such as dramas, musicals, dances and multi-media performances.

There is one art form I appreciate on a daily basis. It is easily accessible. I don't have to go to any specific place to appreciate it. What is it? It is music. I can listen to music with a radio, CD player, smartphone or computer. I can also listen to music in a concert hall, shopping mall, caf�m or restaurant. I can even listen to my own singing. Music is everywhere. Some pieces are with singers, while others are purely instrumental. There are hundreds of types of music we may choose to listen to.

Teenagers like me love pop music. Pop songs are usually sung by popular, well-known singers. Their lyrics are mostly concerned with what teenagers care for or understand. Their melodies can easily be remembered. When a pop song becomes a hit, you hear it everywhere on television and radio and in shopping malls. The most popular hit of the moment is often what friends talk about.

But songs that are popular may not be really great. They may have become popular because their singers are famous and their fans want to listen to their songs whether or not they are great. Of course, record companies spend a lot of money to promote their singers so that they can make huge profits. That's why many older adults do not like pop music.

Some older people love classical music. They regard classical music both as a form of art and as a branch of knowledge. They appreciate it and, at the same time, study it. Two of the very famous composers of classical music are Bach (巴哈) and Beethoven (貝多芬). You must have heard their names in your music classes. Many pieces of classical music are instrumental. Some people listen to arrangements of musical instruments of a piece rather than the story it tells. And it is best to listen to classical music an orchestra performs in a concert hall.

I think there is no such kind of thing as "the best kind of music". Pieces from different places and different eras are different from one another. The music one hears in India is different from that one hears in China. The most popular music I knew twenty years ago was different from the most popular music I know today. People are free to enjoy any kind of music. Some like jazz, and others like opera. Some like dance music, and others like country music. Be open and listen to different kinds of music, and you can learn more about this wonderful art.

■Vocabulary Words

pop music 流行音樂

hit 流行歌曲

record company 唱片公司

orchestra 管弦樂團

jazz 爵士樂

opera 歌劇

dance music 跳舞音樂

country music 鄉村音樂

■Jeffrey Chan

An artist, theatre director and English teacher.

He is interested in breaking frames in his living, direction and teaching.

A co-founder of Sparky Creative.

■Travis Ying

An artist, theatre stage designer, illustrator and registered teacher.

He is interested in spotting arts in daily life and he cannot stop sketching at meetings.

The creator of Chatties and Friends, a co-founder of Sparky Creative.

(c) Copyright 2015 Chatties & Friends.

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