4 WHAT IS A SONG What Is a Song A song is a piece of music for voices Since ancient times speech and music have been combined into song to express great feeling about something Songs can be sung by one voice or by two or more voices together Musical instruments may or may not be used to accompany or play along with the singing of lyrics There are many types of songs Two major types are folk and art Lyrics are the words of a song Students often sing different types of songs in a school choir or music class
5 songs Folk songs are traditional songs sung by common people They usually are learned by ear and often are not written down The melody and words may change over time Art songs are meant to be performed for an audience They are more complicated than folk songs The words and music are equally important They do not change over time Popular songs have developed from both folk and art songs They are performed by professionals for an audience WHAT IS A SONG WHAT IS A SONG Taylor Swift performs pop songs for audiences Popular music is also called pop
6 Songs have always been a part of daily life People sing songs to celebrate happy events or to express their feelings about sad events They may sing spirituals or hymns to show their religious beliefs Protest songs help people express anger about being treated unfairly Some workers Why Do People Sing Songs People often sing songs such as Happy Birthday to You at birthday celebrations WHAT IS A SONG
7 In the 1960s American folksinger Bob Dylan wrote songs to protest injustice and war create songs with a strong beat to keep their movements together They may also create songs to pass the time during dull work Songs can also help teach about a subject or an event Many children learn the alphabet with a song Parents sing lullabies or bedtime songs to help children go to sleep Many songs like playground songs at recess are just for fun Babies enjoy hearing their parents sing to them SONGWRITERS WHY DO PEOPLE SING SONGS
