Suppose you hit a wooden table with your hand. It makes a sound.Now suppose you hit a bell. It makes a sound.The second sound is called a tone（樂音）. A tone is a single musical sound. Music is the art of organizing tones into meaningful patterns of sound.We might call it the language of tones.Some times the language of music speaks to us in tones sounding after one another in melody¹.Or the tones could be sounding together in harmony².

When tones clash with one another，it is called dissonance （不協和音）. But this clashing is often full of meaning. What we call melody is given meaning by its rising or falling or moving straight ahead.It is also given meaning by its rhythm （節(jié)奏） of beats and phrasing， its speed or tempo（速度）， and how loud or soft it is at any moment.All of this sounds very technical，or mechanical.But it doesn't have to be understood or thought about for us to enjoy music. What music means to us can often not be put into words.We can feel that the music expresses joy or sorrow，gaiety （快樂）， tenderness，love， anger——all kinds of things and feelings that words alone could never do.

Music can also be enjoyed just for its beauty， and not for what it is saying.We can get pleasure from even a single tone of voice， violin， horn， or some other instrument.We may love a beautiful melody for many years of our lives and always enjoy hearing it.

There are，of course， many forms of music， from the anthem³ to the symphony (交響樂 );and many types of music， from folk music to opera⁴.

如你用手敲擊木桌，會發(fā)出一個聲響，假如你用手敲擊一個鈴，也會發(fā)出一個聲響。但第二個聲響被稱作樂音。一個樂音就是一個單獨的音樂聲音。音樂是一種由多種樂音編織成富有意義的聲響所構成的藝術。我們可以稱之為樂音的語言。有時音樂語言是以一個個樂音串成旋律向我們表意的，而有時眾多樂音和諧地交織在一起共鳴。

樂音相互之間發(fā)生沖撞時會出現不協和音。但這種沖撞通常頗富含義。我們所稱的旋律就是通過或升或降，或平鋪直敘的方式被賦予含義的。節(jié)奏、樂句、速度和隨時變化的聲音高低等也賦予旋律以含義。所有這些聽起來都是非常技術性的，或者說是機械性的。但我們在欣賞音樂的時候不一定非要懂得或去思考這些，因為對我們來說，音樂的含意常常是無法用語言來表達的。我們可以感受到音樂所表達的歡樂或悲傷、愉悅、柔情、愛意、憤怒，即語言本身永遠無法表達清楚的種種事情和諸多情感。

欣賞音樂也可以只體會它的美感，而不去理解它要表達的是什么意思。我們甚至可以僅僅從嗓音、小提琴、圓號或其他樂器發(fā)出的一個樂音來感受快樂。我們還可能在多年里一直熱愛一首美麗的樂曲，總愿意聆聽它，感受它。

當然，音樂有許多形式，從贊美詩到交響樂；也有許多種類，從民間音樂到歌劇。

注釋：

１melody n .旋律，曲調2 harmony n. 和協，協調

3 anthem n. （應答輪唱的）贊美詩4opera n. 歌劇