Assalamualaikum and a very good morning to my fellow friends, teachers and judges.

Today, on this fine morning, I would like to present to you a public speech about Music.

Music. We hear it every day. No matter where we are, music will always be played either on the radio or just by humming a tune. Did you know that music started as early as the Paleolithic era? So music is about 200 000 years old. Wow! Its so old. Still people enjoy listening to this old art for nearly 200 millenniums. Music is an art which uses sound as its main medium. The word music originated from a Greek word mousike (musikis), which means art of the Muses (Muses). The Muses are the Goddesses of Greek who loves art and literature.

The elements needed to produce music are pitch, rhythm and dynamics. The pitch is the combination of melody and harmony. Rhythm is the beat of the music. Dynamics are the volume. At first the song starts soft then it gradually starts to get loud. Suddenly theres an accent and everything settles down and dies away. An object needs to be vibrated in order to produce sound. Lets take a guitar for example. We pluck the strings in order to vibrate them. The sound waves then enter the hollow wood and echoes in order to make the sound louder. How about a woodwind and a brass instrument? Ah, but theres a catch. These two instruments are the same but they are not alike. Both instruments need puff power. But a woodwind instrument uses holes to indicate different notes whilst the brass family uses valves.

Some standard orchestral instrumental families are the strings family, as in pianos, guitars, violins and so on. Next, the woodwind family. For example, flutes, recorders, bassoons and others. Lastly, the brass family. The family consists of trumpets, French horns, tubas and others. Sometimes, people use imaginary instruments like the air guitar. They are just basically strumming like a guitar but without a guitar. Still the song is playing in their heads.

The music genre is generally endless. The most popular genres that we hear nowadays are pop, dominated by the late King of Pop, Micheal Jackson. Rock, conquered by Elvis Presley. Punk, played by bands like Green Day and Paramore. Country written by Taylor Swift and a few others. But the only thing I cant deny is that the most popular genre right now is K -pop or Korean Pop

Through music and the lyrics, a massage could be passed through. Moral values could also be found in them. Some song lyrics contain impolite words which should be avoided as it could contaminate the thought. Motivating songs could boost and motivate anyone who listens to it.

Composers are people whose job is to make music. Music could come out as complex as it sounds or even as easy as just making up a tune by humming. It may sound difficult but if you have the will to learn and create music, then it wont be that difficult. An example o f a classical composer that we always hear but seldom know is Beethoven who wrote the song entitled Fr Elise.

Music is written theoretically and made real practically. It lives in every one of us. Music is like an international language. Even though we do not understand the lyrics but we understand the melody. The rhythm. The harmony. Everything starts small. In music, it starts with a note. Then, a tune. After that, a rhythm and a melody. Finally, a harmonious song that unites everyone disregarding the race or the background or whatever at all was born. Music unites the souls of Malaysia and the world. Guess what! We enjoy it!

Thank you and Assalamualaikum.