【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 the head ofa drum. Thisstriking action　　iswhy thepiano is percussion instrument instead ofa string instrument.　　Okay,so why isthisso important? Well,thepercussiveeffect ofthose littlehammers　　meansthat the pianist,unlikethe harpsichordist, cancontrol the dynamicsof the　　sound how softlyor loudly each not isstruck, hence thename, pianoforte,softand　　loud. Now artistically for both posersand performersthis wasa majorturning　　point. Thisbrand new instrument,capable of producing loud and softtones,greatly　　expanded the possibilitiesfor conveying forincreased　　expressiveness,infact, wasessentialto the Romanticstylethat dominated 19th　　century ’m getting ahead ofmyself.　　Um,beforeweget back to themusicalimpactof thisdevelopment,I wanna takea　　look at the socialimpactthat I , inthe late1700s and the　　earlier1800s, thedevelopmentof the piano coincidedwiththe growth ofthe middle　　classin Western Europe. Ofcoursefolk music, traditional songsand dances had　　alwaysbeen part of everyday life. Butas massproduction techniqueswererefinedin　　the 19th century,the priceof pianosdropped to thepoint that a larger proportion of　　the population could affordto own becamemoreavailable, they　　brought classicalmusic,the musicwhich previously had beenposedonly forthe　　upper classes,into the livesofthe middleclasspeople aswell.　　Oneway in particular that wecan seethe socialimpactof thisinstrument isitsrole　　in thelivesof women ofthe , itwasquite rare fora womanto　　perform on anything, but maybea harp or maybe shesang. But suddenly inthe 19th　　country itbecamequiteacceptable, evento someextent,almost expected fora　　middleclassEuropean womanto beable to play the piano,partly becauseamong　　uppermiddleclasswomen itwasa sign itwasalso an excellent　　way forsomewomen to earn moneyby giving piano somewomen,　　thosefew whohad exceptional talentand the opportunity todevelop it, theirlives　　weredramaticallyaffected.　　Later we’llbe listeningto works by a posernamedRobert Schumann. Butlet’s　　now talkabout hiswifeClara Schumann. Clara Schumann wasborn in Germany in　　1819. She grew up surrounded by pianos. Her fathersold pianosand both her　　parents wererespectedpiano learnedto play the instrument whenshe　　wasa smallchildand gave her firstpublic recitalat age9. Clara grew up tobeea　　wellknown and respected piano virtuoso, a performer ofextraordinary skillwho not　　only gave concerts acrossEurope, but alsowas oneof the firstimportant female　　posersforthe instrument.　　Conversation2　　Narrator:　　Listen to aconversation between a professor and a student.　　Professor:　　Jeff,I’m glad you drop by. I’ve beenmeaning tocongratulate you on the class　　leadershipaward.　　Student:　　Thanks professor Bronson, Iwas reallyhappy to getit and a littlesurprised. Imean,　　therewereso many otherpeople nominated.　　Professor:　　Well,I know theaward was welldeserved. Now,what can Ido for you today?　　Student:　　I neededto talk to you about the medieval history test,you know,the one scheduled　　forFriday afternoon.　　Professor:　　Yes?　　Student:　　Well,there isthistrip that myFrench classis taking. Wearegoing to Montreal for the　　weekend.　　Professor:　　Montreal? That’s myfavorite ’llyou be seeingthere?　　Student:　　I’m not sureyet. Well,the reason,the mainreason I wantedto go isthat we’ll be　　rooming with Frenchspeaking studentsthere, you know,so wecan get achance to　　useour French toactually talkwith realFrenchspeakers.　　Professor:　　It soundslikea good opportunity. But then,there isthat test.　　Student:　　Yeah… but… well, the thing is thebus leavesright in themiddleof whenour history　　classmeetsthis Friday. So, well,I wasthinking maybe I could takethe teston a　　differentday likeMonday morning during your officehours?　　Professor:　　Eh… Monday morning… um… that wouldnot be… oh wait, let mejustseeone thing.　　Aha, okay. That’swhat I thought. So, for your class,I wasplanning a takehomeexam　　so you could justtake thetestalong with. Let’ssee,I guessyou could eto class　　Friday justto pick up way you’d stillmake your bus, and then findsome　　quiettimeduring your trip topleteitand you can bring it toclassWednesday　　whenI’ll becollectingeveryone else’s.　　Student:　　Hmm… um... during the trip, well,I guessI could. So I shouldplan to take my books　　and stuffwithme.　　Professor:　　You’ll definitelyneed your classnote. I am giving you several shortessay questionsto　　makeyou think criticallyabout thepo