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Views #303 | Intermediate 4

Music

Adrienne talks about playing the violin.

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Adrienne	Todd

Todd: OK, Adrienne, let's talk about abilities. What are you good at?

Adrienne: Um, I don't know.

Todd: You don't know?

Adrienne: I really don't know!

Todd: Well, I was looking at your photos, and you can play the violin.

Adrienne: That's true!

Todd: And you can sing very well.

Adrienne: Ah, I can sing some.

Todd: OK, so, tell us about playing the violin.

Adrienne: I really enjoy playing the violin. I've been playing for many, many years since I was a little girl and everyone in my family plays an instrument so it's part of what we do together as a family.

Todd: So when you were little you practiced every day?

Adrienne: I did. My mom made me. I didn't have a choice. It's good for discipline though, or at least that's what she told me.

Todd: So, how would you practice? Did you have a tutor come over to your house?

Adrienne: No, I had a violin teacher once a week and when I was really small I went to group lessons also, so it was once a week with a private and once a week with a group.

Todd: Wow! That's a lot. What did you think about the violin when you were little?

Adrienne: I don't remember thinking about it. I don't even remember learning how to play. I was only two so (so young) I know. I was still in diapers, but my mom said that when I had my first recital that I really wanted to play in the recital and she said I absolutely could not play on stage in a diaper so that's basically how she got me out of my diapers. So she says!

Todd: When did you stop playing?

Adrienne: I haven't stopped.

Todd: Oh, you still practice.

Adrienne: I still play although I don't have my violin here in Japan, right now. I'm kind of on a break I guess. I just don't like to carry it around overseas.

Todd: Is it hard to be away from your violin?

Adrienne: It is sometimes. I miss it. I miss playing with my family too, cause we're kind of like the Van Trap family, which you know from the movie The Sound of Music.

Todd: No, no, I don't. I've never seen the movie.

Adrienne: Oh, you haven't? The Sound of Music is about a family in, I think it's Austria and they all play an instrument or sing and it's a World War II movie and that's how they escape the Nazis, from singing or something. It's kind of like that, except for without the war.

Todd: Well, I have to see the movie so!

Adrienne: Yeah, you should.

Todd: So are you going to play the violin for me sometime?

Adrienne: Sure! If you can find a violin I will.

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

good at

What are you good at?

When you are 'good at' something it means you excel at it or it comes naturally to you in life.

Notice the following:

Mozart was very good at playing music from a very early age.
My sister is an excellent gymnast, she is very good at it.

what we do together

It's part of what we do together as a family.

'What we do together' is used to describe the activities people usually do with each other. In this case, it is how they spend their time together as a family.

Notice the following:

What we do together is always fun, but I especially like it when we go to the cinema.
I will let you decide what we do together.

discipline

It's good for discipline though, or at least that's what she told me.

In this case 'discipline' refers to a repeated activity or a schedule that helps improve a particular skill.

Notice the following:

This school focuses on the fact that discipline will help you reach your goals.
A little bit of discipline will do you good.

recital

I really wanted to play in the recital.

A 'recital' is a type of concert or performance. This is usually a time when students show what they have learned.

Notice the following:

Do you want to come to my piano recital on Friday?
I think I would like to do a dance recital next year.

get out of

That's basically how she got me out of my diapers.

When used in this way, 'get me out of' diapers means to motivate someone not to use diapers anymore. It can also mean to physically remove someone from a place or situation or to avoid doing something he doesn't want to to.

Notice the following: