News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 1

January 2010
Level ≥ Advanced
Style ≥ Individual or group activities
Welcome to the Guardian Weekly’s special news-based materials to support learners and teachers of
English. Each month, the Guardian Weekly newspaper selects topical news articles that can be used to
practise English language skills. The materials are graded for two levels: Advanced and Lower Intermediate.
These worksheets can be downloaded free from guardianweekly.co.uk/learningenglish/. You can also
find more advice for teachers and learners on the site
Materials prepared by Janet Hardy-Gould

Composer reinvents the piano to play a world of music

Sliding scales ... Pam Chowhan plays the fluid piano David Levene

Were you/Are you good at …?

Before reading Was it/Is it difficult …?
1 Work with a partner. Ask questions about their ex-
perience of playing a musical instrument. Use the 2 Verbs and expressions from the article
beginnings below. Finish the questions with a verb Match the phrases to make definitions.
in the infinitive or –ing form. a If you feel daunted by something,
Initial questions b If you alter something,
Have you ever learned …? c If you come up with something,
Have you ever considered …? d If you unveil a new project,
Possible follow-up questions e If you embrace an idea,
Why did you choose/decide …? f If you find something baffling,
Did you/Do you enjoy …?
≥2
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 2

January 2010

1 you find it confusing. including Pam Chowhan, the head of planning

2 you accept it with enthusiasm.
3 you show it in public for the first time.
4 you feel nervous about doing it.
5 you make it different.
6 you produce a new idea, invention etc.
Article
Composer reinvents the piano
to play a world of music
1 For a non-pianist, the idea of a microtonally fluid
piano might seem either no big deal or baffling.
But now a composer has revealed the result of a
10-year mission – nothing less than the reinven-
tion of one of the most important instruments in
western music.
2 Geoff Smith believes he has come up with the
first multicultural acoustic piano – what he has
trademarked as a fluid piano – which allows
players to alter the tuning of notes either before
or during a performance. Instead of a pianist
having a fixed sound, 88 notes from 88 keys,
Smith’s piano has sliders allowing them access to
the different scales that you get in, for example,
Indian and Iranian music. For good measure,
Smith has included a horizontal harp.
3 The instrument was unveiled in England last
November and will receive a premiere in London
in March.
4 Smith, a British composer and performer, said:
“The fluid piano is a western piano as we know it,
similar to an early fortepiano, but because of the
tuning mechanisms, suddenly, musicians can
explore scales from the Middle East, from Iran.”
at London’s Royal Festival Hall. She admitted to
being daunted when first confronted with the
piano.
7 “It was really scary, it is even now. I’m mainly
a classical pianist and you kind of know what
you’re doing, you know how the piano is going to
respond and how it is going to sound. Suddenly
I’ve got a piano which sounds like nothing I’ve
heard before. It opens up so many choices that
you become almost paralysed.”
8 Smith has been invited to take his piano to a
festival in Poland. But his dream is to get his
fluid piano manufactured. “It has become a
fundamental part of my life, because it’s driven
by a vision,” he said. “I always knew it would
work – I wasn’t like some crazy inventor.”
Mark Brown
To see and hear the fluid piano go to
http://bit.ly/fluidpiano
Glossary
fluid (adjective) not fixed; changeable
reinvent (verb) to make changes to something in order
to improve it
fixed (adjective) not able to be changed
mission (noun) something important that you are
determined to achieve
insecure (adjective) not confident about something
vision (noun) an idea or picture in your imaginationl

5 The fluid piano has generated interest among

performers. “I’ve said to musicians they might
feel insecure about this piano, they might feel
scared,” said Smith. “But if they embrace it they
will have this big feeling of liberation, a big high.”

6 At the premiere, three pianists will perform, ≥3

News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 3

January 2010

d How did Pam Chowhan feel when she first played

While reading the piano? Why?
1 Read the article. Decide if the sentences are (T) or
false (F). Underline where you find the information
in the text.
a The inventor has spent the last five years creating
the new piano.
b The piano allows pianists to change the notes
during a concert.
c The piano can play scales from some different e What does Geoff Smith hope will happen in the
musical traditions. future?
d The instrument was first put on show this year.
e Geoff Smith is a musical inventor, performer and
composer.
f Smith thinks that all pianists will instantly love
his instrument.
g Pam Chowhan now feels very confident about
playing the new piano.
h Smith always felt sure that his piano would work.
After reading
2 Read again. Answer these questions
1 Complete the summary below with the active or
a How is a traditional piano different to the new
passive of the past simple or present perfect.
instrument?
Composer Geoff Smith first
(a) (have) the idea of a
fluid piano 10 years ago. Since then he
(b) (follow) his vision and
he (c) (reinvent) one of
the most important instruments in western music.
The new instrument (d)
(unveil) for the first time in England last November
and now three respected pianists
b Why is the fluid piano multicultural? Give examples.
(e) (invite) to perform on
the piano at a concert in London in March.
Smith (f) (ask) to take his
new invention to a music festival in Poland next year.

2 Vocabulary from the article

Find words related to music in the text. Then
find the vertical word. Paragraph numbers are in
brackets.
c How might pianists react when they first play the
a a series of musical sounds moving upwards or
new instrument?
downwards (2)
b a single sound made by a musical instrument (2)
c the first public performance of a piece of music, film
etc. (3)
d an upright instrument with strings, played with the
fingers (2)
e to entertain an audience by playing a piece of
music (6) ≥4
 While reading
Answers 1aFbTcTdFeTfFgFhT
2 a A normal piano has a fixed sound with 88 notes. The notes can’t be changed.
Before reading b It can play scales from countries around the world such as India and Iran.
1 Possible questions c They might feel scared or insecure.
Have you ever learned to play an instrument? Have you ever considered taking d Daunted, scared. She didn’t know how it was going to respond.
up an instrument? Why did you choose/decide to play the clarinet? Did you/Do e He hopes to get his piano manufactured.
you enjoy listening to a particular instrument? Was it/Is it difficult to learn the
sitar? Were you/Are you good at learning new pieces? After reading
2a4b5c6d3e2f1 1 a had b has followed c has reinvented d was unveiled e have been invited f has
been asked
2 a scale b note c premiere d harp e perform f acoustic g key h slider
h
g
f
e
d
other in small groups.
it is so important to you. Present your ideas to each
c
most revolutionized your life. Prepare notes about why
2 Work individually. Choose one of the items that has b
phone, MP3 player, microwave oven etc. a
the way in which people do something e.g. mobile
been reinvented and which have profoundly changed change the notes (2)
1 Work with a partner. Choose four things that have h a part of an instrument that you move along to
Activity g one of the parts that you press to play a piano (2)
f an instrument designed to make natural sound (2)
January 2010
Page 4 News-based English language activities from the global newspaper