1.What kind of music do people like at different ages?

When it comes to music preference there are many different tastes, however, there is also a big difference between what kind of music people like at different ages. In my opinion, when it comes to popular music, people like the music that they grew up with. Therefore, people who were teenagers in the 60s will like music from the 60s for most of their life. In contrast, someone younger who grew up in the 90s will not care for the music of the 60s. Yet, this is only true with popular music, when it comes to niche music (小众音乐）types things are quite different. For example when young people may love rap and dance music because of its upbeat (乐观向上）energy. In contrast, when they become older they may develop an appreciation of classical music and jazz for its intricate (错综复杂）detail.

2.What kind of music is popular in China now and what kind will be in the future?

There is a range of music that is popular in China at the moment. Obviously there is a large following of mainstream global music, a lot of which is from the Western world, yet there is a booming and vibrant Chinese music industry. Recently a lot of young people have become very interested in a music genre called K-Pop, originating from South Korea. This is very energetic pop music, usually accompanied by complex (复杂的）dancing and charismatic band members. In response to this some believe that China is producing its own form of this pop music, coined (仓1J造了）C-Pop . This is the music that is very popular with young people at the moment, however I think it will change. In the 1980s Chinese rock music was extremely popular with young people, nobody would have predicted the change to pop music. Therefore, I do not think we can ever predict the future of music.

3.Do people learn to sing nowadays?

I think a lot of people learn to sing nowadays, but not like they did before. People in the older generations learnt to sing for different reasons. Singing was a community activity, something you did at festivals and special occasions. Therefore, people would learn how to sing by singing with people in their community. However, in the modem world the attitude towards singing is very different. Singing has become a very lucrative (赚钱的）career. So, people now go to private vocal (声乐） coaching to improve their singing. Singing is now learnt meticulously (精心、细致）and is done so for private reasons. Regardless of the context, singing has always played a large part in cultural history, so people will always be learning how to sing.

4.Do you think the most popular singer is the best one?

In most instances the most popular singer is the best one. For professional singers their celebrity and fame is the direct result of their singing talent. Therefore, the better one is at singing the more popular they become in society. However, this is not always true. In the modem world people can gain popularity for many things which sometimes have nothing to do with talent. In modem celebrity culture many of the most popular singers are popular because of their personality and charisma ( 和魅力），not because of their talent