Can You Learn Spanish by Music? Spanish Music to Learn Spanish With.
Learning Spanish is an amazing but challenging thing as it can open up countless opportunities and give you exposure to a culture that you would not have otherwise.
It can also be a tedious and extensive task no matter how you do it, so it is a great idea to try and add excitement and interest wherever you can.
One of the best ways to do this could be by listening to music to help you learn Spanish. Most people enjoy some kind of music.
And almost every genre in English transfers over to Spanish to help you learn faster and in a more fun way.
(Except music without lyrics, obviously.)
Why Does Music Help You Learn Spanish?
1) Exposure
When learning Spanish, it is beneficial to have constant exposure to the language, not just to speak it but listening to it as well.
Music gives you the opportunity to do both. As you learn the song, you get exposure to someone else talking(or singing), and practice understanding what they are saying. Before you look up the English translation of the song, try to translate it yourself for practice.
Exposure works best if you understand what you are hearing and saying, but even if you don’t, the sheer exposure to the sounds can make learning easier.
2) Easier to Remember
The brain likes rhythm, patterns, and things that flow together. Songs utilize all of those things, and therefore our brains recognize the pattern in the melody and in the lyrics, making it easier for us to remember things.
A monologue of Spanish words may take you a long time to learn, while a song may only take you a few times listening to it to get it down.
3) Lots of Options
Just like with music in English, there are countless genres of Spanish music, so there is something out there for everyone. You may even be able to find some of your favorite songs translated into Spanish.
No matter what your music tastes and style are, there should be a song out there, in Spanish, that you would enjoy listening to.
Learning is so much better and easier when you are enjoying it because you will feel more motivated.
4) Pronunciation Practice
When you are singing along with the lyrics of a song, you are getting practice saying the words with the correct pronunciation. ‘
As a lyric in a song, you may finally be able to get down the word that you just can’t seem to pronounce right.
The more you sing along, the more practice you get, and it is much more fun than sitting and repeating the word over and over again to yourself.
5) Utilizes Common Words
Songs utilize words that you may hear rather often in day to day conversation. So you can take the words you learn from a lyric and use them in spoken conversations.
It may take a little longer to learn how to use the words outside of the context of the song than it takes to learn the song, but it is still a rather quick way to get a large number of words in your head as a song typically has 100-300 words in it.
6) Culture
Music is so important to culture no matter where you are or what language you are listening to it in.
A song or even just one lyric can give you insight into all sorts of things about a culture’s values, preferences, dislikes, things they enjoy, etc.
Because of this, when you learn Spanish through music, you will get access to the culture in a way you could not if you only focused on sheer vocabulary memorization.
Music To Learn Spanish With
1) Living La Vida Loca- Ricky Martin
You will not be able to stop yourself from dancing when listening to this upbeat Spanish song. All the lyrics are clear and easy to follow, making this a great song to learn Spanish from.
On top of that, “Living La Vida Loca” is also a popular and well-known song in Spanish culture, so you are getting exposure to the language and the culture all at once.
2) La Bicicleta- Carlos Vives
This song was created when Carlos Vives paired up with an artist you probably already know: Shakira.
The chorus is bound to get stuck in your head and repeats a lot, which will help you memorize the words as repetition is vital.
Some beginner Spanish students might find this song hard, but if you already know some words, this song is a great challenge to stretch and hone your skills.
3) Historia De Taxi
This is a really good song to help you learn Spanish, as it is told in story form.
You can use your knowledge of the language to work to figure out what is happening, or you can look up the English translation and make the connections between the words as you listen.
Either way, this song is a great song to use for exposure and practice when learning Spanish.
A supplement to learn Spanish from music faster
One of the good things about using songs to learn Spanish is the fact that they utilize common words, but sometimes you may feel like you are not learning enough of the common words and may want some more material to supplement it.
Though it is good to keep along with the pattern of learning the most common words first, it can be helpful to have access to materials beyond a song.
One great option to supplement your song education is by using Spanish dictionaries, specifically those organized by how much they are used.
Like our Spanish frequency dictionaries.
We have frequency dictionaries for Spanish ( and many other languages). The dictionaries are built around the idea of learning Spanish through the most commonly used words.
Each dictionary also comes with parallel text sentences, translated to English, along with the Spanish sentence, to help you practice applying the words you use.
Download some songs, invest in the dictionaries, and start learning Spanish today!