November 22, 2014

Make Learning The Language Easier With Spanish Song Lyrics

By Ida Dorsey


If you want to learn a new language, one of your best choices will be learning Spanish. It's spoken by as many people in the world as there are English speakers. It will make traveling in Latin America a breeze and a more enriching experience. To help you practice, be sure to study some Spanish song lyrics.

Songs are incredibly useful when you're learning a language. Even if you don't understand the words yet, they'll help you get used to the sounds and rhythms of that language. They're also a fun way to learn new vocabulary or to understand the rules of grammar. In addition, you get to hear different accents.

Music from Mexico is perfect when you're still a beginner. This is because the Mexican accent is generally easy to understand and you'll find plenty of songs that are slow enough so you can follow the words. The ranchera songs of Jose Alfredo Jimenez and Chavela Vargas are good choices, as are traditional songs such as 'La Cucuracha' and 'Cielito Lindo'. You can also try popular contemporary singers like Lila Downs or Marco Antonio Solis.

Another country with easy songs to learn or to listen to is Cuba. 'Guantanamera' is this country's most famous song and is a very easy one to understand. However, the slower styles made famous by the Buena Vista Social Club's musicians are an excellent choice too.

The Spanish spoken in Spain is a little more complicated to understand. However, as you progress, you may want to try songs from the country where the language originated. A good choice is the music of Manu Chao, since his songs are generally very simple.

Among the most difficult Spanish accents are those from Argentina and neighboring Chile. Some people who have been speaking the language as their mother tongue even have trouble understanding Argentinians and Chileans. However, these countries have produced some excellent songs and you may want to try those from the Nueva Cancion folk movement. Mercedes Sosa, who was from Argentina, was a superstar of this genre and for a great source of new words, try her hit 'Gracias A La Vida', which was composed by the Chilean poet and singer Violeta Parra.

You'll also want to try learning songs that you can really dance to. Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony all have recorded in Spanish. There are also artists who are superstars in Latin America even if the English-speaking world doesn't know much about them, such as Juanes from Colombia and Ricardo Arjona from Guatemala. You'll find a wide variety of musical styles as well, from reggae and hip hop to cumbia and merengue, that will have you shaking your hips in no time while singing the chorus.

You may be able to find CDs with Spanish songs, especially in record stores in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. Even easier will be to download numbers from the internet. CD sleeves often contain the lyrics to the songs or you'll find specialty websites that can provide you with the words. They may even have the English translations alongside the original words, but try to do the translations yourself first to test your skill.




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