How to Memorize a Song in a Language You Dont Know
"Corking, a new song to larn."
"Oh, no, information technology's in 'foreign'. Aid!"
listening or reading?
Some songs in foreign languages are very short and take but 1 or ii words. For case, a Georgian Mravlažamier or the Due south African Senzenina.
In these cases it's easy to learn the words past simply listening. Shut your eyes, hear the word spoken to you, an epitome may (or may non) come to you. Feel information technology on your tongue, savor the sound and the shapes your mouth makes.
Other, longer songs, will demand written lyrics and this is where information technology can get hard.
suspension it down
It can be daunting to see long, unfamiliar foreign words written down. Zulu, German, Georgian and many other languages oftentimes use much longer words than English.
Rather than trying to deal with these in a unmarried chunk, it'south much better to write the words out with breaks between the sung syllables.
So instead of dithotonyana, yous would write di – tho – to – nya – na.
transcribing weird characters
Some foreign languages have completely different alphabets (Hebrew, Russian, Georgian, etc.). In these cases y'all need to transcribe them using equivalent English letters. It's non ever possible to do this 100% as English has a limited number of sounds, then you might have to estimate.
Other languages utilise English letters, but have a few that we don't have in English language. e.m. ž š č ñ ö ç. Once more, write downwardly the nearest approximation.
It is possible over time to recognise these and pronounce them appropriately, but to start with it's easier to transcribe them into equivalent English language sounds.
Other languages need to be simplified somewhat because our ears simply can't hear the subtleties. Georgian, Gaelic, etc.
go into the rhythm
Although it doesn't peculiarly help to proceed repeating the words by speaking them before you sing them (song lyrics are stored with the music, information technology'south non like rote-learning poesy see How songs are stored in your encephalon), it tin can assistance to speak the words in rhythm. This tin can help anchor the unfamiliar words so you don't trip up over them when yous come to link them with the melody.
beyond the get-go poetry
I've talked before almost how we tend to over-practice using the first poetry words when learning a new song in harmony (see How to bargain with song lyrics). The bug are even more evident when singing in a strange language.
When we get to verse ii the song tin grind to a halt as people struggle with the new lyrics. The undercover is to soldier on even if you lot're getting the words wrong. The next time round information technology will get better. Don't permit the words dictate as you're learning.
don't panic, the lyric police aren't in!
Yes, we demand to respect other languages, merely some people go so hung upwardly on being admittedly totally and perfectly correct when they're learning a vocal that it holds things upward. Nix terrible is going to happen to you if you get the occasional give-and-take wrong. Side by side fourth dimension circular it will exist better. Finally it will be spot on.
it's all in the vowels
What ordinarily gives abroad that you lot're non a native speaker of a detail language is the vowel sounds. A articulate example is the English 'you' sound instead of 'yoo' or 'yu'.
In many foreign languages the vowel sounds are what are known as pure Italian vowels. That is, the v vowels nosotros use in English – A, E, I, O, U – but in their 'pure' form as they are used in Italian (and many other languages).
By 'pure' is meant no diphthongs. A diphthong is when at that place is more than one sound involved in a vowel (so the natural language has to move). For example, in English when we speak the vowel 'I' it sounds something like 'centre'. Just the 'pure' version of the vowel sounds more like the 'I' in the discussion 'information technology'.
always assume someone in the audience will empathise
Don't recollect that a strange song is just a series of random syllables joined together. It's a real language and needs to be respected. Carry as if at that place will ever exist someone in the audition who understands each strange language you're singing in. There usually is!
they practise things differently in Slovakia (or Uruguay or ...)
Many people focus on the meaning of a song, whatever language it's in. Simply that doesn't always help.
There are often huge cultural differences. What might appear to be a funeral march could be a dearest song. What, at beginning listen, is a jolly dance song might be a sad story most lost love. In fact, knowing the meaning tin can sometimes exist a drawback! (run into as well Vocal meanings lost in translation)
foreign lyrics can be easier to recall
Information technology might appear to be a hard slog at first, but if y'all don't speak a particular language, the only mode you can learn it is by the sound of the words, one syllable at a time.
However, if the song is in English, y'all don't make quite equally much effort and often end up recalling the meaning in which case you're likely to paraphrase and put incorrect words in.
unfamiliar languages tin can be easier to learn
If we have a smattering of the language we're learning a song in, information technology can be an obstruction. If nosotros have vague memories of our school French or Castilian we tin stop up stumbling over words or getting them confused with others in French and Spanish songs. If a language is completely unknown to united states, we just have to get on learning information technology by rote.
find your inner Slav (or Gambian OR ...)
We'll never go the pronunciation exactly right, nor the quality of the singing, but it's worth making a stab. Ane of the easiest ways is to practise a chip of character interim.
It can be a stereotype, merely past pretending y'all're from the culture of the song yous'll end upwardly feeling liberated and less English. You might think yous're going over the acme, just it takes a lot of try before the results can actually be heard past the audience.
learning is a process
Be patient. It takes a long fourth dimension to learn a vocal properly whether it'south in a strange language or not. Don't permit the unfamiliar words hold you upwardly. The beginning time around you might brand lots of mistakes, simply information technology volition get gradually easier and more authentic. (see also Learning songs by ear)
don't forget dissimilar learning styles
Some people are far more visual than others. I am one of those. I find information technology a struggle to remember a foreign word if I don't see information technology written down. I only have to run across it once, then that epitome helps me to 'hear' the word.
Other people are non that visual or might have some kind of reading difficulty in which case a sheet of strange words tin be very off-putting. Have into account the many dissimilar learning styles when teaching a strange vocal.
some languages are harder than others
At first you lot might think that all foreign languages are equally hard. When I started my first choir, we found all languages hard. But over fourth dimension, we started to go familiar with the vowel sounds of Serbo-Croat and even began to recognise sure words.
What turned out to exist the hardest languages were those from these islands! Welsh we kind of nailed, merely Scottish Gaelic was fiendishly difficult.
I bought a song arrangement which had been written out phonetically, but that was even too difficult so I had to write out the phonetics phonetically!
go to the source
There's nothing better than hearing someone native sing the foreign song you're working on. Rail down recordings, meet if there's someone from that civilisation in your local community, check out YouTube for native singers.
No demand to copy them exactly, only yous'll get a good feel for the linguistic communication by listening to a few examples.
your handy hints
Do you have whatsoever other suggestions or handy hints for learning and singing songs in foreign languages? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Chris Rowbury'southward website: chrisrowbury.com
Source: https://blog.chrisrowbury.com/2012/01/how-to-sing-song-in-foreign-language.html
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