In 9th and 10th grade, I had a Spanish teacher who was from Spain. He was a wonderful teacher, and often we would learn by listening to music in Spanish. He would hand us the lyrics, we would listen to the song, and then try to translate it. One day, he played a song called “Ni tú ni nadie” by Alaska y Dinarama. It was a song massively popular in Spain after it was released in 1984. The whole class loved it, and we began to ask to listen to it every day. He began to regret ever showing us as he’d already heard it countless times in his life. Another song I remember listening to for the first time in that class was “Poco antes de que den las diez” by Joan Manuel Serrat. Having been provided a basis in class, I began to seek out other artists who made music in Spanish. It was rare for me to be engaged artistically in an academic class while in high school, and this proved to be a really effective way for me to learn.
My best friend is really into French language and culture,
and last year she discovered a French musical artist named Pomme. I don’t know
any French, but I love Pomme. Do I have an idea what she is saying?
Absolutely not. My friend, Emily, does tell me the general meanings of the
songs, though. We listen together often and have decided that if Pomme ever
comes to the US on tour we MUST go. My favorite songs by Pomme are Pauline and
Adieu mon homme. Even though my understanding of the overt meaning of her songs
is limited, I still feel as if I understand what she is singing about. What I’ve
learned from Emily about French songs is that the lyrics are really dramatic and existential. It may
just translate in a way that seems so to me, but most French songs I’ve heard
have the same energy as In A Week by Hozier.
I’ve found that the musical content of a lyrical song is
more important to me than the lyrics themselves, so it’s not really a challenge
for me to listen to music in other languages. Still, it seems that most of my
multicultural music experience still exists in a modern and Western bubble. I have
wondered before about the music of non-Anglo cultures, but it can be hard to
know where to begin. I am very excited to broaden my knowledge throughout the
duration of this course.
I also took spanish in high school but I wasnt influenced with much of this music until I took spanish two my spohomore year. The teacher I had loved incorporating music into her lessons and one day she played the movie Selena. She was a spanish icon and thought her story was sad, she definitely lived on. I really enjoy her music, though I haven't listened to it in quite awhile. I think its so cool that you found a way to stay engaged artisitically. Thats always important!
ReplyDelete-Sommerset Sewell
It's so funny because I have an older brother who loves music and is all about finding new music and he listens to a lot of french music as well and I have come to enjoy a few songs myself. I took three years of french in high school but I still have no clue what they're saying.
ReplyDeleteI just took my first semester of French this past fall. I never studied French or Spanish in high school, but they are beautiful languages. I love it when you fall in love with and really enjoy something you are introduced to in an academic setting. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI took French in middle school and high school, so I do not really know much Spanish. I wish I had learned it though, since it is so useful. That is so good that you had such a meaningful experience! Also, I have briefly heard of Pomme myself!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog entry, I remembered that I had a German teacher from Germany in high school who also played a lot of foreign music in class. Sometimes while we’d work on worksheets she’d play a German radio station called SWR3. This station had all different types of music from French to Spanish to Finnish. Admittedly, I occasionally still listen to this station even though I don’t really know what the songs are about. I also really liked how you mentioned that you felt artistically engaged in an academic class. I think this is super important in today’s education system.
ReplyDeleteI have never really listened to French music but I am considering giving it a try after reading your post! I also took Spanish in high school and loved learning about Hispanic music an still love to dance to it!!
ReplyDeleteReading your blog made me think back to when I took Spanish 4 in high school. Our teacher would also use music as a tool to teach the language. Now for my class, the song that we got hooked to was “Te Veo” by Lasso. Our teacher also got absolutely exhausted hearing the song over and over but she recognized how that song allowed the class to bond over something.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how you acknowledge the fact that your section of music seems to revolve around Western culture. Many will just accept that fact and move forward with life but reading how you’re willing to learning more about other selections of music shows your maturity as a musician.
By the way, this was written by Melissa Canales-Gonzalez.
Delete