Effective Ways to Memorize a New Piece of Music

If learning music in a language other than your native is difficult, have no fear and welcome to the club! Over the course of my practice education, I have learned that there are processes you can follow for a better outcome.

1. Watch your favorite shows in the languages you need to sing in.

Many of your favorite shows offer multiple language options for viewing. For even better results, find shows that originally are in the language you are studying. While watching your show, put away all distractions and listen closely. Listening is the most important strategy in language learning. Babies and young children go through a period of silence, where they devote their focus to aural skills to eventually imitate once they are ready to talk. This behavior is continued until they become fluent in the language. We can apply this same concept while watching and listening to different languages online/by video. Pay attention to how the actors form their mouths to produce their vowels. Additionally, pay close attention to inflections and accents. These details give shape and purpose to sentences and play a vital role in how the sentence is received. Below I have included a list of shows in their respective languages. French:

• The Hookup Plan. Rated: TV-MA Summary: Two years after a breakup, Elsa is still obsessed with her ex. But when she meets dreamy schoolteacher Jules, her outlook on life begins to change. The Hookup Plan Official Trailer Call My Agent! Rated: TV-MA Summary: At a top Paris talent firm, agents scramble to keep their star clients happy-and their business afloat-after an unexpected crisis. Call My Agent! Official Trailer Lupin: Rated. TV-MA Summary: To retrieve incriminating evidence on Hubert, Assane enlists the help of a journalist. Officer Guédira connects the dots around the Louvre heist. Lupin Official Trailer

German:

• Dark. Rated: TV-MA Summary: A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations.Dark Official trailer Das Hausboot. Rated: TV-14 Summary: With plenty of passion and little know-how, two musicians undertake a daunting project: turn a late singer’s houseboat into a creative musical space. Das Hausboot Official trailer Wer kann, der kann. Rated: TV-14 Summary: Home cooks try and inevitably fail to recreate spectacular confections on this comical competition show, all for a sweet 5,000 euros. Wer kann der kann Official Trailer

Italian: An article detailing the top Italian shows and movies on Netflix. Russian: An article detailing the top Russian shows and movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime. English: An article detailing the most watched shows and movies on Netflix.

2. Learn your piece in your native language first

Begin by translating your piece word for word if it is not in your native language. Second, write your own interpretation. Lastly, form full grammatical sentences or questions from the text. More often than not, the lyrics we read online or learn from the track are broken up into phrases. The pauses leading to the phrase are where we might get stuck in an attempt to remember the lyrics. However, if we practice learning the entire sentence before learning the music, the words in the next phrase will be easier to recall because they will grammatically make sense. I encourage you to speak the text in the same manner you would in normal conversation and play around with drawing emphasis towards certain words to give shape to the phrase. Once you’ve mastered this, apply the original text to the melody. When you put your initial effort into understanding the text in your native language, it’ll make that much more sense when applying the original language.

3. For those of you who struggle to learn music in your native language, I recommend beginning your music learning by creating a story for your character. Read through the lyrics of the song and create a story for the character. Answering these questions will help: 1. Where are you from and what is your background? 2. Do you have a close relationship with your family? Why? Why not? 3. What trauma have you experienced? 4. What successful moments have you experienced? 5. What experiences shaped you to be the person you are? 6. What personality traits do you possess? 7. Have you been in any healthy/unhealthy romantic relationships? 8. What is your view on the romantic relationships you’ve been in? 9. What role did you play in the parting of any relationships you’ve had? 10. Which life experience(s) motivated you to sing the lyrics in this song?

These questions are introspective and require that you embody the character in order to come across as a real person who has experienced real situations. Creating a narrative for your character will help you connect with the song making it memorable and relatable.