How to Use Music to Learn French (+Get Playlists for Free!)
Learn how you can use music to learn French and reasons why you should. Plus get access to hundreds of French songs with lyrics!
On this page
I. The drawbacks of using music to learn FrenchII. The reasons why you should use music to learn FrenchIII. How to use music to learn FrenchIV. Where to find good French musicConclusionCan you use music to learn French?
How can you learn French with music?
What type of French music can you use to learn French and where can you find it?
If these questions have crossed your mind, you’ve come to exactly the right place. In this article, we’ll talk about using music as a way to supplement your French lessons. You’ll also be able to get access to tons of French songs that I have specially curated for French learners of all ages, including French songs for beginners.
I. The drawbacks of using music to learn French
I have to be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of using music to learn French. You know how musicians often take shortcuts liberally, blend words together, and alter individual word sounds more than necessary? Well, this could make it hard for beginner French learners to identify words properly and learn correct pronunciation.
BUT—if you know how to use French songs to supplement your lessons, it could work out very nicely for you.
Now let’s take a look at how and why music would help you in learning French.
II. The reasons why you should use music to learn French
- Music will help you immerse yourself in French culture. To be able to thoroughly enjoy learning French, you need to expose yourself to French culture. One way to do it is by listening to French music.
- Music can train your ears to recognize French sounds. Listening to French songs can introduce you to words and pronunciation, but melody and singing can change their rhythm, so songs do not always reflect the tempo of ordinary spoken French.
- Discover new French words. By listening and singing along to French songs, you’ll be able to pick up new words in context!
- Memorize vocabulary and phrases with the help of a catchy tune. Song lyrics could easily stick to your memory. Make the most of it by listening to French songs and committing the new words, slang, expressions, and phrases to mind!
III. How to use music to learn French
Now that we’ve established that you can, in fact, use French music as a way to supplement your French language lessons, here are some ways in which you can learn French with music.
- Choose songs you’d enjoy. Are you a fan of heart-rending love songs? Do you like to rap along to some hip-hop beats? Or do you want to dance along to some funky tunes? Pick the kind of music you normally listen to and listen to French songs from the same genre.
- Look up the lyrics. Once you have selected the French songs that you like, find the original lyrics as well as an English translation and sing along to the songs. Better yet, try an app that displays synchronized lyrics—like Musixmatch! Lyrics and translation features depend on the song, app and available plan.
- Memorize the song in parts. There’s no need to memorize the entire song all in one go. You can start with the chorus first or the first few lines. Or you can learn the song one line or one verse at a time. It’s up to you.
- Listen to the song on repeat. Play it over and over until the melody and lyrics stick.
- SING! This is the best part: sing to your heart’s content! Sing, dance, hold a concert for one. Sing in the car, in the shower, or wherever you feel like belting out a song. The best way to practice French songs is to sing them.
IV. Where to find good French music
There’s no need to look any further because here at Talk in French, I’ve prepared a lot of French songs for you to listen to. The main playlist’s introduction describes a collection of 600 songs, and there are themed playlists below too. That’s plenty of songs for you to choose from! Current track availability can vary by streaming service and country.
Sounds awesome, right?
Where your streaming service or lyrics app provides synchronized lyrics, you can turn your computer or smartphone into a mini karaoke player! This can be helpful for learning new French words. You can list down words you don’t understand and look them up later on. Synchronized lyrics are not available for every song or device.
You can check out the playlists below. You’ll find the instructions on how to access the music inside the articles.
600+ French Songs – More than 30 hours of French Music
This playlist contains hundreds of French songs across different genres. This is where you will discover your new favorite French artists as well as find new and old songs to enjoy.
70 French Songs for Children
Whether you are learning French with your children or you’re still a complete beginner and need simple lyrics and rhymes, this playlist with French songs for beginners is a good one for you.
31 French Love Songs
In the mood for love? From heartbreaking ballads to mellow love songs, there’s a French love song for every mood and you can find them here.
French Christmas Songs
Do you love Christmas? When Christmas is fast approaching, what better way to practice French than to curl up in front of the fire with a mug of hot cocoa and listen to French Christmas songs?
French Music from the 80s
If you’ve got a thing for the 80s, you’re in luck because there’s a playlist of French songs from the 80s especially for you!
Conclusion
Music is a good way to help you learn new French words, immerse yourself in French culture, and even help you feel good not just in your French language lessons, but in your day-to-day life as well. If you know anyone who would love to listen to these French music playlists, feel free to share it with them, too!
