Music
Lyricstraining is a good resource for improving your listening skills, increasing your vocabulary and knowledge of international music as you select a language and music genre whilst you tune in and fill in the gaps of a song as played to you online; allowing you to repeat as appropriate building your confidence and vocabulary.
It is worth thinking more broadly than the confines of European music with Francophone countries, Central and South America, for example, offering a rich resource for songs in French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
Nuevo Tango
As its name suggests, tango nuevo is a 'new' form of tango. This developed from the 1990s and includes music produced by internationally renowned bands such as Gotan Project. The music Nuevo Tango largely came into fruition thanks to the influence of the composer Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla. Tango Nuevo can be in music and/or dance form. In the context of dance, its focus is on improvisation rather than learning the conventional movements of the tango.
El cajón peruano/flamenco
The “cajon”, translated as “drawer” or “crate” is as its name suggests, describes the box drum. It originates from Peru, South America and is played is performed for Afro-Peruvian music; of which the country boasts internally acclaimed musicians. The Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia and fellow musicians came across the cajón during a visit to Peru in the 1970s and subsequently incorporated it into flamenco music. Therefore, you will come across the instrument “cajón flamenco”. However, Paco de Lucia and his Brazilian percussionist Rubem Dantes adapted the instrument attaching guitar strings to the inside of its playing surface.
Chanson Française
A constructive way of expanding ones vocabulary but also knowledge of French culture is by tuning into classic chansons françaises. In essence, chanson française is a term used to describe lyrics-led songs. Famous artists include Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens,Chales Aznavour and Dalida, for example. Juliette Gréco, described by the New York Times as "the Grande Dame of Chanson Française" died in September 2020. She leaves the legacy of having sung the songs of poets such as Jacques Prévert
- Les Feuilles mortes: from the movie Les Portes de la nuit, written by Jacques Prévert and composed by Joseph Kosma.
- Le Temps des cerises : written by Jean Baptiste Clément and composed by Antoine Renard.
- Ne me quitte pas : written and composed by Jacques Brel.
The 1970s saw the initial modernisation of the chanson Française grâce à artists singer/song writers such as the controversial Serge Gainsbourg. The Nouvelle Chanson started to emerge in the 1990s with artists such as Françoiz Breut and Coralie Clément, for example.
Samba
The roots of Samba lie in Africa, the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It emerged within Brazil through the Samba de Roda in the North East of Brazil and state of Bahia. More often than not Samba is is associated with Brazilian Carnival. Some of the Samba Schools that form to perform at Brazilian Carnival have in recent months used music as a means of protest against the President’s controversial first year in office. You can get ahead of the game with what’s on the list for Brazilian Carnival 2021.
Amongst a number of internationally acclaimed Samba musicians are Nelson Cavaquinho and Paulinho da Viola with original surnames changed to match those of musical instruments. Songs such as Nelson Cavaquinho's Folhas Secas will help reinforce commonly used verbs for beginners learning the present tense whilst Paulinho da Viola's Foi um Rio Que Passou em Minha Vida a more challenging song for those grammatically more advanced students learning (Brazilian) Portuguese.
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