Does music help you learn Japanese?

[maryannballeras]

I've always been a fan of Japanese music, and I think that it definitely helps me in learning the language more.  I get to be accustomed with their words and grammar, and the good thing with music is that you can listen to it anywhere you are.  So in effect, I am also learning wherever I am.

[Baburra]

Yes, I think it helps in a very small way, because you get to memorize the lyrics without even knowing it if you like that song that much, and later on as you grow more interested in the language and decide to look it up, you'd at least already have something to start off from. That said, I don't think it can be relied on as a major way to learn Japanese but I definitely do think it gives inspiration and some sort of structure or foundation to learning the language.

[Determined2014]

It definitely helps me. I didn't realize it till later, but I just naturally started to pick up words that were in the lyrics. Of course, it didn't make me a Japanese master, but it did help a little.

Listening to the song while looking at the lyrics helps even more because you get to see the characters. 

Music does help learn Japanis, and not only Japanis alone, I think it makes it easier to learn any language.

[athena02]

I've noticed that listening to Japanese music helps mostly in cementing your memory of words you already knew the meaning of. Then all you have to do is associate them with other words and look up their meanings. In the long run, this should help greatly with structuring sentences.

[zabina12]

I also believe that using music can help us learn faster or better those various languages not just Japanese. It is because it could help us memorize words more and even those we really do not understand the meaning, we can still sing with it.

Also music adds fun to the learning process which makes it easier.

[sidney]

Yes, I agree with you, because music makes it easier for you to memorize what a particular word meant, because you can sing along to it. I actually google the theme songs of the Japanese shows that I'm watching, and I accidentally learn a few words and phrases because of it.

[OddVisions]

I think it helps but on a more intermediate training level. Starting off a beginner with Japanese Music is like throwing an untrained bullfighter into the stadium with a bull; it's not a good idea. However, I do support using music as a means of teaching phrases once some of the basics are covered and can be recognized quickly.

[Kyrne]

My love for Japanese music is one of the main things that spark my interest in learning the language! A song sung in Japanese adds another little layer of personality to the music. Half my bookmarked songs are in Japanese - helps with the immersion factor, I'd say, but that's hardly my intent. I just can't get enough...and it is motivating, for sure.

[Alphonse]

Any type of media in the language you want to learn will help you out. The problem with music, and television for that matter, is that they do throw in a good amount of slang that might confuse you if you're just starting out. If you're using music to learn you should be very careful how you go about it.

[rilakkumasenpai]

I think over time music has helped me in Japanese language.  Especially because I've been to karaoke a few times.  Learning how to sing a song properly really helped me understand certain words and phrases.  When I was in high school, we learned easy songs as well, but well, those are meant for learning the language anyways. 

I've memorized songs before, and the more I sing them the more I understand what's being said in them.  

[zurcminister]

In my opinion, yes I believe Japanese music helps you learn Japanese. In fact, this can go with any language. I think it's important to have music when you are learning a new language.

 

What do you guys think? Helps? Or doesn't help?

Well I have not tried this in learning with the languages I am trying to learn as of now although it is worth a try and I think it is a nice idea but don't you guys think that language from songs are artistically altered to sound nice thus affecting grammar or any other characteristic of a language. Say for example, the chinese language is very much critical with their intonation and I guess this is not considered in songs, so this is one issue here. What do you guys think though? Keep it coming and more power to all of us.

Edited October 14, 2015 by zurcminister

[nataliedujour]

Japanese music was a huge help when I started self-studying! One of my favorite ways to practice kana, in particular, was to look up the romanized lyrics to my favorite songs, and then write the lyrics down by hand in kana. I think I got pretty good at it for a while! I'm out of practice now, though, but I can still recognize most kana when asked.

I think music also helped hugely with my pronunciation and learning the "flow" of the language. Things like knowing which syllables to stress and when.

[Nekomimi_mode]

Music definitely helps me learn Japanese especially J-pop, however I find that if the accent is too heavy I don't get the words easily. Something with a catchy but not super dynamic melody helps too. I think in the end I end up listening to mostly anime openings since I watch a lot of anime anyway.  Story time! Okay so when I'm watching anime I hear characters say 問題 ない/もんだいない(mondai nai) all the time which means no problem, and then later on in the day I was listening to some Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and she said あたしは もんだいガール (Atashi wa mondai garu) and it just clicked. I was like "She just said i'm a problem girl" .  It always feels good when you're listening to music or watching anime and then later on in the day you hear something and you're all like "I know what that means yes!" . As for the artists, I prefer solo artists as opposed to groups when trying to pick up words. Different artists have different inflections on how they pronounce the words, and it can be hard to keep up if i'm trying to get used to the pronunciation of 10 different girls/boys in one 4:00 song. Especially when they're trying to add a funky/jazzy sound to the song, for the life of me I can't understand those. I mean, I love Flyers by BRADIO but that is not the song to go to if you want to do more than hum the melody and dance. Vocaloid songs are a huge help, especially the Miku, Luka, and Gumi ones. Kaito has some type of weird inflection in his voice that makes everything sound soft and muddled. Gakupo sounds a bit like a sheep if he hold long notes. Rin and len are pretty good except sometimes they completely butcher a word(like cut it in half and pronounce the one word as two separate ones), and the less popular ones usually don't have as good voice banks(seeU, yowane, lily). Some of the vocaloid songs are especially good for leaning words like Onomatopoeia Glasses or Circus Monster because they repeat a lot of lines and the pronunciation is really clear. I feel Like I've really gone off topic here so to sum it all up, listening to music helps my Japanese greatly. 

[Teira Eri]

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2013 at 1:10 PM, leahcim132 said:

In my opinion, yes I believe Japanese music helps you learn Japanese. In fact, this can go with any language. I think it's important to have music when you are learning a new language.

 

What do you guys think? Helps? Or doesn't help?

For me, music was really got me started with learning Japanese.  I'd met a Japanese kid online when I was just starting out who introduced me to the method of translating lyrics to memorize little clips of vocabulary at a time.  It was highly effective.  I still use music to help with pronunciation and whatnot.

[LeesaJohnson]

Yes, sometimes it helps in learning different languages and the correct pronunciation but depends on the learner.  

[Verba]

For me, it did help me a lot not only in learning Japanese but other languages as well. This was what a colleague did this to his classes when they were learning Spanish. I learned a Japanese song when I was a small child that was the theme song of a favorite TV program of all kids my age in my country and I guess worldwide. My siblings and I could sing it perfectly well. But now I have forgotten it apart from its tune. LOL!

[AlsSydney]

Using songs to learn Japanese

https://www.asianlanguageschool.com/make-use-japanese-songs-learn-japanese/

 

 

[Sailor Cat]

I think it really helps, because I listen to a lot Japanese music and I also sing them and I think my pronounciation has improved and I also learned some new words.