The Music of Language
We share some of our favorite songs in the languages that we teach as well as personal playlists that we hope will help you enjoy your target language(s) in a new way.
Music can be an excellent and enjoyable way to soak in your target language. It’s a great source of new words, grammar structures, speech styles, and even turns of phrase that you might not see in a textbook. What’s more is all of the amazing culture waiting to be discovered in each song. How could you say no?
And at LanGo, we’re here for it! This post pulls together featured songs from various eras, and we provide playlists from our team, spanning the globe from the Korean peninsula to the streets of Brazil. Enjoy these earworms!
ESPAÑOL / SPANISH
Below is a collection of over three hundred songs from our very own Luis (Spanish, Italian)! We also have a couple picks from Alena (French, English) to choose from.
LUIS’S PICKS:
Luis’s Ultimate Spanish Playlist
This playlist offers a personal snapshot of the variety within music in Spanish, moving across generations, genres and regions. You’ll hear iconic voices like Selena, whose Tejano music reflects the Mexican-American experience, alongside merengue and bachata from big names like Dominican artist Juan Luis Guerra, and contemporary Latin pop and reggaetón from Karol G, Shakira and Becky G, among others.
For learners, some tracks may be easier entry points than others. Latin pop and ballads from artists such as Reik and Chayanne tend to feature clear vocals and familiar song structures, while genres like reggaetón can introduce more rapid delivery, slang and regional expressions. Puerto Rican artist Villano Antillano provides a good example of this style with her fast-paced raps and contemporary Puerto Rican Spanish. By contrast, the music of Juan Luis Guerra and Puerto Rican merengue artist Elvis Crespo highlights the rhythmic energy of Caribbean dance music, offering learners exposure to distinctive rhythms, pronunciation and regional vocabulary that learners may not encounter in more mainstream Latin pop. Spanish pop artists such as Aitana, Enrique Iglesias and Zzoilo provide another point of comparison, showcasing contemporary pop from Spain and giving learners exposure to Castilian Spanish.
Meanwhile, Caloncho and Ed Maverick bring a more contemporary, indie-influenced sound that gives the playlist a distinctly Mexican flavor. Sprinkled throughout are some of the classic hits I grew up listening to, from the world of música regional mexicana thanks to my parents.
Rather than representing one single version of “Spanish music,” this playlist is a reminder of how much the language changes–and how many different musical genres exist–across the Spanish-speaking world.
ALENA’S PICKS
The Marías - Ay No Puedo (Visualizer)
I adore The Marías and their unique RnB sound. Although the majority of their music is in English, their mix of English and Spanish lyrics is a great introduction for anyone looking to dip their toes into Spanish-language music. This particular song is entirely in Spanish and is one of my favorites of all time. The angst! The instruments! The beat! Just amazing stuff.
León Larregui is the frontman of the popular Mexican rock band Zoé, and he’s got his fair share of great solo material. His album, Voluma, is chock-full of catchy indie pop and rock. It opens with this song Locos, an exploration of infatuation with someone. I just love how it starts and how it sounds from start to finish. He just want his crush to be loco with him =)
한국어 / KOREAN
Of course Lisa, Korean teacher and Director of Language Programs, has something for everyone, no matter what level. And we can’t forget the K-pop fans and even kids’ songs!
LISA’S PICKS:
🇰🇷 A1-A2 Beginner Korean Playlist
🇰🇷 Korean Kids' Songs Playlist
🇰🇷 A2-B2 Intermediate Korean Playlist
🇰🇷 2nd Generation K-pop Playlist
I created most of these playlists for my Korean learners at LanGo, with varying proficiency levels and musical tastes in mind. If you’re just starting out, try the A1–A2 Beginner Korean Playlist for catchy songs that give you familiar words and phrases to listen for, such as Kim Kwang-seok’s 「바람이 불어오는 곳」 “Where the Wind Comes From” and IU’s 「금요일에 만나요」 “Friday.” The Korean Kids’ Songs Playlist also features playful favorites like 「곰 세 마리」 (“The Three Bears”) and 「멋쟁이 토마토」 “Cool Tomato.” The heavy repetition in these numbers makes them especially easy to sing along with.
If you want more of a challenge, the A2-B2 Intermediate Korean and Korean classics playlists will introduce you to longer phrases, new grammar, and the ways words and sounds flow together to create wordplay, imagery, and deeper meaning. For example, the emotionally-layered lyrics of AKMU’s 「어떻게 이별까지 사랑하겠어, 널 사랑하는 거지」 “How Can I Love the Heartbreak? You’re the One I Love” expose learners to rhetorical questions, quoted thoughts, and nuanced expressions of contrast. BOL4’s 「우주를 줄게」 “Galaxy” imagines giving someone the entire universe as a metaphor for expressing the excitement of falling in love.
The Korean Classics Playlist offers another kind of listening experience, featuring beloved songs that reveal the wistful heart of Korean music. 「아리랑」 (“Arirang”), Yoo Jae-Ha’s 「사랑하기 때문에」 (“Because I Love You”), and Lee Moon Sae’s 「붉은 노을」 (“Red Sunset”) introduce learners to timeline expressions of love, longing, separation, and remembrance.
And for K-pop lovers, I’ve put together two more playlists. One is packed with modern favorites and irresistible hooks you’ll want to replay, including BLACKPINK’s 「뚜두뚜두」 (“Ddu-Du Ddu-Du),” aespa’s “Supernova,” and BTS’s “DNA.” The other playlist celebrates second-generation hits in the spirit of Girls’ Generation’s “Gee,” Wonder Girls’ “Nobody,” and Big Bang’s 「하루하루」 (“Day By Day”).
I hope you find songs you love and a fun, low-pressure way to hear and practice more Korean. Pick a playlist, press play, and see what starts to sound familiar. 노래로 즐기고, 귀로 익히는 한국어! (Enjoy Korean through music, and learn it by ear!)
PORTUGUÊS / PORTUGUESE
Our Portuguese teacher, Peter, has two gems to share with us. One is a Dominguinho session, a collaboration between musicians João Gomes, Jota.Pê, and Mestrinho; and the other is a song from singer Mari Froes!
PETER’S PICKS:
João Gomes Cantor - DOMINGUINHO - João Gomes, @mestrinhooficial e @Jota.Pe.Oficial (Completo)
The Dominguinhos sessions are my fave Brazilian music of the past year. I have a Portuguese practice Youtube playlist that I used to assign students, but I like this so much more and the three singers have different accents. My favorite song from session 1 is “Some ou me assume” (linked). If you love the first session, you will be delighted to learn that the trio has already released a second Dominguinhos session!
Mari Froes - Figa De Guiné (Official Video)
Honorable mention: Mari Froes … This particular song went viral on TikTok like a year ago, so maybe you have heard it.
ALENA’S PICK
Lisa Ono is a Brazilian singer of Japanese descent who has released songs in her native Portuguese and Japanese as well as Spanish, French, and English. She’s a polyglot extraordinaire that I hugely admire. This one is a cute Portuguese-English bossa nova song with a bit of Hawaiian influence. It just brings a smile to my face!!
FRANÇAIS / FRENCH
Next, a mix of genres from Tyler (French, German, etc.), Anna (English), and Alena (French, English):
TYLER’S PICK:
This 1891 chanson pairs a delightful poem by Paul Bourget with the sublime melodic finesse of Claude Debussy. The poet advises us to enjoy this world “while one is young, and the evening is beautiful,” as the accompanying piano drifts this way and that, like a leaf blown by a gentle wind.
ANNA’S PICK:
Cinquième as - Album by MC Solaar | Spotify
MC Solaar is one of the most influential French hip-hop artists. He is credited with establishing hip-hop as a mainstream genre in France during the ’90s. This album features ear-catching rhymes over string instrument tracks and has Solaar’s signature poignant lyricism.
ALENA’S PICKS:
A lot of people associate French first and foremost with France, of course, but for any francophone or French learner, there’s a treasure trove to be found in music from Québec, Canada’s French-speaking province. Québecois musician and songwriter Thierry Larose has written a pop-rock song that takes a really creative angle with a love triangle. And it’s pretty hard not to jam to the unusual and catchy rhythm!
I’m not just saying this because the name “Aline” is so similar to mine, but this one’s is a real classic; my family and I have shouted these lyrics countless times. The song is about a woman named Aline who may or may not actually be real. If you like music with that older, nostalgic vibe, this is for you.
Aline is also a pretty beginner-friendly song that’s easy to understand and sing along to! It’s for this reason that I love using it as an introduction to lyric analysis as a learning tool.
DEUTSCH / GERMAN
Here we have a playlist featuring German songs curated by Haylie (English) and a couple of very lyrically poignant songs from Tyler, our resident German teacher!
HAYLIE’S PICKS:
When I began learning German, I initially built this playlist purely with songs I liked sonically, but had lyrics that were decipherable enough to practice the language. But as I became more familiar with the vocabulary and meaning of the lyrics, I realized many of these songs demonstrated a sort of softness I think gets overlooked in the German language. While German itself is not a Romance language, several of these songs pull an unexpected romantic, longing air to them that I think warrants more attention.
TYLER’S PICKS:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau "Mondnacht" Schumann
From Schumann’s 1840 Liederkreis (‘song cycle’) which sets to music 12 poems by Joseph von Eichendorff. A tender piano part sets the stage for an evocative melody tinged with chromaticism. The poem imbues the landscape with deep human feeling: “… my soul spread / Her wings out wide, / Flew across the silent land, / As though flying home.”
An 1894 piece by the master of German Lieder (art-songs), Richard Strauss, then aged 30. The poem (‘Morning!’) is by John Henry Mackay, Scottish by birth but raised in Germany. “Silently we will look in each other's eyes and upon us will sink the mute silence of happiness.” This piece was part of a wedding gift by Strauss to his wife Pauline.
OTHER FAVORITES
Finally, we close with our Japanese teacher, Cullen’s, favorite multilingual jam, and Tyler’s favorite gibberish track that turns made-up words into music that speaks for itself.
CULLEN’S TRIPLE THREAT:
O Terno - Volta e Meia ft. Devendra Banhart & Shintaro Sakamoto (Official Video)
Brazilian Portuguese + Japanese + Spanish. I’ll let the song do the rest of the talking!
TYLER’S PICK:
Adriano Celentano canta "Prisencolinensinainciusol" da "Formula due" del 1973
The artist is Italian, but not the song – nor is it quite English, either. “Prisencolinensinainciusol” is a gibberish song by Adriano Celentano. It appeared in 1972, and was intended to capture the sound of American English. Imagine a less-coherent Bob Dylan giving a freewheelin’ freestyle backed by James Brown’s band. Trying to catch what is being said gives the first-time listener the ineffable sense they’re having a stroke. There’s something weirdly satisfying about its pervasive oddness, and I haven’t heard anything else quite like it.
OUTRO
Meine Sprache versteht man durch die ganze Welt – ‘My language is understood throughout the world.’ This is what the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn is alleged to have said to W.A. Mozart. While perhaps not literally true, this statement underlines the mutual affinity of humanity’s twin superpowers: language and music. Language at its best is often described as “musical,” while powerful musical performances are said to “speak to us.” Both faculties make use of rhythmically organized sonic complexity to foster empathy and understanding, among individuals as well as among speech communities.
If grinding away at vocab, or scratching your head in syntactic bafflement, ever threaten to diminish the joys of learning, consider turning on one of these many and diverse tunes, and we bet you’ll be tapping your toe and nodding your head in no time. Ride a fresh rush of inspiration, and let the waves of sound carry you to the shores of fluency!
Team-curated bops to boost your language learning and input.