FINDING LYRICS AND SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
A Singer’s Secret Weapon
The Internet has taken center stage in serving such needs of singers and perhaps the speed at which to garner lyrics is incomparable. Forget about searching for the old songbook – you just need to type in a few words and you’ll find the lyrics to any song you want! Here’s how:
How to Easily Find Song Lyrics Online:
This process is similar to beginning a standard search on the internet and in a browser by typing one of the following in the address line of the browser:
- Enter the name of a song/artist/band along with the words of lyrics after that.
- Click ‘Search’.
- You will get a list of sites—select the one you find most suitable and it will also look most reliable.
- The link will take you to the lyrics as soon as you click it. Easy as that!
Singing in a Foreign Language: A New Opportunity
Ever heard a song in a language you could not comprehend? It can be quite fulfilling, and can even alter the course in your singing career. Regardless whether it is at a private house function or if it is at a rented hall, singing in the audience’s language is sensitive and more interesting.
But how do you master it? Pronunciation may sometimes be a real problem, although there are tons of resources available on the internet for speakers of foreign languages. A large number of web sites provide audio files with text, which may help to understand how to properly pronounce those words in the song one has never heard before.
Connect with your audience: They in turn appreciate it and can easily move to the songs in their national languages out of comfort.
Expand your repertoire: Audiences that you never expect will get to listen to you singing and enjoy their favorite hymns.
Challenge yourself: It’s a very interesting approach to challenge yourself and to develop as an artist.
All foreign languages that are written using the roman script(the same script that English uses) are usually a good place to start. Here are a couple of suggestions:
European Languages: These are usually a smooth introduction because they rely on familiar characters. It is advised to at least start with French, Spanish or Italian.
Filipino: This Asian language is one of the few non-Roman alphabet features that have been adapted to the Roman script, and it is perfect for anyone trying to get their feet wet with singing in another language.
Tips for Learning a Foreign Song:
Choose a slow song to start. If there is one thing that made me realize that slow songs are best, it is because during the singing of slow songs you can easily capture the lyrics the moment they are sung.
Whilst learning, you should have the lyrics either on the internet or in sheet form and read along.
Break down long words. It is useless to start with the pronunciation of large unfamiliar words at once – they are best seen as consisting of the consecutive sounds, and if one tries to pronounce them in this way, everything will be ok.
Listen to audio guides. Those websites which contain audio pronunciations will be useful for you to keep practicing the right sounds.