Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: The Joy and Benefits of Singing in a Foreign Language
By Matilda M, Year 10 Journalist Lead
On Monday February 3rd, the NHEHS Musician of the Year competition took place, with as always a very high standard of playing. Therefore, to keep with the musical theme, I will be discussing singing in foreign languages.
No matter how old the person reading this is, it is likely you know what ‘bonjour’ or ‘hola’ means, however, it is less likely though that you have properly sung in a foreign language before. This includes French, Italian, German, Latin, Russian or Spanish. There are many composers such as Mozart or Puccini which you may have heard of, who write music for singers not just for instruments such as piano or violin (Although this may seem obvious, it is surprising how many people do not know this). If you ever listen to one of their pieces written for a singer, they might sound monstrously complex, however, there are a lot of pieces that are in foreign languages that are easy to sing in, so here are 2 reasons why you should try singing in French, Italian, or German.
- It is almost certain that you have been on a holiday abroad and not been able to speak the native language. It is very hard to travel, order food, or even just chat to locals in a country where you do not speak the language. Singing in a foreign language however provides a stress free option to learning a language, whilst showing you to develop vocal skills too.
- Singing in a foreign language will also help most students who take languages. Many songs are sung in Italian, French or German, and therefore by learning how to sing in a foreign language, this will help with the speaking part of your exam. As a French student, I can say that singing in French has helped me with my general speaking skills.
I am a French student, however I have never taken a German or Italian class, yet I find that they are easy to learn, and enjoyable to sing in. In my opinion, some of the best pieces to sing are in a different language, so if you would like to try something new over half term, try singing in a foreign language.
