Learn French With Songs

Are you tired of just learning vocabulary and grammar through boring language lessons? Did you know you can also learn French with songs? It’s really fun, and what’s even better, there are a ton of them to choose from!

This is a great way to vary your learning techniques. You can look for French music online for free! You don’t have to spend a single dime.

In this article, we will share some songs that can help you learn French as well as some benefits and tips to make the most out of them.  Êtes-vous prêt? (Are you ready?)

How Can French Songs Help Me?

There are several benefits of listening to French songs. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Learn vocabulary. This goes without saying, but you can learn a lot of vocabulary through music. Singing along to your favorite songs is more fun than just repeating a word over and over at a class, isn’t it?

Learn slang. When you study any language, it’s equally important to learn both the formal and informal versions of it. After all, not all people speak formally all the time.

Improve your fluency. By singing a song over and over again, you can improve your speaking speed and your ability to express your ideas smoothly.

Practice your pronunciation. Be cautious with this one. Songs sometimes change the intonation or even the pronunciation of some words for the sake of rhythm, but it’s still a good way to practice your pronunciation.

Improve your memory. A scientific study proved that our brains store words more efficiently when they’re combined with rhythms and melody. Remember that song from kindergarten?

Improve your comprehension. By listening repeatedly to songs, you become used to spoken (or sung?) French. Listening comprehension is key to speaking any language.

How Do I Select Songs?

This is essential but shouldn’t be complicated. First of all, you have to like a song. If you don’t enjoy it, you won’t feel motivated to continue. Don’t force yourself to like something.

You can select a song based on the rhythm, the genre, or the artist that sings it.

Try to be as specific as possible. You can google something like “French songs with present tense”, “French songs with slang”, “French songs with subjunctive”, or “French songs for beginners.”

As to where you can listen to them, there are a lot of options. You can try YouTube, YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, among streaming platforms. All you need is a laptop/smartphone and Internet, and you’re good to go.

A Few Tips

To make the most out of your listening, I recommend the following:

• Listen to a song as many times as you can. Don’t worry if you don’t understand it at first. Just get familiarized with it.
• After listening to it one or two times, try to sing along. Try to form a mental picture of what is being sung.
• Don’t rush into the lyrics. We might be tempted to read the lyrics as we listen to a song for the first time. Try to listen to it at least a couple of times before looking up the lyrics.
• When looking up the lyrics, look them up in French, not in your native language. Translate in your head or preferably on paper as much as you can. Use a dictionary if necessary. 
• Finally, analyze the song. What vocabulary or expressions did you learn? What grammar rules applied?

Make music a part of your learning experience. If you make a habit of it, you will improve your chances of learning.

Song Examples

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of listening to French music as well as a few tips, let’s take a look at some great songs all French learners should listen to.

“La Vie en Rose” by Edith Piaf

This a French classic and Edith Piaf’s signature song by far. There are many foreign versions of it, but none of them compares to the original.

“La Vie en Rose” is a romantic song full of feeling and emotions. It expresses what a woman feels when she is with her loved one. The song literally translates to life in pink, but a better translation would be “life through rosy lenses.”

The song only uses the simple present tense and is great for beginners.

“Papaoutai” by Stromae

Although the author and singer Stromae is Belgian, his song is one of the most famous, recent songs in the French world. The song title was misspelled on purpose and should read “Papa, Où T’es?” (Dad, Where Are You?).

The song is rather sad and tells us the story of a boy who yearns to see his father. His mother tries to make up excuses about his absence since not even she knows where he is.

“Papaoutai” is great for beginners. It’s written in the simple present tense and teaches us some vocabulary that people commonly use like work (travailler) and talk (parler).

“Champs Élysées” by Joe Dassin

I think all French teachers have recommended this song to their students. It shouldn’t surprise us since the tune is catchy and the song is easy to understand. 

The song title is self-explanatory. The song describes Paris’ most famous avenue and makes you want to visit it on the spot.

Make it a part of your playlist, and you will love it. Aux Champs Élysées, aux Champs Élysées…

“Pour que tu m’aimes encore” by Céline Dion

Did you know that Céline Dion sings in French? It’s actually her native language since she was born and raised in French Canada. 

This romantic song tells us what a woman is willing to do to keep the love of a man.

Besides listening to Dion’s powerful voice, you can learn a lot from this song. It’s slow and easy to memorize. Additionally, it uses the simple present, the passé composé, the simple future, and the subjunctive. 

This song is for someone at an intermediate level.

“ Le retour des saisons” by Charles Trenet

This is another catchy song, easy to understand and memorize. 

It tells us about the seasons. You will learn a lot of vocabulary related to the subject. The song uses the simple present tense and is great for beginners and learners of all ages.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, learning French with songs has many benefits. We can improve our memory, our listening comprehension, our vocabulary, our pronunciation, our fluency, among other things.

Finding songs in French is very simple. You can find them anywhere and listen to them at home or on the go.

Try to find songs you like. This way it will be easier to stay motivated. Learning doesn’t have to be boring.

We provided you with some good songs to start your language learning through music. Of course, there are many more songs we could include, but this post would be too long. We will give you more recommendations in the near future.

Have you listened to any of the songs mentioned above? Which ones would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments below.

If you liked this post, please don’t forget to like it and share it. Au revoir! 

Let's Learn French!

Are you ready to take your French to the next level? I'm glad you are! Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate/advanced learner, I can recommend a few options for you.
For starters, if you're someone who likes to study on his own, I recommend the following programs:
Busuu
Mondly
Rocket Languages

However, if you would like to hire a teacher/tutor, I recommend you try the following:
italki
Lingoda
Preply

Feel free to check my site to learn about more resources. Don't forget to check back often to learn more about the French language and culture. Salut!