Mumsnet Talk

hi, total beginner Spanish learner here and I'd like to buy some music to listen to Spanish/sing along. Any recommended singers/bands? I tend to like female solo singers but anything remotely modern with lyrics that are clear enough to try to decipher and understand.

Try a band called Extremoduro - quite catchy and modern.

If you want traditional music there is an album called Soy Gitano by Cameron de la Isla which has some great flamenco singing and guitars! Enjoy!

DH has just also suggested La Oreja de Van Gogh which is a female-fronted band!

Gracias for the super fast responses, am going to buy one or two songs from the above straight away. Love the internet...
Any other suggestions keep them coming

If you want a specific song - get Standby by Extremoduro. It's got some fantastic Spanish pronunciation of the j sounds!

De nada by the way! ;)

Ok it's on my list, I'll be singing it (whatever it is) on my walk tomorrow!

You know - if you want to learn using songs you might be better with Spanish versions of songs you already know - like Living La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin or songs by Shakira.

It's actually quite difficult to interpret the words of Spanish songs without the words in front of you - as the pronunciation is so important and often bears no resemblance to what is written!

For example - from just hearing the swear word 'joder' I thought it must be written hoedear!

I wouldn't worry too much about understanding the lyrics. The accent and intonation are just as important when you are learning a language. I learnt loads of Spanish listening to a sort of Spanish version of Capital Radio back in the day. I used to sing along to stuff. I still have a really good accent (according to native speakers) and a couple of degrees in the language and culture. They are quite dated now (shows age) but Mecano are nice to sing along to. ¡Suerte!

Gloria Estefan has done a number of Spanish-language albums which are worth a listen, although phrases like 'you will never be able to erase the memory of my caresses on your skin' may not be THE critical ones for a beginner

Mi Tierra is the first.

tribpot
what's cool is I've just learned 'suerte' and 'de nada' from this thread! otherwise i have a couple of weeks listening to michel thomas, that's all! but I plan on a tour of spain in a tent this summer so have high hopes! will make a compilation of all the above.

More songs or more vocab welcome, or even tips on the best places to visit in Spain - if you had 3 weeks and a car where would you go?

If you're on a car trip you could do a CD language course while you travel too! There are also lots of handy vocab aps for the phone.

In terms of places to visit... Salamanca in Northern Spain is lovely, like a Spanish Oxford (my DH is from that area so we visit a lot) - it has the best jamón. Galicia on the coast is gorgeous and has the best sea food in Spain. Madrid and Barcelona are great if you like the City-vibe. Pamplona has the bull run and buñol near Valencia has La Tomatina - the festival where rope throw tomatoes at each other!

Rope = people!

Try La Oreja de Van Gogh (although the original lead singer's voice can grate a little), El Sueño de Morfeo, El Efecto Mariposa and, slightly older, Ella Baila Sola. All lead female vocalists and great to sing along to. Alternatively, try a compilation such as Superventas or 40 Principales (Top 40) and you may discover an artist or group you like. Chambao are a kind of chillout Flamenco group, which I love, but the lyrics are not always clear. ¡Mucha suerte!

Some very good bands(male I'm afraid) are Mana and Juanes. They are Mexican and columbian. I agree that shakira is brill. Specially her earlier songs ojos asi, estoy aqui and donde estas corazon are lovely.

Grazias, ya me gusta la oreja de van gogh... It took me until this morning to realise that that has to mean 'ear'!! Novia, the seafood of galicia will lure dh for sure. am already doing a CD course in car and i find it really good, but a bit dry.

So the plan is to listen to music, read a spanish forum and then find a spanish speaker to try out on when i'm brave enough, thanks to everyone - will look up new bands

Amaral also v good - deep lyrics-and liked by the God who is Bob Dylan to boot!
Have just discovered La Musicalite and looooove them :-) Poppy but not that typical male Spanish singing voice used by 90 percent of Latino male vocalists and referred to in my house as Chipmunk pop stars .... Heh heh! If u listen to enough Latino pop you'll see what I mean! Haha
Be aware that Gloria and Shakira, etc are Latino Americans so accents will differ- particularly on C's and Z's which they pronounce as S whilst Iberians will mostly say Th......
Hasta pronto

Radio Tarifa. The lead singer had a really gravelly emotional voice, but his words are clear. If you listen to something like Oye China you can make out all the words, even if your Spanish isn't very good at all (like mine!)

I was going to say the same as TheDreadedLurker if you are going to Spain you might want to go for Spanish rather than Latin American artists.
However I also agree with the poster who suggested going for songs that you know in English. I found Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin very easy to sing along to.

You could, of course, listen to the peteneras.

Heroes del silencio, Alejandro Sanz, danza invisible, la unión, Alaska, David Bisbal,Bustamante, radio futura.

Extremoduro lyrics are difficult to understand, but I love the group. Other famous groups are, mecano, Los secretos, nacha pop. Ana Belén y Víctor Manuel, juaquin Sabina.

Buenavista social club, Paulina Rubio.