French and Italian music is really something special to listen to. The way the words are pronounced and blended together is a real treat for me to listen to. The main reason why some people like to listen to music in a foreign language is mainly because you can focus more on the sounds of the instruments and the voice of the artist. When you listen to music in a language you understand you focus a lot on the lyrics of the song and most of the time you forget about the instruments. You rarely ignore the artist’s voice, but it can happen when you focus too much on the lyrics and forget who’s singing.
Just because you don’t understand the lyrics doesn’t necessarily make the experience frustrating. Your brain goes into passive mode because you don’t need to figure out the lyrics of the song, you just passively listen to the music. That is why it is easier to study listening to music in a foreign language than when you understand the lyrics. This is when you show more appreciation for the artist’s voice first and the combination of musical instruments second. During this process, you detect sounds that you would not normally detect when listening to music in your own native language. You may also develop a greater interest in the artist’s music because you are now hearing the essence of the music.
Listening to music in foreign languages also gives you a break from your own cultural music. Sometimes it is very interesting when you are exposed to the music of other cultures and in the end you discover that there are many similarities between that music and the music of your own culture. Music is a universal language that cannot be restricted by language or culture. True music is sincere and speaks from the soul of the artist. Lara Fabian once said: “I don’t think that a language limits an emotion, so there is no specific language to say something that comes from the heart. You can say something from the heart in Japanese, Indian, Italian, English, it doesn’t matter, always and when it’s true. I really believe that specific feelings, true feelings have no limitations or barriers when it comes to honesty.”