4 French Bands You Should Be Listening to When Learning French

We all love good music. Whether listening to it during your daily commute, while taking a jog, or simply as a means to relax after a long day at work, music undoubtedly forms an important part of your everyday life. Listening to music also has health benefits including helping to thwart memory loss, keeping your brain healthy as it ages, and even, believe it or not, has a role in preventing back pain!

So when applying the benefits of music to language learning, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the perks are huge! When learning a new language, listening and singing along to music can help your pronunciation, increase your vocab bank, and give your listening comprehension a boost.

In your French learning journey you’ve probably delved into French movies that will help your proficiency but may be stalling on the musical aspect just because you don’t know where to start.  Well your wait ends today! Make music a part of your French language acquisition experience by checking out these 4 French bands.

1. Zazie

Former fashion model Zazie (born Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes) lends her talents to the music world through her arch lyrics and catchy songs.

What you’ll love: Zazie’s voice is literally music to the ears as it possesses a certain roughness which makes it extremely pleasant to listen to. Her clear enunciation is also a big plus for language learners as it gives listeners time to identify words and pinpoint meanings.

Musical morsel: Check out Je suis un homme with lyrics!

2. Noir Désir

This band which hails originally from Bordeaux may no longer be active, but that doesn’t mean their folksy rock tunes don’t still make for great listening!

What you’ll love: Smooth and mellow, these songs possess a rhythm which makes learning them a breeze. An added bonus is that the varied vocabulary will force you to learn words you’ll never come across in class!

Musical morsel: Check out La Vent Nous Portera with lyrics!

3. Indochine

If you’re looking for an oldie but a goodie, look no further than Indochine, one of the best-selling French bands which has been going strong since 1981.

What you’ll love: Catchy and rhythmic, you’ll be singing along to these great songs in no time. The fascinating combination of pop, rock, and new wave gives this band an indie feel. The lyrics may not be as straight forward as a lot of the other options on this list, but they will definitely force you to push your comprehension skills to the limit!

Musical morsel: Check out L’aventurier with lyrics!

4. Damien Saez

If you like music with a more hard rock feel, Saez may just be the perfect musician for you. This guy infuses each song with a passion not easily paralleled.

What you’ll love: What’s not to love about Saez’ strong voice and lyrics? This guy really wears his heart on his sleeve when he sings. His poignant messages about youth, society, and the world at large will also help you to drastically expand your vocabulary while opening your mind to new points of views.

Musical morsel: Check out Jeune et con with lyrics!

Now that you’ve been introduced to a few choice bands, adding music to your French learning process should be easy and fun! Don’t forget though that no educational process is complete without the proper foundation, so be sure to sign up for language lessons which will give you just that. Once you’re singing along fluently to your favorite French songs you can also test how your language skills have improved with a free online placement test! So sing away, whether you’re shouting Damien Saez’ lyrics in the shower, or crooning along to Zazie with a hairbrush. You’ll be doing your brain a lot of good and improving your French abilities at the same time in a fun and easy way!