Using music to improve your learning process

I know a lot of people who tend to say that music has really helped their language learning experience in a positive way or is helping them to get a grip on their target language ( It helped me a bit with my English ). I agree with them, although I have to say that you must not rely too much on songs for language learning. Usually words are changed in a way that they sound nice, but they're not necessary correct when used in the songs. However, songs can be really good to get used to the sound of the language and to boost your love for the language.

The Portuguese language comes with a list of music genres which are typical for the language. The truth is however, that fado and forró music can be nice, but they're not really my type of music. I really prefer rock and hip hop in particular, as well as bossa nova. That said, it is recommendable that you try to find some artists you enjoy. "It doesn't matter if you like the music or not, just listen to Portuguese music for the sake of listening" lots of people tend to say. This is not true, you will find out when time passes and you study more and more. You WANT to like the music, otherwise it will just negatively affect your progress.

Maybe the music you like doesn't help you with building vocabulary or getting a better understanding of the grammar, but it can help you gaining a bigger 'liking factor'. On the other hand; listening to music you don't like can seriously damage your progress. In the end you will start studying less and less because you start hating some parts of the language, and the things you want to happen is that you start loving almost every part of it.

Another fun thing to do is to learn the lyrics by heart. This can look dull, but if you're really into a song it can be a really good thing to do. You will get used to the sound, maybe even the particular accent of the singer (if that's an accent you want to learn). Lots of sites which prove lyrics often give the translation of Portuguese songs, so you can get an idea of the meaning of the words and sentences (remember: you don't want to translate word-by-word, simply because it doesn't work).