“If you want to learn Italian, You must immerse yourself in it"
This is a phrase that has been said so much in the language learning world that to a certain extent has lost a bit of its meaning.
“Immerse yourself”, how do you really do that?
Well, there are obviously many ways to immerse yourself in Italian language/culture; after all, Italian culture is a complex and dynamic set of values, customs, rules and rituals that are constantly evolving and can also differ significantly from one Italian region to another. That said, in the spirit of keeping things practical, here’s one particular tip that can help you in your process of immersing yourself in the Italian world:
Become obsessed with at least 3 different Italian musicians/musical groups.
That means, listen to these bands as much as possible. Listen to them so much that you learn some of their lyrics. Also, research about them, read articles, learn everything you can about them.
Make these bands your new favorite bands, blast them in your car, show them to your friends, really get to the point where you truly love their music and everything about them.
You must be able to recognize these bands as soon as somebody plays them. You must be able to talk about them with property; about their albums, their sound, their origins, the type of fans they have… after all, they are YOUR favorite bands.
Italian singer & composer Lucio Battisti
There are multiple benefits that you’ll get from this exercise. Learning to love an Italian artist grants you special access to the heart and minds of the thousands/millions of people who also love that artist.
One thing is listening to Italian music, the other is to really understand why that music is so much loved by its fans. The only way you can learn that is by really loving those artists.
In other words, having a favorite Italian artist will allow you to deeply connect with the many Italians that love that same artist.
There are many very interesting Italian musicians. We have become obsessed about Lucio Battisti, an iconic and very peculiar Italian artist that many people adore; especially all Lazio fans, since that was his favorite team!
We have also recently become obsessed with Charlie Charles, a 23 year old producer who’s creating very exciting music out of Milano. Becoming obsessed with Charlie Charles has allowed us to learn about all of the different artists he works with as well as understand what the “new school” of Italian Pop music is all about.
Becoming obsessed with an Italian artist will take a great deal of your time; but then again, it’s all about the process!
We suggest also using your video story of Module 4 as an opportunity to explore one or two artists; it can be a lot of fun if you do it as a group.
Interview with STO Magazine Charlie Charles talks about his work with some of Italy's top Trap artists