Okay, so you are learning Russian, right? I’m sure you listen to some form of music every once in a while…unless you are a time traveler from the year 10,000 B.C.E. Why not take your Russian learning to next level by immersing yourself in some Russian music?

Some are skeptical about how much of a role music plays in learning a language, but it definitely doesn’t hurt. I’m not going to tell you that you can learn Russian by listening to music alone…you’ve got to do some actual studying. But when you listen to music, especially music you like, you’re going to want to know what the lyrics are. You will then look up the lyrics, read them, and attempt to translate them into English and understand them!

Even if you don’t ever look up the lyrics, you’re still learning something. Let’s say you download a Russian song that you listen to once a day. You also study an hour a day. Over time, you will come to understand the song better as your vocabulary increases. You will also eventually be able to divide the words you hear up, and possibly even write them down without looking up the lyrics.

So, I don’t care who tells you otherwise: listening to Russian music is going to help you.

We all like different types of music. Luckily for you, there are lots of different types of Russian music. Rock, rap, heavy metal — all you have to do is look it up on YouTube. My favorite type of music is rock and metal, so I figured I would list my favorite Russian bands. I have linked to some of my favorite videos on YouTube for you check out if you wish.

But if you’re not in to rock, you can search for “Russian rap” or whatever type of music you like and begin discovering for yourself!