Learn German through Music5+ Easy Songs with Simple Lyrics

Using music to up your German is a great idea for both beginners and intermediates. But it's not always easy to find songs with clear pronunciation & lyrics that are easy to understand. Let us help you with that.

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01.12.2023

Learning German by listening to music is a great idea.

In this post, we'll look at some German artists and bands you might want to explore as a learner. All artists in this list have clear pronunciation (well: as clear as it gets) and don't use overly complicated vocabulary, with Yung Hurn being the only exception.

If you like posts like this and want to explore German music further, we also have a list on easy German rap songs.

Why You Should Learn German through Music

1. Rammstein

Let's start off the list with a band that is probably Germany's most famous export: Rammstein.

Rammstein is internationally known for their aggressive & metallic sound, their over-the-top pyro shows, and their provocative music videos & live performances.

If you are learning German and like the sound of Rammstein, we can only recommend to use them for passive listening. The vocabulary used in Rammstein's songs is (for the most part) pretty basic. Words or verses are often repeated multiple times and Till Lindemann's pronunciation is exceptionally clear. Overall, a great resource for German learners - if you are into this sort of music.

One thing to watch out for with Rammstein, however, is that they sometimes use words that are rather archaic sounding. Also be careful not to copy Lindemann's overly rolled R - people don't really speak like this (and neither does Lindemann, by the way: you never hear him talk this way in interviews).

Apart from the two songs recommended above, Rammstein's 'Sonne' and their very famous song Du hast are also great resources for beginners who would like to improve their German through music.

2. Bilderbuch

The next band we'd like to introduce to you is very different to Rammstein, but also a really great resource for learners. Bilderbuch is an indie-band from Austria, that a few years ago became quite famous in Germany and other German-speaking countries.

The clear pronunciation and the pauses between verses make Bilderbuch very easy to listen to, even if your German isn't that advanced yet.

The Austrian accent of the lead singer also shouldn't be too overwhelming for learners, as it's really not that strong. For someone who is learning German, this can be quite interesting: can you make out what exactly makes him sound so uniquely Austrian?

3. Die Heiterkeit

Die Heiterkeit is one of our favourite German rock bands. They are a small indie band from Hamburg and their slow atmospheric sound is a rare find in the world of German rock music.

Stella Sommer, the lead singer, sounds a little bit like a mix between Marianne Rosenberg and Nico from The Velvet Underground. If you listen to the band more, you might know what we mean. Sommers pronunciation is really crisp and the slow sound makes the music of Die Heiterkeit very digestible for beginning German learners.

4. Yung Hurn

The second Austrian artist (after Bilderbuch) on this list is Yung Hurn. Yung Hurn is not as easy to recommend as the other musicians and bands, because it's not always super easy to understand him.

However, this is also due to the nature of rap and the faster pace of that genre. There are still quite a few songs that should be very accessible to language learners, and even though you might have to listen to the songs a couple of times, Yung Hurn's lyrics should be simple enough for you to pick up what's going on - at least roguhly.

If you are interested in German hiphop and are looking for a few more recommendations, we've compiled a list of easy German rap songs for you to check out.

5. Tocotronic

Lastly, we'd like to recommend Tocotronic. Tocotronic is a rock band from Hamburg that has their roots in the Hamburger Schule - a music movement in Germany that was big in the 80s & 90s.

For German learners who'd lke to explore German indie rock, Tocotronic is a great pick, as their song texts are often written in very simple language, but still have a lot of poetry to them.

One caveat is that the singer is sometimes not so easy to understand, especially in the albums from the early days. You might need to have the lyrics in front of you to fully understand what's being sung, but it could be worth it, if you like what you hear.

If you'd like to support our free content, consider sharing our material & following on YouTube and Spotify.

You can also always get in touch, if you have criticism or feedback. If you're a German teacher yourself, ask us about free learning resources! 😊

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