I wondered if anybody had recommendations for songs/artists/albums that I can use to help me practice my (horrible) Japanese. They should have very clearly voiced lyrics, preferably sung somewhat slowly & without too much junk in the background covering them up. Video game/anime music is good, but just general j-music is okay too. Genre doesn't matter, although I'm not a huge fan of stuff that sounds like US top-40: for example, I thought I'd like Mika Nakashima and she sings very clearly, but it turns out I find her music pretty boring. My favorite genre is probably electronic/techno/trance, but the lyrics are usually way too fast for me to get much use out of.

Examples of songs that work well for me for learning and that I like are Suteki De Na from FFX (actually, I like Rikki a lot in general) and Sorairo from Fruits Basket. Slow, clear, pretty, not overwhelming.

Thanks!

I'll tell you what I tell other people that want to learn Japanese: Get a Japanese-English dictionary, a book dedicated to Japanese verbs, and a simple book on Japanese grammar. That will do a lot more for you than Japanese music and animation combined.

Thanks, I do that already. I have the Rosetta Stone program, a textbook, a Kanji/compounds dictionary, a grammer resource, and various other junk. I mostly use JDIC and ALC online instead of a dictionary. I follow a couple manga in Japanese too, and I read at about a second grade level now (higher with a dictionary assist).

But I find music surprisingly helpful too; it gets stuck in my head in a way nothing else seems to & really helps my retention.

i think this is a really stupid way to learn nipponsei bud...but for advice, watch fansub anime openings..or go to a karoke bar

the best way to learn a language is to take classes and/or go live in the country for a while (i thought this was obvious?)...u have to build a proper foundation in japanese grammar first and have someone qualified critique you

i think this is a really stupid way to learn nipponsei bud...

Sigh, everyone's a critic. I guess I didn't make it clear in my original post that I'm not looking for advice on how to learn a foreign language-- I already know that (I took four years of french in high school and a year each of spanish and chinese in college). I'm looking for good music that also happens to have clear lyrics in Japanese-- I use music as an adjunct in memorization. I know I can just watch fansubbed anime; I was hoping people might make recommendations of particular songs they personally enjoyed. You know, like when people say "recommend me some cool battle music"-- they're not asking for a fighting lesson, they just want to hear some good music.

But thanks anyway.

There's this one j-rock band I love - Dir en Grey. You'd prolly get the most out of their older stuff, though. I really recommend the song Garden, as it's the only song I can sing completely, lol. It was quite easy to learn. Akuro no Oka is also a great one and anything slower would be quite easy. I love Kyo :) He's a talented singer.

Thanks, I do that already. I have the Rosetta Stone program, a textbook, a Kanji/compounds dictionary, a grammer resource, and various other junk. I mostly use JDIC and ALC online instead of a dictionary. I follow a couple manga in Japanese too, and I read at about a second grade level now (higher with a dictionary assist).

But I find music surprisingly helpful too; it gets stuck in my head in a way nothing else seems to & really helps my retention.

Where did you get rosetta stone? Was it on this site? Cause i have been looking a while for ti.

pokemon