On this podcast, you’ll improve your music vocabulary and learn a few music expressions and idioms that will take your English to the next level.

Welcome to Aprender Inglés with Reza and Craig.

We spoke about music vocabulary back in episode 27 

People

percussionist – percusionista

session musician = freelance musician hired to record on a specific track/album

songwriter, singer-songwriter = someone who composes and sings their own songs – cantautor

instrumentalist = someone who plays a musical instrument

choir – coro

sound technician = técnico del sonido

stagehand = montador

“roadie” = person who helps transport the group/equipment on tour

producer = person in charge of the technical side

manager = person in charge of the business/logistical side

“groupie” = a (young) impressionable fan who follows a group and would do anything to be with the group members, including maybe sleep with them!

Other terms 

tune – melodía

to whistle –soplar

to hum – tararear

rhythm – not to be confused with “rhyme”

(to play) in tune/out of tune – afinar/desafinar

a score – una partitura

chord – acorde

to play in a band

concert/gig; to do a gig = to give a concert

mixing desk – mesa de mezcla

microphone = “mic” – micro

amplifier = “amp” = amplificador

live (careful with pronunciation)….music/performance/recording = ….en directo

to/a record = grabar/un disco

a recording = una grabación

a recording studio

to rehearse/a rehearsal = ensayar/un ensayo

a rehearsal room/studio = un local de ensayar

unplugged = without electric instruments = acoustic

the acoustics = the particular sound qualities of a venue

eg. I love the acoustics in this church; the sound echos a little.

a cover version/to cover (a song) = not an original song, a version of another’s song

to arrange/an arrangement = to (re-)assign different parts to different instruments

to release a record/song/CD, etc. = to make it available to the public

a new release = a record just recently released

to/a re-release = releasing an old record again

(record) label = record company eg. EMI, Decca, Sony, Atlantic Records….

Improve your speaking with an italki teacher

Music Idioms

face the music – to be punished; to finally confront a difficult situation

to jazz something up – make it more interesting

make a song and dance out of something – make a fuss out of something

It’s music to my ears – I like it

It takes two to tango – one person/party can’t be solely responsible for the actions of two
(eg. A:What an amazing match. Real Madrid are great!
B:It takes two to tango – Barça were great too!)

to play second fiddle – to always be the second, but not first focus of attention (fiddle=violin)
(eg. I’m tired of my boss getting all the credit for our teamwork. I’m always playing second fiddle.)

to blow your own trumpet – to say how great you yourself are

to call the tune(s) – to decide what happens

to strike/hit the right note – to do/say something appropriate

and all that jazz = and similar related things. (eg She loves glamour, Hollywood, fame and all that jazz)

to ring a bell – to sound familiar (eg. I think I recognise that voice. It rings a bell.)

to change your tune – to change your perspective/opinion/attitude/version (eg. Peter used to say he hated London and now he loves it. He’s changed his tune.)

for a song – cheaply (eg. This second-hand Ferrari cost me only $500. I got it for a song!)

to play by (it) by ear – to act without a plan, depending on the circumstances that arise (In music it means to play without a score.)

to strike a chord – to connect with your sentiment (eg. I like the government’s new tough Crime laws. They strike a chord with me.)

as clean as a whistle – very clean (whistle = pito)

to blow the whistle, to be a whistleblower – to publicly denounce wrongdoing (eg. Baltasar the judge blew the whistle on his corrupt colleagues and got into trouble for it.)

to end on a high note – end an event in a positive/optimistic way

Discussion

What groups/singers/types of music do you like or dislike?

Do you prefer songs or instrumental music?

When and where do you like listening to music?

Does music relax you, perk you up, excite you, bore you, make you laugh, make you cry…?

Can you play an instrument or sing? What instrument would you like to be able to play?

Have you ever played in a group?

What’s the best concert you’ve been to?

Ravi Shankar & Anoushka Shankar Live: Raag Khamaj (1997):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xB_X9BOAOU

Shakespeare wrote: “If music be the food of love, play on…” What do you think?
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English. Do you have a question for us or an idea for a future episode?
Send us a voice message and tell us what you think. https://www.speakpipe.com/inglespodcast

Send us an email with a comment or question to [email protected] or [email protected].

If you would like more detailed show notes, go to https://www.patreon.com/inglespodcast
Our lovely sponsors are:

Nikolay Dimitrov
Ana Cherta
Pedro Martinez
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Maite Palacín Pérez
Lara Arlem
Maria Gervatti
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Carlos Garrido
Zara Heath Picazo
Mamen
Juan Leyva Galera
Corey Fineran
Mariel Riedemann
Jorge Jiménez
Raul Lopez
Rafael
Manuel Tarazona
Agus Paolucci
Manuel Velázquez
Néstor García Mañes
Juan Carlos

We want to thank Arminda from Madrid and Alberto from Granada and Angélica Bello from Madrid for continuing to transcribe full transcriptions.
We now have full transcriptions for episodes 131 to 142. And thanks to Angélica who has joined our superhuman transcribing team! She’s done episode 1 (‘do’ and ‘make’ You make a mess. Haces un lío. Present simple, the schwa, phrasal verb was ‘take up’ and ‘collocate with Craig’!

On next week’s episode: A Touring Holiday in the UK

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’