Vocabulary related to Music in French

Everyone listens to music once in a while. It makes one fresh and calms the mind. In this article, we take a look at different words that talk about music. Use them to talk in French about music.

1. la musique 

Meaning: a pattern of sounds made by musical instruments, voices, or computers, or a combination of these, intended to give pleasure to people listening to it

English: music

Example: Elle écoute de la musique tous les jours pour se détendre. (She listens to music everyday to feel relaxed.)

2. un musicien/une musicienne

Meaning:someone who is skilled in playing music, usually as a job

English:musician

Example: Mozart était un musicien talentueux. (Mozart was a talented musician.)

3. le / la choriste

Meaning: a singer who sings behind or with a main singer, performer, or band

English:backup singer

Example: Les chanteurs principaux et les choristes interagissent fréquemment avec la foule et encouragent leur participation. (The lead and backup singers frequently interact with the crowd and encourage their participation)

4. le compositeur/la compositrice

Meaning:a person who writes music

English:composer

Example: A travers son écriture, le compositeur exprime la joie dans la chanson. (Through his writing, the composer expresses joy in the song.)

5. le temps

Meaning: a regular movement or sound, especially that made by your heart

English:beat

Example: Elle essayait d’attraper le temps pour commencer à danser. (She was trying to catch the beat to begin dancing.)

6. le rythme

Meaning a strong pattern of sounds, words, or musical notes that is used in music, poetry, and dancing

English:rhythm

Example: Tim n’arrive pas à jouer de son clavier en rythme. (Tim can’t seem to play his keyboard in rhythm.)

7. une chanson

Meaning: a usually short piece of music with words that are sung

English:song

Example:La nouvelle chanson a pris très vite. (The new song caught on really quickly.)

8.la musique classique

Meaning music that is considered to be part of a long, formal tradition and to have lasting value

English:classic music

Example:Mon père écoute beaucoup de musique classique.. (My father listens to classical music a lot.) 

9.le hip hop

Meaning :a type of popular music in which the words are spoken rather than sung and the subject of the songs is often politics or society

English:hiphop

Example:Elle adore danser sur de la musique hip-hop.. (She loves dancing to hip-hop music.)

10.le jazz

Meaning: a type of modern music originally developed by African-Americans, with a rhythm in which the strong notes often come before the beat. Jazz is usually improvised

English: jazz

Example: Sam écoute du jazz tout le temps. (Sam listens to jazz all the time.)

11.le rap

Meaning :a type of popular music with a strong rhythm in which the words are spoken, not sung

English:rap

Example: Elle est heureuse que son rap soit aimé de tous. (She is happy her rap is loved by all.)

12. le / la guitariste

Meaning:a person who plays the guitar

English:guitarist

Exemple:John joue de la guitare comme guitariste professionnel. (John plays the guitar like a professional guitarist.)

13.le chanteur/chanteuse

Meaning: a person who sings 

English: singer

Example:Céline Dion est ma chanteuse préférée de tous les temps. (Celine Dion is my all time favourite singer.)

14.le rappeur/la rappeuse

Meaning: someone who performs rap music

English:rapper

Example: J’ai hâte que mon rappeur préféré sorte son nouvel album.. (I can’t wait for my favourite rapper to release his new album.)

Now that you have learnt the meanings of these words in French, be sure to use them while you want to talk about music in French. For more such vocabulary in French, keep following our blog. Learn languages online with native teachers on our website.