Alors On Danse - Line 1
And now begins your first French song lesson! On this page, you will work through the first line of the first verse of "Alors On Danse". Just like you did in the RPT Primer, you will do the following steps:
- Entrain the rhythm by repeatedly chanting the Universal Rhythmic Binary (URB)
- Master the articulation of each individual syllable.
- Practice Constructing the syllables in their natural rhythm.
- Commit the entire line to memory.
Rhythm
To review, we use URB to focus exclusively on the rhythm/stress patterns of the lyrics. Learning the rhythm is the most important step in learning a song, so do not gloss over this section. Indeed, most difficulty in memorizing the lyrics later on can be traced back to not spending enough time entraining the rhythm. So save yourself the headache later by familiarizing yourself with the rhythm as much as possible now before moving on to the next sections.
In the track below, I chant the URB of line 1 repeatedly.
In the track below, I chant the URB of line 1 repeatedly.
- Listen through one time to familiarize yourself with the rhythm.
- Play again and chant along with me, making sure to loudly emphasize the "DA's" and quietly voice the "di's".
- Do not move on until you can chant the entire Line 1 URB from memory without the aid of the audio.
Syllables
Now that you have the rhythm down, the next step is for you to get comfortable with the articulation of each of the syllables. Often in song, words are fused and syllables are dropped, so if you learn a song from reading the written lyrics, there is a good chance that you will have a hard time fitting the words to the natural rhythm. This is why we rely exclusively on a syllable-by-syllable phonetic transcription of the syllables.
If you already have French experience and recognize a word, try not to think about it, as this may cause you to alter your pronunciation or rhythm. Train yourself to think of speech in syllables instead of words, and you will have a much easier time hearing and mimicking fast, native speech.
Below, I break the line into two parts, and clearly articulate each component syllable.
If you already have French experience and recognize a word, try not to think about it, as this may cause you to alter your pronunciation or rhythm. Train yourself to think of speech in syllables instead of words, and you will have a much easier time hearing and mimicking fast, native speech.
Below, I break the line into two parts, and clearly articulate each component syllable.
- Listen closely and mimic my pronunciation exactly.
- If you are unsure about a symbol, review it in the Phonetic Notation Key.
- Do not move on until you are comfortable articulating each sound.
Construction
Speech is just syllables and rhythm (with a little intonation sprinkled in as well). Now that you have both of the major components, your next task it to combine them together. English and French share most of the same phonemes, but because French has a different flow than English, these phonemes occur in different combinations than you are used to.
Therefore, articulating these patterns requires a motor coordination that you currently do not have, so don't expect to get this on your first try. Just be patient and repeat the exercise as many times as it takes for your mouth to cooperate.
In the tracks below, I've created a call-and-response exercise for you to practice constructing these lyrics.
Therefore, articulating these patterns requires a motor coordination that you currently do not have, so don't expect to get this on your first try. Just be patient and repeat the exercise as many times as it takes for your mouth to cooperate.
In the tracks below, I've created a call-and-response exercise for you to practice constructing these lyrics.
- Listen closely, then repeat after me in the time allotted to you (Do not chant along with me. It's important for you to listen to me after each time so that you can compare the differences between my sounds and yours, then adjust to eliminate the differences).
- Sometimes I will cue you in with the word "Go!"
- Do not worry about saying a syllable wrong, you will have plenty of opportunities to get it right. What's most important is that you keep going and stick to the beat.
- Do NOT look at the phonetic transcriptions while practicing this; you want to focus all your attention on listening (actually closing your eyes is proven to help).
- Do not move on until you are comfortable chanting each section from memory.
Line 1A |
Line 1B |
Memorization
Now that you have developed the motor coordination to articulate these lyrics, your next task is to combine both halves together and commit it to memory. It's important that you can sing these lyrics from memory without this aid, because your real Flow Training occurs when you sing this song over and over again throughout your day while doing other things. Each time you sing these lyrics, you actively build the phonetic infrastructure needed to hear, mimic, and speak natural French effortlessly.
The track below replays a reduced speed version of line 1 on loop several times.
The track below replays a reduced speed version of line 1 on loop several times.
- Press play and sing along with the audio repeatedly until the end of the track.
- Once the track is finished, try to recall the lyrics from memory and sing out loud without the audio aid.
- Do not move on until you are able to sing the line correctly without the audio aid 5 times in a row.
Once you have memorized line 1, you may continue to Line 2.
