This post is part of my German challenge. If you want to learn more, you can read my posts about day 0, week 1, and week 2.
I started the week following my usual routine. Until day 20, where things got interesting…
Day 15
Session 1
31 min – I reviewed Bye bye (by Cro), and I started OMG by Marteria.
Resources:
Lyrics, with English translation
Session 2
47 min – Spent time on OMG. But I didn’t follow my routine. I was resisting my own routine, and didn’t want to do it for some reason. So I just brutally absorbed the song, without going backwards, line by line.
1h25 – Writing German rap. Coming up with German sentences and rhymes. It was very basic, and probably terrible.
Session 3
8 min – Again OMG. This song is not too fast, but somehow challenging. I guess it’s due to the rhythm. Marteria’s flow is not uniform. He takes short breaks at unexpected times.
13 min – Some songs from my playlist.
Day 16
Session 1
2h18 – Playlist. Here’s a recap of my current German playlist:
Aliens – Marteria
Zum König Geboren – Marteria
Bye Bye – Cro
Farbenspiel des Winds – Pocahontas
Ich bin bereit – Moana/Vaiana
Na-Mi-Ka – Namika
OMG! – Marteria
Das Geld muss weg – Marteria
Wenn sie kommen – Namika
I’ve stopped using Amys Weinhaus (Marteria) and Voll gerne (Moana).
Session 2
12 min – Playlist.
27 min – New song: Whatever, by Cro. The intro and the hook are fairly slow. While the two verses are fast!
Resources:
Lyrics, with English translation
I wanted to go on for one more hour, but I needed a nap.
Session 3
41 min – Whatever.
20 min – Writing German rap.
First day where I clock in 4 hours (well, almost!). ^^
Day 17
Session 1
1h35 – Playlist.
1h05 – Writing German rap. It was one unproductive hour. I was unfocused, and I struggled to come up with just a few lines.
Session 2
45 min – I started a new song: Traum, by Cro.
Resources:
I planned to do a longer session, but I needed a nap.
Session 3
23 min – I spent the whole session trying to sing Traum. Also read the lyrics and the translation. Two things worth noting here:
- I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could understand most of the lyrics (I mean by reading them, not by ear, the song was too fast).
- The third and last verse is really fast. I couldn’t keep up with the pace at all. Na-mi-ka is fast. Wenn sie kommen is fast. But this verse here is so fast that I think even a German native speaker would struggle to sing along.
Day 18
Session 1
2h06 – Playlist. Before singing or reading lyrics, I listened to each song once, to see how much I could understand.
9 min – Looking for a new song. Since I’ve been listening to German music on YouTube, the algorithm now recommends me German songs. One song by Namika appeared in my feed. I started with this one, and then listened to other recommended songs.
Session 2
37 min – Still listening to new songs, and looking for today’s song.
45 min – I saved several songs, and I decided to go with Auf beiden Beinen, by LOTTE. It’s slower than my previous songs. I thought it’d be ideal, to have a song somehow easier, after working with several challenging songs.
I didn’t go through my usual routine (starting with the last line, repeating, …). But like the previous days, I just sang along with the lyrics, after listening to the whole several times. I feel like I’ve reached a level where I can now work with a song without going through my usual process.
23 min – Writing German lines. Oh mein Gott, it was so hard, and I was so slow again today!
Resources:
Lyrics, with English translation
This is the first day I clock in 4 hours! Yay!!
Day 19
Session 1
27 min – New song: Lieblingsmensch, by Namika. Not too fast.
Resources:
Session 2
56 min – Playlist.
Session 3
1h17 – Another new song: Nador, by Namika. Again, not too fast.
18 min – Writing German lines, with rhymes.
Resources:
Session 4
28 min – Writing German lines.
Session 5
35 min – I reviewed two songs I added recently to my playlist: Lieblingsmensch, and Auf beiden Beinen.
Day 20
Session 1
37 min – New song: Kompliziert, by Namika.
Resources:
I stopped this session because I was tired of my old routine. And I knew I could do better, absorb more and faster. I remembered at first I wanted to memorize songs, not just sing along. So I spent several hours looking for a method to memorize songs. I spent this much time because I already knew the useless tips listen many many times, and rest. I read many posts and watched a lot of videos. But, to be honest, most of the information was useless. Until I found this video.
This trick is amazing. I was VERY skeptical while watching the video. Then I scrolled down the comments. Everyone is saying how great this method is, and how efficient it is. So, I decided to give it a try during session 2. And it blew my mind!
Session 2
28 min – I applied the method from the video to learn the hook and the last verse in Kompliziert. It really works…who would have thought? It’s a little more difficult than in the video. Probably because I’m doing it with a language that I don’t speak yet. I might have to add some visualization technique to make it stick.
My head now hurts and I need a break! I’m curious to see if it works in the long term as well.
Session 3
13 min – I reviewed what I learned previously. And it worked!! I could remember everything.
31 min – I memorized the second verse. And then I sang everything I knew together. It’s not perfect, but I was impressed.
I want to have some rest before memorizing the first verse.
Session 4
19 min – I reviewed everything. It was hard. I still had everything in my memory. But I needed to refresh it. The session lasted 19 minutes because it took me a while at first to retrieve everything. I feel like that was to be expected. I’m doing it with a foreign language that I barely know. I’m doing it for the first time. And I’m memorizing a lot!
19 min – Memorized the first verse. Too lazy to try to sing the whole song. We’ll see tomorrow.
Day 21
39 min – I recited the lyrics of Kompliziert, without music. I was very slow. But I got almost everything right. I only missed three lines. Not bad for a first time.
I repeated a couple more times without music. Then I listened to the whole song, without singing, just listening. Everything was fast, but clear. I could understand everything. Which means that I downloaded a song in my brain. With all the vocabulary and grammar in it.
Finally, I tried to sing along. That was not a success! But I was able to keep up the pace on the hook and the last verse, which I couldn’t sing yesterday.
16 min – Today is Sunday, and it’s progress-day! I struggled to follow the video. I was able to understand a few words here and there, but not much.
Then I rewatched the video with German subtitles. And I was able to get the general meaning, and most sentences. ^^
Resources:
Time
Day 15 – 3h04
Day 16 – 3h58
Day 17 – 3h28
Day 18 – 4h00
Day 19 – 4h01
Day 20 – 2h27
Day 21 – 0h55
Total (week 3) – 21h53
Total (since the beginning) – 55h40
Given my new method, I’m going to change my routine. I want to memorize a new song everyday. I also want to review the songs I memorize everyday. And I’ll spend time watching YouTube videos, with subtitles at first. I still want to clock in 4 hours per day. But we’ll see how it goes with the memorization technique first.