Tipton, Stacey. Musical Spanish. Miami, FL: The Musical Linguist, 2000. 112 pp., with music CD and interactive CD-ROM. ISBN 0-9706829-0-5. System requirements for Windows are: Minimum of Windows 95 or 98 (or better), Pentium I or higher, CD-ROM drive, 24 MB RAM, 1MB SVGA card or better display, standard sound card and multimedia speakers. System requirements for Macintosh: System 8.0 (or better), Power PC or better, CD-ROM drive, and standard built-in speakers. Price: $29.99 plus 10% shipping and handling. To order: The Musical Linguist, 401 69th St. #16H, Miami, FL 33141. Telephone: (888) 297-2128. Fax: (509) 693-4160. E-mail: mlinguist@aol.com. Website: www.musicalspanish.com. Or: World of Reading, Ltd., P.O. Box 13092, Atlanta, GA 30324-0092. Telephone: (800) 729-3703. Fax: (404) 237-5511. E-mail: polyglot@wor.com. Website: www.wor.com.
In creating Musical Spanish, which consists of a well-designed, 112-page, four-color book, music CD, and interactive CD-ROM, Stacey Tipton has cleverly combined students’ love of popular music and computers. Taking ten popular songs and changing the lyrics to fit specific learning objectives while at the same time using clever animations that move across the lyrics on the computer screen in keeping with the beat of the music, Tipton has produced an innovative and engaging method for helping students gain confidence in their Spanish skills, especially their oral skills, and have a blast doing it. Great for beginning Spanish students of all ages, Musical Spanish more importantly promotes the retention of essential grammar structures, since students are not so much memorizing grammar rules as learning them intrinsically through the music. The ten songs, chapter subtitles, and corresponding grammar lessons identified by Tipton are as follows:
1.) La Bamba – “It Begins With the Tongue”: pronunciation; accent marks; the alphabet; masculine and feminine; plural; the future.
2.) Carnavalito – “Some Words You Know!”: people identifiers; introduction to verbs; expressing want: “querer;” diminutives; and the word for “hey listen!”
3.) La Cucaracha – “New Phrases to Use”: greetings and introductions; polite things to say; the word “can” – “poder;” the word for “that” (thing).
4.) Cielito Lindo – “Getting Curious?”: commands; cognates; the verb “to go;” question words; and “-ing” verbs.
5.) A Media Luz – “Practical Words!”: words around the house; “there is, there are” and quantities; days of the week; numbers; “to be” verbs: “ser” vs. “estar.”
6.) Guantanamera – “Exploring Possibilities”: verb combos; “so,” “so much,” “so many;” doubt, possibility, “should;” introduction to the subjunctive; ways to say “know”: “saber” vs. “conocer;” and affirmative and negative adverbial constructions such as “always” and “never.”
7.) Ay Cosita Linda – “Getting Specific”: “with me” and “with you;” possession; objects and subjects of action; introduction to past tense of verbs.
8.) Allá en el Rancho Grande – “Say What You Want”: hoping; sizes, comparisons; descriptions – past participles; irregular informal commands; “this” and “that,” “here” and “there.”
9.) La Adelita – “Complicated Made Easy”: “I like it!” Using “gustar;” “por” vs. “para;” passive and reflexive verbs; using conditional constructions (“If…, then…”); the subjunctive.
10.) Las Mañanitas – “On Your Way to Fluency”: “hey, look”: “Mira!;” expressions for “like this” – “Así”; asking for a favor; showing gratitude; using “could;” “I’m gonna …”: “ir” + “a” + verb.
Each chapter begins with a brief historical account of the original song and then introduces the “new” song lyrics with a simple phonetic transcription under each word in black and a translation of the words in red. The chapter then proceeds with a brief explanation for each point of grammar emphasized in the song. Each explanation is followed by a set of review exercises.
Tipton’s approach is to make the grammar explanations simple and inviting to students. The catchy music, brought to life by the vocal talents of former Venezuelan child stars Erick Gabriel and Jorge Parra, and the colorful graphics created by Froghill Graphics will attract student interest and maintain it as well. Many students will naturally want to sing the songs outside of class (karaoke contest, anyone?). But what was particularly appealing to this reviewer was the top-notch sound quality of the CD. Too often, computer CDs have a “tinny” sound to them, which reduces the benefit of hearing authentic language.
For those interested in learning more about Musical Spanish, a trip to Tipton’s Website, www.musicalspanish.com, is very worthwhile. Here, one can hear an introduction to the audio program and see sample pages from the book. For those who adopt Musical Spanish, Tipton provides free teacher’s handouts and updates for each chapter. A members-only section of the Website provides customers access to additional games and quizzes.
This reviewer highly recommends Musical Spanish as a supplement to any textbook and for any beginning-level Spanish class, whether at the middle school, high school, or college level. Its appeal is not limited to any one age group. In short, Musical Spanish is fun and easy to work with. No matter where one teaches, one can always use a little fun in the classroom.
Eileen M. Angelini, Ph.D.
Philadelphia University
Musical Spanish is now also available as an all audio instruction CD set called Lessons for the Road, as well as in an upcoming DVD format that will include 10 new music videos with the grammar lessons, music, and animations viewable with any standard DVD player. The videos will also be available in VHS format (February 2003).
Please note our updated contact information:
The Musical Linguist
4403 Northside Parkway #1420
Atlanta, GA 30327
Telephone (tollfree): 1-866/297-2128
Fax: 509/693-4160
Website: http://www.musicalspanish.com
Stacey Tipton
The Musical Linguist
mlinguist@aol.com