Customer Reviews

Viva La Musica (CD & Booklet)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Elise Carr Sumner has accomplished something wonderful here. She has produced an album of songs that are instructive as well as enjoyable.

My 7-year-old daughter and I have been receiving Spanish instruction for most of the past year. We've learned the numbers, colors, body parts, nouns, verbs, some conversation -- the usual, I'm sure. And it's been lots of fun.

And then a few weeks ago we received this marvelous CD, and we've had it in the player ever since.

My daughter started picking up the songs almost immediately. She follows the lyrics in the book -- it is very readable, with much bigger type than most lyric sheets have, and the English translations stand opposite the Spanish lyrics. Now my little girl is filling in the blanks for me when I falter in my renditions. (She learns faster than I do.)

What's nice is that we're picking up the cadences of the language, in addition to vocabulary and grammar.

The songs are arranged simply, with Ms. Carr Sumner singing and (I assume) playing solo guitar. But the simplicity helps you hear the words -- which you can, quite clearly.

And the songs are quick and interesting enough to hold your attention. For us, they don't bog down. On the contrary, they seem to get better the longer you listen.

Ms. Carr Sumner is a Spanish teacher, and her classes must be lots of fun. Because her CD definitely is.

One more point -- the packaging and graphics are also light and engaging, very much in keeping with the performance.

The disk is a little pricey, in comparison with most CD's, but there are nearly 30 songs included, and the book is quite substantial so I felt the price was reasonable.

Viva la Musica is a delight. Its simple songs in Spanish not only help you learn to speak the language but also entertain and soothe. The songs cover situations from simple hellos and ordering coffee to spending the day at the beach or telling someone you love them (or not). You could probably travel across Spain and have a song for every occasion (surprise the hotel clerk by singing your need for a room). The vocabulary is basic but varied, and the accompanying booklet provides not only lyrics and translations but also a list of the grammatical forms being emphasized in each song.

What I like best, though, is the tone. Ms. Sumner's solo voice and acoustic guitar are both soothing and lilting. The tunes are simple and memorable (I often wake up singing them), and the lyrics are charming--sometimes funny and surprising, courteous and sympathetic. Children and adults alike can learn and enjoy these songs. Oddly enough, this is the CD I turn to when I am most stressed out and need to relax. It is an unadorned delight.

This is a great addition to any Spanish learning. The lyrics vary greatly but the music, while pleasing, could use more variation either in instrument or voice (same guitar and singer throughout). I enjoy the style, but some variation would have helped in focusing attention through the last half of the CD.
The booklet is very helpful in translating what is being said. The songs are humorous and a great variety of words and topics are covered.

Our whole family enjoys listening to it, and we frequently catch ourselves singing the tunes even when not listening to the CD.

This CD is good for all ages. These are Spanish lessons you will enjoy. It is well worth the price.

I bought this album and booklet last summer, wanting to test out some of the musical teaching products for Spanish. While I haven't listened to the songs in months, some of them are still floating around my head! The author/singer did a wonderful job structuring the songs to maximize the learning potential. They are also upbeat and the type that make you want to sing along. It is suprising how helpful music can be for learning a foreign language-- and the best part? It's almost effortless. If you are interested in learning Español, add Elise Carr Sumner's "Viva La Música" to your music collection.

An instant favorite! We're enjoying this CD so much that it's been playing continuously since it arrived today. The 28 songs masterfully incorporate hundreds of essential phrases into lyrics that are clever enough to captivate and simple enough to memorize. Just as important, the music and voice are lovely. This is truly appropriate for any age.

As a native Spanish speaker who has tried to teach the language to Americans several times, I think this CD would be very helpful to develop a basic vocabulary for beginners in an entertaining way. Most of the songs repeat basic phrases, making it easy to catch up with the enunciation and a booklet with the lyrics in Spanish and English help the student sing along. The fact that the author is herself an American Spanish teacher allows for a basic Spanish with no regional accent to confuse the listener. "Viva la Música" is well made, edited, and put together; the 28 songs are short and easy to learn and have sweet, catchy lyrics.

The lyrics are beautiful and so is the music. But unfortunately, she is not a native speaker and in just listening to the demo's I noticed some mispronounciations and grammatical errors. Although, I'm sure non-native speakers won't notice. I'm still tempted to get it - since my daughter is a native spanish speaker I doubt she will repeat the errors.

This CD is terrible. The songs are boring and the melodies dull. There are much better choices available: UniVerse of Song by Maria Del Rey and El Doble de Amigos are two delightful CDs that are way better than this. No one in my family wants to listen to this insipid CD.

I think some of the songs are pretty fast for a new learner but overall it's ok.