How to Improve English Skills by Listening to Music?

Listening to music is one of the most common hobbies. With only a few exceptions, everyone likes listening to music. The question is; Is it possible to turn this activity into an English learning activity? The answer is; It is possible but there are some points you should be really careful about while trying to learn English by listening to music.

• First of all, not all songs are really beneficial in terms of learning English. In some songs, words aren't pronounced correctly and grammar structures aren't used appropriately. You can find a lot of examples to this situation by checking the Pop songs which are popular nowadays. However, the presence of only a few mistakes doesn't make a source useless. Despite some mistakes, you can still learn many words, usages and pronunciations from a song. 
• Always use the lyrics. It is really important to understand the lyrics. You can use subtitles if you are watching a music video or if you are listening to music from your smart phone, you can add lyrics to musics by using programs such as Itunes. Try to follow the songs from the lyrics for a period of time. After you feel that you can understand the lyrics without looking at them, start listening to the songs without looking at the lyrics. 
• The speed of the music. This is also an important point to consider while listening to music. Generally slow songs are really useful in terms of learning English because students can understand them easily. You can learn the pronunciations of a lot of words and you can also learn different grammar usages. 
• Don't try to analyze everything in a song. If you try to analyze the songs too much in detail, it may feel like studying and you may get bored of listening to music. The important point in listening to music is to do something enjoyable and learn some things at the same time, not sitting an studying. 
• Sing with the singer. This is really beneficial and at the same time enjoyable. Sing the songs you like with the singer. By doing this you can improve your pronunciation skills a lot. Try to pronounce the words just like the singer. Do this regularly and you will see the difference in your pronunciation in a short period of time. 

These are the important points to take into consideration while trying to improve English skills by listening to music. Finally I will suggest you some singers who use the language clearly and accurately.

Cat Stevens is definitely one of the best singers in terms of the clarity of the language. You can understand his songs clearly without having much trouble because of his clear pronunciation. Also they are slow enough to understand easily. My Lady D'arbanville and Wild World can be two nice examples.

Green Day also has songs which are quite easy to understand. Billie Joe Armstrong has a nice comprehensible voice. You can listen 21 Guns, Wake Me Up When September Ends to check their songs.

Eric Clapton has a different singing style and his pronunciation style is a little bit different. But still, his songs are quite easy to understand. Wonderful Tonight and Tears in Heaven are good examples to songs which can be quite useful for learning English.