Pedagogical Biblical Hebrew Music

Why Music + Language?

Music is a powerful tool for language acquisition. It not only aids memory recall, but also helps the student acquire the language—for the language to become part of them. For my capstone project at Sattler College, I explored the use of music in teaching Biblical Hebrew (BH). Specifically, I wanted to write real, coherent BH lyrics and put them to music. This was founded in the belief that language is not acquired through memorizing endless grammar points and paradigms, but through comprehensible input and usage of the language. The lyrics for the songs use vocabulary and grammar that the students already understand at that point in the semester. The music helps students interpret the meaning of the lyrics, increasing the comprehensible input.