A little music therapy during lockdown in Sicily

Of all the tools I have used to help me through this challenging lockdown time in Italy apart from friends and family, has been music.

Music, with its unique kind of magic and, has been the one thing that has really helped to lift my spirits.

After endless restless nights filled with fears, nightmares and insecurities music changes the mood completely.

I haven’t had the concentration or peace of mind to read or write too much, editing has been a welcomed blessing.

I did have the intention of getting back to blogging full time, but distractions have come hard and fast.

Life has been complicated over the past year, to say the least, and COVID 19 is just one more thing to add to the list.

I hope you have been getting through everything as best you can at this challenging, unprecedented and difficult moment.

Who would have imagined such a thing sweeping throughout the world, affecting everyone at the same time?

My energy has been spent on helping my child keep happy and navigate the nightmare that homeschooling has become in lockdown.

I think if I was homeschooling under typical situations, there would be much more freedom for outdoorsy activities, sports and educational outings. Still, as it is now I don’t blame kids losing interest, I would too.

Things in Italy have started to open up again, but this doesn’t mean we need not be vigilant and it certainly doesn’t mean things are back to normal, that will take a while longer still.

I only hope people are responsible for themselves as it is up to the individual to do the right thing. I’m not sure people will. But that’s to be seen as Italy makes its way through phase two.

A welcomed distraction to everything has been the 30-day song challenge which is one of the biggest viral trends going around on Instagram right now.

The challenge invites people to share their favourite songs in response to specific prompts. It is an excellent way of sharing whatever you are listening to. I’ve also remembered music I haven’t listen to for many years.

While completing my second 30-day song challenge (because why not!?) I realised I hadn’t posted a single song in Italian despite my love for Italian music.

So I thought I would share my own version in Italiano and introduce you to my favourite artists from Italy.

Italian music is so rich and filled with creativity. Some artists are totally unique to Italy while others seem to reflect trends from all over the world.

I’ve made my selection from old and new artists to introduce people to Italian pop music. Think of the next 30 Days as Italian music 101: a basic introduction.

Listening to music in another language is an excellent tool to pick up everyday phrases and see how the language works.

I am always encouraging my ESL students to translate English music, primarily classic rock like the Beatles.

So every day, I will be sharing my favourite artists here according to the prompts and allowing you to pick up a few words in Italian here and there.

See you tomorrow for Day one: A song you like with a colour in the title.

Giorno Uno: Una canzone che ami che abbia un colore nel titolo.

Which song would you choose, tell me in comment section…

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