Italians on Italians
Beyond Toscano

A little musical word-play

If you’ve read a few posts on this blog you may already have spotted some recurring themes about Italians; their passion, craftsmanship, love of food, the arts and of course, their expressiveness. 

Music plays a big part in Italian culture, as a result, there are many sayings that have evolved around the subject, which is a feminine noun in Italian – ‘musica’.

Here are a few such expressions:
‘Cambiare musica’ – change the music, meaning things need to change.
‘Questa è musica per le mie orecchie’ – pleasing information or ‘music to my ears’

‘Cambiano i suonatori ma la musica è sempre quella’ – a sense of disappointment, often used when talking about politics; ‘the players have changed, but the music stays the same’.

‘E’ sempre la stessa musica’ – expressing frustration at repetition ‘it’ s always the same music’.

Mettere la musica a palla’ – which you’ll often hear chanted by youngsters at parties, meaning ‘pump up the music’.