An American living in Germany singing German Schlager music?
Yes, that's right!
Hey everyone! Dana here, and today I'm really excited to be joined by Sarah Jane Scott, an American
living here in Germany, singing German Schlager music.
So, Sarah Jane, where are you from and when did you move to Germany?
So, thanks very much, Dana for the invitation - Yes. You're welcome. - I am from Pennsylvania.
A very small town called Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and I was born there, grew up there, and
then I studied in Boston.
And I live since seven years in Germany, in Berlin. - Nice. Very nice.
Me too. So we both have our seven years here. - Yeah!
What is actually Schlager music?
What makes Schlager, Schlager, and are there different kinds of Schlager?
So, Schlager is very interesting. It's really a German thing.
When I lived in America, I never heard the word Schlager, let alone the music.
Schlager music is like a type of party music in Germany. There's different styles.
It's not only party but it's, like, it comes from the traditional side of music.
And then it's evolved like lots of music in America, like country music, for instance.
Um, so there's more, like, party Schlager, like dance, like Helene Fischer or Vanessa Mai.
And then there's also more traditional Schlager, "Volksmusik" from Marianne und Michael, um,
yeah so Schlager can mean a lot of different things, but nowadays Schlager is going into
a very modern, dance direction.
Typically in Germany everyone listens to Schlager when they're at the Oktoberfest, when they
go skiing, parties, birthday parties, weddings, or just going out, having a nice time with friends. - Yeah.
And what about you? What kind of Schlager do you sing?
So my Schlager is a little bit different.
So I am an American and so, because I grew up with American music and that is essentially
my music, my Schlager has a little bit of an American touch to it, I think the style
in which I sing is very American.
I think also there's a bit of a country influence in my Schlager. - Okay.
There's a little bit of pedal steel, banjo. I play the ukulele. Mine is not so much dance Schlager.
It's a little bit more, a little laid back.
So, you're an American.
But you sing in German, which I am so impressed by.
When did you actually start learning German?
So I started learning German in, oooh, well I came in 2010, and I sort of came about the
idea, maybe in 2011 I'll start learning German.
But it was, as you know, it's not easy. At all. - Yeah. - This language is so...
Beautiful language. - I love it. I actually do really like it. - I do too, but it's tricky. - Isn't it a great...? It's really hard.
The grammar is completely backwards from English.
And there's so many words in German for things that we don't have in America. - Yeah.
I tried taking a class, a German course, an intensive 3-week course, and then I was really
frustrated after the end of the three weeks because I learned practically nothing.
I don't really learn in that sort of way. - Okay.
So I thought, okay, well, how can I learn this language? I want to stay here.
Um, so I thought: Hey! I'm a musician.
I'm going to listen to German music. And then we'll see what happens.
And before I knew it, there was like a spark lit in me.
I heard German music and I was like, this is my thing.
I heard this word Schlager, and I Googled it. Hm, what's Schlager?
And, um, yeah, the rest is history.
I was just completely in love with it, and I started learning some German songs with
my ukulele. I didn't understand a word of what I was singing. - You're like, this is lovely. - Yeah.
I'm playing it. - But then slowly I started learning the language.
And, um, and then now I do it for a living. - Wow! - And I understand what I sing now. So. - Exactly.
Did you have, then, like, an "ah-ha" moment when you realized, like, I want to do this professionally?
I want to sing Schlager. - I did.
It was pretty much right in the beginning when I heard the word Schlager.
I heard the music from Helene Fischer and Andreas Gabalier.
These are two very famous Schlager singers, and then I heard more old German songs from
the 50s and the 60s; Connie Francis and Peggy March, these were two American women who sang
in German in the 50s and 60s.
I heard them sing in this language with an accent, and I thought: hm, I think I could also try
to do that. - Yeah! - That looks like fun.
I fell in love with Schlager music, and ever since 2011, it's been my passion and - Yeah.
it's fun for me because I can continue to learn.
So you mentioned your accent.
But, I mean, I know that I do not have the best ears for hearing accents, but still,
when I listen to your songs, I don't right away hear a strong American accent. I do not.
How did you work on that?
In the beginning, I thought: oh, I'm going to have the best accent, no one's ever going to
think that I'm an American. - So much optimism.
But, um, yeah, as an American you probably don't hear,
I actually do have quite a strong accent when I sing. - Okay.
But I think even stronger when I speak. - Okay.
Um, and I think my accent when I sing is not too strong, but it's just with the Rs.
It's very obvious that I'm American when someone hears me say a word with an R in it.
Lehrer. - Karriere. Erinnerungen. - Yes! Ich errinere mich. Ich errinere mich. - Yeah. Ich errinere mich. - Yeah.
I think, generally, I studied music as well, and so we sang lots of songs always in lots
of languages without understanding them.
And, um, yeah, I think it's much easier to sing...for instance, like, when someone sings
in English, you don't always hear an accent. - That's true.
You mentioned before when we talked on the phone that Schlager audiences can be a little
bit different. Can you elaborate on that?
Yeah, so, I love the Schlager audiences. They're so much fun. - Okay.
It's so...I've never experienced something like the Schlager audience in America.
And I also, I had, I played music in America as well.
When you go to a Schlager concert, the people want to have a good time. - Okay.
It's all about, like, just letting it all out, and enjoying life, and having fun.
And it's such a positive experience to be a part of that and to witness that.
It's a really nice thing to be a part of, yeah. - And do they sing along with the songs? - Always. - Okay.
Always. - Okay. And also, like, clapping along with the music, or? - Yes.
Germans love to clap. - Okay. - They love, with the music. Much more than Americans. - Yeah.
Like anything that has a steady beat. - They will clap. - Germans, oh yeah. You can count on it all the time.
And it's, they're like, it's a...they're a part of it.
They want to experience it, and it's just a really fun, happy time. I love it. - Okay.
You've mentioned now a few Schlager singers.
But do you have personally any Schlager singers that you really love listening to?
Yes, I love listening to modern Schlager and also old Schlager.
There's so many good things, for instance you can't mention Schlager
without mentioning Helene Fischer. She's amazing.
I love Andreas Gabalier. Um, he's from Austria. He wears Lederhosen.
Do you find Lederhosen as charming as I do? - I love Lederhosen.
Mr. German Man has a very dashing pair. I love them. - I'm charmed by him.
He has this Elvis thing going on. Like he... - Elvis in Lederhosen. I like that.
Yeah, like this American, he has an American, also has an American touch to his music.
Um, I really like him.
I also really like classic Schlager from Udo Jürgens.
Um, I love Peggy March and Connie Francis. I love Klubbb3.
Yeah, but there's always, like all music genres, there's always cool stuff,
new...new cool stuff coming out. - Okay.
And what about you? What is your latest album?
What other projects are you working on now?
So, I just had a new album come out.
It's called "So Viel," which means "So Much." - Yeah.
And my first single as been out for a few weeks.
I have second single coming out in a couple of weeks from now.
And, um, I have some shows.
I'm always playing lots of shows all over Germany,
sometimes Austria and Switzerland as well.
Um, I also have some TV shows. Everything is on my website.
Which I will link to everything.
You can find everything down in the description box below for sure. - But I think next week
I have a show in Himmelstadt. Yeah. - Oh, okay! I don't know where that is,
but that sounds like a lovely place.
Yeah, Himmelstadt. - Like "Himmel," either heaven or sky. - Heaven...Heaven City. - Yeah.
Yeah. We'll think heaven. - Yeah, we'll go with heaven. - I don't know.
Sky City. Well, Sky City is also good. - Sky city is also not bad. - Yeah.
So our question for you is: what is your favorite genre of music?
And have you ever been to a Schlager party?
Please let us know in the comments below.
Thank you so much, Sarah Jane, for being here with me today and answering my questions.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
And of course thank you so much for watching.
I really hope that you enjoyed this video.
You can find all of the links to Sarah Jane down in the description box below, Facebook
and YouTube, and her website.
All down there.
Thank you again so much for watching. And until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
Yes! We got it. Okay. - Two American girls saying auf Wiedersehen. - Yeah. It's perfect! - Love it.
And what album...no. Okay.
You've mentioned a few other...
That's what I meant to say.
Saying the U with the umlaut. Do you still struggle with the U with the umlaut?
That's not a problem for me. - No, okay.
It's the R. - It's the R. - It's just, I will never get this R.
I'll often just forget the verb.
I'll get to the end of the sentence and then Stefan, Mr. German Man, will be like:
Verb. A verb would be good. Like, any verb. Just pick one. Oh, right. Sein.