You read heard that right… you can now play popular music on Duolingo! We’ve partnered with Sony Music to bring dozens of popular songs from their catalog to the Music course. Now, learners can practice reading and playing music using tracks from dozens of artists, including Pharrell Williams, Meghan Trainor, P!nk, Dove Cameron, and more. This is just one more way we’re making our Music course extra fun for new learners!

For learners familiar with our Music course, you may have tried a few rounds of song practice on the path already. These are classic, simple songs in the public domain, like “Pop Goes the Weasel” and “Clair de Lune,” and they’re great for beginners. We’re excited to level up the Music experience by adding pop songs to your repertoire! The new feature is available now to iOS learners using Duolingo in English, Spanish, French, German, and will be rolling out to more languages soon!

Here’s everything else you need to know about the feature!

Where can I find these songs?
Look for the nodes in each unit that look like shiny record players! In these special sessions, you’ll practice a popular song.

Three iPhone screens. The first iPhone, oriented vertically, shows the Music path on Duolingo. There is a multicolored node that looks like a bird’s eye view on a record player, and the description of that node says “Made You Look, Meghan Trainor” and the learner can click the CTA to “PLAY” for 20XP. The second screen, horizontal, shows the start screen for this special node. Duo is dancing with headphones next to Meghan Trainor’s album art. The screen reads: Made You Look, Meghan Trainor. The learner has 3 stars already completed on this node, and shows they have a high score of 993 and can PLAY to earn an additional 20XP. There is also a Super logo in the top right corner to denote this learner is using Super Duolingo. The third and final screen is also horizontal and shows a musical clef with a series of notes and piano keys below it. The learner has depressed the “D” key on the piano and on the clef, the “D” key is highlighted in orange. At the top of the screen is a progress line. Because the learner pressed the D key at the right time, the top of the screen says “Perfect!”

Can I choose the song I want to play?
We’ve carefully selected the song that appears on each section of the Music path. That’s because we want to make sure the song is relevant to the notes and skills you’re learning! To skip ahead to a new unit with new songs, you’ll have to complete a quick test of your skills.

A gif of the popular music experience. The user is prompted to play Work Song by Hozier for up to 5 XP. A music staff appears with notes running along the screen. The learner taps the corresponding notes on the keyboard at the bottom of the image while the notes move from left to right across the screen.

Who can access this feature?
Currently, the feature is available to eligible learners using an iOS device in English, Spanish, French, and German. Free learners can play each song up to 3 times, for a maximum of 30 seconds per play. Super Duolingo learners will have unlimited access to popular songs, and can replay these tunes as often as they want! 

Will you be adding more songs?
Our music library will continue to evolve, and you may notice new artists in your course in the coming months!