When I decided to start seriously studying Hebrew, one of the first things I started doing was listening to music in Hebrew. It’s an enjoyable way to learn new words and phrases, and get excited about recognizing words you already know. YouTube is one of the best options for streaming free music in Hebrew, and you can check out my list of 10 easy Hebrew songs to start with. Now though, there’s another amazing (and also free) option to listen to Israeli songs. It’s called Shiri!
(The Hebrew text says, “Shiri: this is how we listen to Israeli music.”)
Shiri is a free Hebrew music app created in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Sport (Misrad HaTarbut VehaSport in Hebrew) and The National Library of Israel (HaSifriyah HaLeumit in Hebrew). Shiri not only free of charge, but also free of advertisements.
So how does the Shiri Israeli music app work? You start by picking up to three artists whose music you enjoy, and then Shiri will play songs from similar artists/genres. If there’s a song you don’t like, simply press the thumbs down button to skip to the next one – and unlike other streaming sites, cough cough Pandora, you can skip as many songs as you’d like, as often as you’d like.
The app is entirely in Hebrew, but don’t worry! I have step by step instructions + screenshots below so you can start streaming Hebrew music today!
(2) You’ll see this page next; underneath the Shiri logo it says “Muziqah Yisraelit Bidiyuq Bishvilcha,” which means “Hebrew Music Just For You.” At the bottom, tap the circle to indicate that you agree with the terms of use. Once you do, the “Hakiru et Shiri” (Get to Know Shiri) button will turn orange; click on it.
(3) The orange text at the top says “Hi this is Shiri, a free & ad-free Israeli radio app that listens to you!” It explains that if you like an artist/song, press the thumbs up to hear more from the artist/keep the song in your playlist rotation. Press thumbs down if you don’t want to hear the song again. (You can also skip songs without the thumbs down.) They also add that if there’s an artist missing from the playlist, or if you find a typo/error, you can contact them through the app; and that although the add is free, all the artists receive royalties when their music is played. Click the orange button at the bottom to begin (“Bo’u natchil” in Hebrew).
(4) Start by typing the name of an Israeli music artist you like; this part you’ll have to do in Hebrew. If you don’t have a Hebrew keyboard, find the artist on YouTube and copy and paste their name. Once the artist comes up, click on the (+) sign to add them. You’ll then be directed to the next page (right pic). To add additional artists (up to 3), click the search bar and start typing again.
(5) There’s a sliding scale at the bottom, with a question in orange: How much should we surprise you? (“Ad kamah l’haftia otcha?” in Hebrew). You can keep it on the middle, which is the default; it’s sometimes, or lifamim in Hebrew. If you want to be surprised a lot – harbeh in Hebrew – slide it towards the left. If you want to stick pretty much to the artists you selected – few, or me’at in Hebrew – slide towards the right. You can adjust this at any time, so once you’re done, click the orange button to begin listening – “Hatchilu Lishmo’a!” in Hebrew.
(6) Start listening! The first couple of songs will usually be by the artists you selected, and then the app will branch out based on your preferences. Remember:
- Thumbs down banishes a song from your playlist, so you won’t hear it again.
- Thumbs up keeps the song in your playlist, so when you shutdown and restart the app, you’ll hear it again.
- If you like a song, but you don’t love it, you can just let it play without giving it a thumbs up. It may come up again, but it won’t be often.
- If you don’t want to hear a song (but you don’t necessarily want it banished), just use the skip button to the right of the pause button. Skips are unlimited!
- To change your music surprise settings or preferred artists, click on the slide icon on the top left.
That’s all there is to it! Once you get through these simple steps, you’ll have a world of Hebrew music at your fingertips with Shiri. I’ve been exposed to great Israeli artists and Hebrew songs I otherwise may not have heard of, like Da by Alma Zohar, Al Tatusi by Tomer Yosef, and Melech HaKitah by Nechi Nech. Enjoy, and let me know which Hebrew songs or Israeli artists are some of your favorites!
Happy listening!
💙 T’helah
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Thanks for sharing Shiri! As for songs in Hebrew I like Abbie Strauss’ Torah Tzivah. Here’s the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfLN_ASTH0Y
I have tried to download this – I do have hebrew keyboard on my iphone. But it doesn’t come up when I do a search.
Any ideas on how else to find it?
Many thanks,
Joy Blumkin
Hmm, that’s strange. I just typed “שירי” in the App store and it was the first thing that came up. I also included a link in the post, it’s under step 1.
Shalom T’helah! Shiri is now closed. I emailed them because songs no longer played and they said they will no longer support the app.
It was good while it lasted. Here is a link to one of my cherish song/prayer by Yamma Ensemble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnkb7M3dKTg