Modern Music Teacher Resources

Students read and discuss 'Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mixing Treasures by Duke Ellington and Edvard Grieg,' exploring how jazz transformed European music and the influence jazz has had on modern music. They write musical reviews.

Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...

In this music activity, learners read key points about English folk music including what it is, what instruments are played, its history, and two of its important styles. They answer 10 questions using full sentences before writing a...

Students explore history of technological advances in making, recording, and listening to music that have intrigued and inspired musicians and scientists for decades.

Pupils explore American history through hands-on use and demonstration of musical material culture representing early colonial America. They compare the music of colonial America to modern music.

Students examine artwork by Thomas Hart Benton. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students analyze the painting The Sources of Country Music, listen to folk music, and examine how recording technology and the movies shaped the images of...

In this English folk music worksheet, students read an article pertaining to the history of folk music in England from the times of the Industrial Revolution until the 1970s.

In this English folk music instructional activity, 8th graders read about the characteristics, instruments, and purpose of traditional music. They read about the history of folk music and contemporary uses of this type of music. They...

Discover the rich cultural traditions and remarkable ingenuity of indigenous people and African slaves by learning about one of the most popular percussion instruments in the world today.

Watching Great Performances’ Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago launches an investigation into and discussion of how the electric guitar and guitarists have changed the sound of the blues over time. An engaging way to...

Students study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...

Students analyze the origins of jazz music by examining work songs, spirituals, blues, and gospel songs as well as works of poetry from African American artists. They create their own poems from either the narrative, dramatic, or lyric...

Seventh graders explore the geography of Eastern and Western Europe. They compare and constrast the culture of Jewish people from Eastern and Western Europe. They analyze deportation and confinement in concentration camps, using personal...

Middle schoolers see examples of other types of written stories. They are introduced to the ballad in literature. Students obtain ideas for their own family story. They discuss how ballads can relate true stories through music. Middle...