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A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine the history of blues music and discover how it relates to the music of today. As a class, they listen to the drum songs of Africa and compare it to the use of drums in pop music today. Using the internet, they research...
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The Pony Song

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students sing "Three Little Pigs", the "Pony Song", and "The Animal Blues" in this elementary school music lesson. National and State Standards are addressed. Assessment rubric is included for grading and student evaluation.
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African-American Gospel Music

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars examine gospel music including the lyrics and instrumentation. They explain the meaning of the lyrics and how they are related to the cultural values associated with the music. They differentiate between gospel and...
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Music and Lyrics

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders analyze lyrics from songs from a variety of genres. In this musical analysis lesson, 8th graders write an essay about their life plans in which they discuss the lyrics of U2's song, "One." They tell how the writings of Dr....
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Making Music and Playing the Blues

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research how musical instruments have changed over time. They discover how math is used in music. They describe musical instruments from photographs as well.
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Learning the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students become familiar with the characteristic form and sound of the blues, then learn about the history and evolution of the blues in relationship to the African-American experience. Students examine the structure and language of...
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Blue Jazz Scale

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students engage in a study of music that includes the Blue Jazz scale. They listen to pieces of music in the targeted style while becoming familiar with the scale. Students then describe how the scale is built and demonstrate by playing...
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Red, White, and Blue Notes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.
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Sing the Blues

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore examples of this musical form, then write their own lyrics for a blues song.
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Blues Improvisation

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students practice playing and improvising while playing the 12 bar blues. They practice compositional skills, evaluate and perform musical pieces focused on the blues.
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My Way

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students culminate a humanities project by improvising music to accompany a video of a particular era in US history.
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Responses To Twentieth Century Music: A High School Art Curriculum

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore their own responses to sound by hearing the music as a regular part of the class structure. They develop an awareness that certain art evokes certain sounds and moods and develop an intuitive responses to the music.
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Music Walk

For Teachers K
Students walk to music in a circle and learn colors.
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Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, Moanin,' Payin' Your Dues

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the musical styles of call and response and the blues while delving into the difficult lives of many jazz musicians. Travelling in the South was challenging for black musicians during this time and the difficulties are...
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Musical Roles

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.
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American Music Genres

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students research and listen to a variety of American music genres and create a written comparison between three of the styles.
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Music Education, Playing the Blues

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
This instructional activity enables young scholars to gain a broader awareness of the basic blues scale and the harmonic structure of the standard blues progression. Students will be given introductory exercises on blues improvisation...
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VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.
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Whites, Blacks and the Blues

For Teachers All
This lesson enables students to explore and measure the distance between blacks and whites in the past and present United States. By thinking about the intersections of whites, blacks, and others around the blues, students will deepen...
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Improvising in the Birthplace of Jazz

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students recognize significant developments in New Orleans jazz music. They improvise blues licks using notes from a minor pentatonic scale.
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Folk Traditions in the Blues

For Teachers All
Click here to download a PDF of this lesson. (2.8 MB) Overview This lesson will enable teachers to use the blues to explore selected topics in African American folklore. Students will learn about some of the African American cultural...
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And You Don't Stop - 30 Years of Hip-Hop, Episode 2, Lesson 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars discuss how Run-D.M.C. brought Hip Hop into mainstream popularity. They discuss why melding two styles of music is popular and what the results have been through history. They take two songs and combine elements to make a...
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Jazz Talk

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
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Satchmo's Blues

For Teachers 4th - 11th
Students work cooperatively to create a jazz composition using the computer program GarageBand and incorporating the musical stylings of musician Louis Armstrong. Internet access is required for this instructional activity.

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