Students delve into the life and music of Duke Ellington as a major American musician and composer. The elements that made the sound of his orchestra unique and the talents of his band members are explored in this instructional activity.

Students trace the course of Black music from the 1900's to the beginning of the jazz age. They realize that when education is defined as enlightened training for a place in society and for individual personal development, it was highly...

The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...

Students develop an understanding of the role of a musician, composer, and conductor. In this musician lesson, students examine the District of Columbia quarter and see that Duke Ellington is on the reverse side. They define performer,...

How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...

Students read Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the life of the 20th century composer. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and...

Upper elementary schoolers listen to and reproduce the rythm of Mary Lou William's musical piece, "Scratchin' in the Gravel." The swing song was written at a time that women did not play jazz. She broke the rules by playing and writing...

Middle schoolers examine the development of ragtime music and its relation to jazz. They participate in an online Interactive timeline and read about the history of ragtime music, listen to examples of music, and in small groups create...

Students explore the history of swing music. In this music history lesson plan, students research the Dorsey Brothers, Billy Eckstine, and William Strayhorn to learn about swing music. Students define swing, develop a timeline of events...

Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition instructional activity, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In...

Students contrast the meter and style of two different versions of the musical piece, "Waltz of the Flowers." Duke Ellington's meter in the "Dance of the Floreadores" is compared to Tchaikovsky's version in the "Nutcracker."

Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.

This Library of Congress time-line series surveys World War I and the Jazz Age. When World War I broke out in Europe, many changes were going on in the United States. Women were voting for the first time and African-American culture was...

Willie Eckstein was also known as "The Boy Paderewski" or "Mr. Fingers" for his prodigious talent as a pianist. Trained as a classical pianist, he performed vaudeville and as an accompanist to silent movies, often attracting more...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ), an American musical ensemble noted for delicate percussion sonorities, innovations in jazz forms, and consistently high-performance standards sustained over a...

Duke Ellington's prominence as one of the greatest American composers and key figure in the development of the genre of jazz is highlighted in this encyclopedia entry.

In this encyclopedia entry, you learn about Charles Mingus, jazz bassist and composer.

This encyclopedia entry details the life of Ella Fitzgerald, the incredible jazz singer.

This entry features Sun Ra, a black American jazz composer and keyboard player who led a free jazz big band known for its innovative instrumentation and the theatricality of its performances.

A biography of Sonny Rollins, a jazz soloist who plays tenor saxophone. He is considered to be the greatest living jazz soloist whose breadth and depth of talent seems to know no bounds. Includes a profile, videos, and a photo gallery.

This article about the life and music of Ella Fitzgerald explores major moments in the jazz singer's career.

Biography of Duke Ellington, one of the originators of big band jazz, and a noted composer.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features J.J. Johnson, an American jazz composer and one of the genre's most influential trombonists.

Biographical details on Lucky Thompson, an American jazz musician, one of the most distinctive and creative bop-era tenor saxophonists, who in later years played soprano saxophone as well.