Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 44: Compositional Techniques
Young music students rarely see or, better still, hear a connection between the different types of scales, modes, intervals and other compositional techniques such as meter, tonality, and form used in both traditional 'Art' music and...
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Three: Gospel Music Meets a Wide Audience
The third lesson deals with the emergence of gospel as a form of popular music among a general public. Gospel is a musical genre with roots in the African American church, particularly in the South. Between the 1940s and the 1960s,...
Brown University
Brown University Library: African American Sheet Music: James Bland
This website is an excellent source for information on James Bland and his music. Includes images of his sheet music, complete with notes and links to related information on African-American music and popular music from the post-Civil...
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Two: Desegregating the Airwaves: Blues on the Radio
This lesson deals with the emergence of the blues as a form of popular music on the radio, beginning in Helena, Arkansas in 1940. Students will understand and discuss the relationship between technological and social change, discuss how...
Other
Museum of Making Music: The Ukulele and You
Exhibition of the origin and history of the ukulele and its significance to American popular music.
Other
American Film Institute: 100 Years . . . 100 Songs
With this list, the American Film Institute presents its choices for the 100 greatest songs in film. The list includes choices from popular films such as The Sound of Music, Cabaret and The Producers.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken
From the American Experience series on PBS, this is "The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken", a comprehensive multi-media look at the early American popular country music group.
Other
Alien Travel Guide: Musical Styles
A descriptive site on the many styles of music. There is information on everything from chamber music to rap.
Other
Afro Disc: Africa Music Reviews
A radio host talks about new music from West Africa. While profiling four popular artists, the substance in this site describes the flavor of the popular music.
BBC
Bbc Radio2: Sold on Song
If you love classic pop and rock songs and performers, you'll want to visit this site. Includes background information and audio, a glossary, a guide to songwriting styles, songwriting tips, music quizzes, interviews, and so much more....
Other
Media Education Lab: My Pop Studio
[Free Registration/Login Required] Get ready to go behind-the-scenes of the television you watch, magazines you read, music you listen to, and websites you visit! The 'studios' let you.. Create, Comment, Control. Targeted at girls, the...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 42: The Bill of Rights Is a Rockin
Students are aware of most their personal rights and freedoms. However, many have not critically evaluated the significance of the Bill of Rights and are unaware that the Bill of Rights only applied to the federal government from 1791...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 31: Syncopation and Rhythm
Music students rarely see the value or have any interest in music other than their favorite popular artist or group. By showing connections and similarities between current music and 'classical' music, the teacher begins to break down...
Other
Ucsc Electronic Music Studios: Simple Harmonic Motion
Simple harmonic motion is described and explained and related to a Helmholtz resonator. Relation between simple harmonic motion and a vibrating air column is clearly made in an effort to explain why a pop bottle resonates when blowing...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 39: People Everyday
This activity with a song of my choice, 'People Everyday' by Arrested Development, will be an introduction to literary analysis and media/popular music literacy. Students will learn to examine critically what they view and hear. They...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 29: Adolescent Identity Crisis
Knowing oneself and attaining a mature identity is the developmental task of adolescence. Successful resolution of the identity crisis involves making healthy choices and personal commitments to an occupation, religious belief, and a...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Why We Love Repetition in Music
How many times does the chorus repeat in your favorite song? How many times have you listened to that chorus? Repetition in music isn't just a feature of Western pop songs, either; it's a global phenomenon. Why? Elizabeth Hellmuth...
Library of Congress
Loc: America Singing: Nineteenth Century Song Sheets
Song sheets, which containedonly lyrics, were a popular form of printed music. The Library of Congress holds over 4,000 of these from the 1800s that can be viewed online.
Other
Musical English Lessons
Learn English vocabulary and grammar through songs from a wide range of famous pop artists from the Beatles and Elvis to contemporary standouts like Avil Lavigne, Good Charlotte, and James Blunt. Find an exercise by grammar or vocabulary...
PBS
Pbs Kids: Don't Buy It: Get Media Smart!: Create a Pop Star
Follow the story line to create a pop star. You must make good financial choices to achieve success. You can also quiz yourself about commercials and other uses of music.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sam and Dave
Sam and Dave were known as "the greatest of all soul duos". Read about the history behind this famous duo and learn about their music and songs. They were 1992 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 22: Youth Culture and the Rock Festival
The major rock festivals have been viewed as seminal mileposts of the counterculture era. Not only were there significant musical performances from the festivals themselves, but music was created before and after these concerts to...
Other
History of Rock 'N' Roll: Roy Orbison
Biographical summary of the life of Roy Orbison, a legend in popular music in the 1960s.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Stairway to Heaven Examining Metaphor in Popular Music
Contains plans for two lessons that ask students to make connections between literary texts and popular culture texts like song lyrics. After checking popular culture texts for literary elements, these elements are then examined in...