Sing the Blues

Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces middle schoolers to two poetic forms that...

Music composition can be easy with a little software assistance. The class uses Garageband to listen to, write, sing, and record a blues song. They listen to the song provided through the software, write their own lyrics to the song,...

Students define and compose a blues text and sing a blues song. They sing each phrase of "The St. Louis Blues" after it is modeled by the teacher. In the end, they sing the whole song with accompaniment.

Students demonstrate and/or describe the form, instruments, vocal techniques, scale, rhythm and improvisation of the Chicago blues style as expressed in "Long Distance Call Blues" by Muddy Waters.

Students describe the form, instruments, vocal techniques, scale, rhythm, and improvisation of the country blues style as expressed in "The Matchbox Blues'" by Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Students perform a keyboard accompaniment for the blues. Using the chords C F and G and pentatonic scale with blues notes, they sing both a traditional and an original blues to such accompaniment.

Students describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100 years.

Singing in a round can be a lot of fun and apparently conveys the concept of musical phrasing and melody. Budding musicians sing three South African songs as rounds. They discuss cultural diversity and musical concepts such as timbre,...

Students explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music lesson, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ella...