Teaching with Blues for Smoke
To promote cultural exposure and understanding as well as creativity and expression, PAGES teacher partner, Sherry Forster, has presented various ideas and resources integrating music as a means of education, specifically the blues.
As Congress declared 2003 “The Year of the Blues,” seven directors, including Executive Producer Martin Scorsese, have created a seven part film series to explore the evolution of blues from spiritual folk tunes to its contributions of our nation’Тs history and culture as a universal medium.Т An outreach campaign was developed to introduce the blues influence into the classroom, making available an extensive amount of educational material. For more information, visit http://www.pbs.org/theblues/ .
Stoneham, Reginald A.A. “Jazzin’ The Blues.” Photo. Digital Collections Music.1920-1929. 02 July 2013. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.mus-an11791541>.
In addition, on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website, under the “ТEducation”Т and “ТResource”Т tabs, one can find various lesson plan options to bring music into the classroom. The lesson plans span from utilizing music as a primary source material to distance learning options. Visit http://www.rockhall.com/education/resources/ .
A participant of their Teacher Summer Institutes, Sherry recommends the site highly, comparing the diverse body of work exhibited through the House of Blues second to that of the Wexner Center for the Arts.Т Programs through the Blues SchoolHouse teach anything from how to play harmonica to quilting, with classroom guides and workshop opportunities. Visit: http://www.ihobf.org/Т or the for-profit site : http://www.houseofblues.com/aboutHOB/.
A song heard at a local Columbus event, such as “School Teacher Blues” by Saffire The Uppity Blues Women, could serve as material and even, a local resource to familiarize students with the unique sound and contribution of the blues genre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3wavVkEIs8.
“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.”УТ B.B. King, American blues musician.
“B.B. King.” Photo. Blues and Music News. 27 April 2013. 02 July 2013. <http://bg.buddyguy.com/the-three-kings-b-b-king-the-definitive-king-of-the-blues/>.
The Pages Program (Wexner Center for the Arts) 