Yesterday on the Harmonious.ly blog I quoted Dr. Larry Livingston, conductor and educator, when he urged music educators to remember that all music is teachable music: “It’s just music,” Livingston said. Today on the blog I’d like to share with you one of my own professional passions: teaching and playing American folk, roots, and blues music.
Why teach roots music? It’s just like the name suggests: “roots” music, which typically comprises folk, blues, gospel, and storytelling idioms, is the grandparent of many more recent musical forms, such as rock, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and musical theater. Roots music is the culmination of the many musical voices that landed on North American soil. It is also a vehicle for teaching United States history in a hands-on way to young students.
Though in the last 50 years music education has opened up its doors to a wide variety of popular forms, from jazz to rock to hip-hop, when it comes to blues and folk music curricula in public schools, only a handful of organizations and resources exist, and these are often underutilized due to a lack of funding or organization on a local level.
The good news is that if you are a blues or folk musician and want to bring your talents to schools as an educator, now is a great time to get involved with a small organization and make a difference–but you may have to be a self-starter. Here is a list of current resources and ideas for including American roots music in your school’s music program, or for learning more about becoming a roots music educator.
One shining star organization, now in its third decade, is the Blues in the Schools program. It is represented by local branches, such as the Pacific Northwest Blues in the Schools Program. Blues in the Schools focuses on bringing real blues musicians to elementary classrooms to teach guitar, drumming, storytelling, singing, and the history of the blues and the people who played it. The greater Blues in the Schools organization is highly decentralized, and local chapters each have their own angle and curricula. Most Blues in the Schools programs are independently funded through city or state arts grants or private donors, which allows the program to bring quality music education to schools that lack arts funding. Look for a Blues in the Schools program in your area, or contact your local blues society to find out how you can start your own.
If you are an educator looking to integrate roots music into your school’s curriculum, check out these resources at the American Folklife Center. The Folklife Center is the go-to resource in the United States for folk culture information, and is run by the Smithsonian Institution. This organization publishes several volumes of well-researched resources for educators.
PBS also offers blues music resources for the classroom, including recordings and lesson plans.
If you are a teacher interested in short-term professional development or training in folk and oral history, check out C.A.R.T.S. This site offers a list of training and workshops for teachers in a variety of topics related to folk culture and oral history. The courses are not music-specific, but the training is especially relevant for any educator looking to integrate blues and folk histories into their curriculum.
Do you know of an innovative music program in your town? We want to hear about it. Leave a comment here on the Harmonious.ly blog and let us know.
