Say It Loud!:
A Celebration Of Black Music In America 

Lessons for High School Music and Social Studies Classes 
Lesson 1 of 5
Roots and Styles Of Black Music 

Note to Teachers: Before showing the videotape to your classes, please review 
for possible objectionable language.

Objectives


Students will identify many genres of Black music
Students will identify Black music as a reflection of the culture
Students will consider the effectiveness of music to communicate ideas
Students will identify many Black musical examples
Students will identify many historically influential Black music artists, producers, 
  and other contributors 
National Standards for Music Education
  - Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
  - Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
  - Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments
  - Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
  6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
  9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture
  
  
Materials
  
  -VHS VCR player
  -Television
  -CD player
  - Paper and pencil


Videotape of Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America, Episode 
1: Keep On Pushin' 
Recordings of Smithsonian/Folkways examples from Rhythms of Life, Songs 
of Wisdom, Akan music from Ghana, West Africa or similar (#SF 40463; To order 
call 301-443-2314 or 1800 -410-9815 or write to Smithsonian Folkways Recording, 
Center for Folk Life Programs and Cultural Studies 955 L'Enfant Plaza 
Suite 2600, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560.) 
Recordings of Smithsonian/Folkways examples "18 Hammers," Boll 
Weevil Holler," "Join The Band," "Levee Camp Holler," 
"Lucky Holler," or similar 
Recording and sheet music of "A Change Is Gonna Come" (Say It 
Loud! Disc 4 or Say It Loud! CD Sampler # 11) and/or "What's Goin' 
On" (Say It Loud! Disc 5; Sheet Music Publisher Hal Leonard). 
  
  
Procedures 

Part I
1. Play selections of traditional West African music (see materials list for 
  examples) as students enter the classroom and get settled. Ask students what 
  kind of music they associate with West African music. You may refer to the following 
  information about the music:
  According to Roger Vetter of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, the sound 
  of this music is associated with political, social and religious institutions. 
  These ensembles communicate ritual and ceremonial messages via "call and 
  response" format: a single person initiates a phrase and a group answers.
2. Play selections of early oral tradition music (field hollers, work songs, 
  etc.) For music, please see materials list for examples. Ask students what kind 
  of music they associate with field hollers and work songs. You may refer to 
  the following information about the music:
  One of the important uses of field hollers and work songs was to communicate 
  through coded messages. Many messages contained information about the pursuit 
  of freedom for slaves and prisoners.
African-American Contributions to American Music
The following content is referenced from The Concert of the Century for VH1 
  Save the Music: VH1 Music Studio, Cable in the Classroom , Lessons for Music 
  and Social Studies Classes, Middle School and High School, American Music Styles, 
  Lesson 1 of 9, available at www.vh1musicstudio.com
Musical Styles 
  African-American work songs sung during the 19th century included hollers, axe 
  and hammer songs, railroad track-lining songs, and a wide variety of rhythmic 
  songs sung to make the work seem easier. 
Spirituals--great songs of faith born out of slavery--represent one of America's 
  important song treasures. Some of the hallmarks of the African-American spiritual 
  style are: 
  -Call and response form
  -2-line interchangeable rhyming lines
  -Judgment Day theme
  -Old Testament Biblical themes 
After the Civil War, African-American colleges such as Fisk University sent 
  their choirs to tour the northern United States and Europe. Groups such as the 
  Fisk Jubilee Singers helped to popularize many of the spirituals that are still 
  widely known today.
In the 1920's a new style of black religious song called gospel added a new 
  dimension to the spiritual tradition. The acknowledged leader of the gospel 
  movement was Thomas Dorsey. This new style added instruments such as the piano 
  and (at a later time) the Hammond electric organ. It also featured solo quartets 
  or other special performers. Many of the greatest African-American singers of 
  their century, such as Mahalia Jackson or Aretha Franklin, got their start singing 
  in the local church gospel choir. 
In contrast to the group singing of work songs and spirituals, blues were solo 
  songs that gave vent to the frustrations and personal troubles of the African-American. 
  Early blues (that is, in the early 20th century) from the Mississippi Delta 
  or Texas--called country blues--were sung with guitar accompaniment. These early 
  singers often sang three phrases (AAB) that used twelve measure of music--a 
  form called 12-bar blues. Leadbelly's song "The Bourgeois Blues" is 
  an example of this form. The second stage of the blues style was the 1920's 
  classic blues featuring female singers such as Bessie Smith with a small jazz 
  band accompaniment using players such as the great trumpet player Louis Armstrong. 
  When players such as Muddy Waters used electric guitars and instruments such 
  as saxophones during the 1940's and 50's, the style became known as urban blues 
  or rhythm and blues. Eventually the rhythm and blues style gave birth in 1955 
  to rock 'n' roll, which featured many songs in the 12-bar blues form. Rock 'n' 
  roll stars such as Elvis, Chuck Berry, or Little Richard, who appears on the 
  A Vision Shared videotape, (Columbia, available from MENC) sang many early hit 
  songs in this style during the period from 1955 to 1959. 
Around the turn of the century, piano styles such as ragtime and early forms 
  of jazz developed within African-American communities. These fresh new styles, 
  with their exciting syncopated rhythms, quickly became popular with mixed audiences 
  throughout America and even Europe. In the 1920's when phonograph records became 
  practical and less expensive, many of the early jazz bands and blues performers 
  recorded their music on African-American labels such as Paramount or Okeh. Recordings 
  by African-American performers were known up through the 1940's as race records. 
  When a race record became a big hit, a cover recording was usually made by a 
  white performer to take advantage of its popularity. The practice of making 
  cover recordings can be seen up through 1950's rock 'n' roll with Elvis' version 
  of Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll." 
In the 1960's the word soul began to replace the term rhythm and blues as a 
  name for recordings made by African-Americans. By the 60's many elements of 
  African-American music had been absorbed by white performers.
3. Tell students they are going to view (or view portions of) Say It Loud!: 
  Black Music In America, Episode 1: Keep On Pushin' program.
4. Have students use pencil and paper to note different styles of music they 
  hear in the program (teacher may stop the program to point out specific styles).
5. Play program.
6. Discuss the styles of music used in the program with the students.
  (Accept reasonable answers, include hip-hop, field hollers, blues, jazz, rhythm 
  and blues, soul, Motown, etc.) During the discussion, the teacher may provide 
  live or recorded examples of each style mentioned (Many of the songs can be 
  found in the Say It Loud! Box Set. Please see "Say It Loud Page " 
  on www.vh1musicstudio.com.)
7. Ask students to name specific song titles.
  (Accept "The Message," "Your Feet's Too Big," "Black 
  and Blue," "Strange Fruit," "Having a Party," "Trouble 
  Blues," "A Change is Gonna Come," "Cop Killer," "Keep 
  on Pushing," "Dancing in the Streets," "Respect," "Think," 
  "Say It Loud: I'm Black and I'm Proud," "Precious Lord," 
  "What's Goin' On," "Living in the City," "Happy 
  Birthday," "Superfly," "Freddie's Dead," "Wake 
  Up Everybody," "I Will Survive," and others.)
8. Encourage a live acapella vocal demonstration by students (accept an example 
  from the program or other appropriate impromptu song) and/or teach students 
  the following, or similar call and response song: 
  "Minnie the Moocher"--Cab Calloway
  "What I Say"--Ray Charles
  "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"--rec. by Gladys Night & the 
  Pips
  "What's Going On" (chorus)--Marvin Gaye
  "Respect"--rec. by Aretha Franklin
9. Ask students to comment on the lyrics of songs from the earliest examples 
  of black music to the music created today. Are the messages similar?
10. Discuss the messages contained in the music. Emphasize the political and 
  social content of many songs. 
11. Lead students to recognize the similarities in the messages of the music 
  from the early West African to the contemporary hip-hop. (See Say It Loud! Episode 
  1: Keep On Pushin' Lesson 2 for a more in-depth exploration of music as 
  a means of communication.) 

Part II
1. Choose a recording and sheet music from your school's music library. 
  (For suggestions, refer to Materials section above or use "Minnie The Moocher" 
  printed above).
2. Play an excerpt from the recording, asking students to listen for musical 
  characteristics.
3. Lead a brief discussion of three common musical characteristics of the chosen 
  song: e.g. syncopation, accents on beats two and four, and call and response 
  form. (Students may mention other characteristics such as long-phrased melodies.)
4. Explain the use of syncopation and write an example of the rhythmic pattern 
  on the blackboard.

5. Play an excerpt of the recording. Students should identify and clap the 
  pattern along with the recording.
6. Play an excerpt of the recording. Students should identify the call and 
  response in the song.
7. Reinforce the call and response by oral tradition. Choose a lead singer 
  to improvise on the call while the group responds.


 
  Extensions 
 -Students may each bring a CD example from their own collection that illustrates 
  the use of a political or social message. Students should write a short statement 
  about the music and the content of the lyric. 
-Students may create a song communicating a modern day message. (For lesson 
  plan ideas, see VH1 Music Studio's The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street 
  Music A to Z Lesson #4 "Songwriting" and Concert of The Century Lesson 
  #5 "Songs That Bring Us Together" available on the "Past Programs" 
  section of www.vh1musicstudio.com) 
-For additional information on terms used in this lesson, look up The White 
  House Millennium Evening: Jazz, An Expression of Democracy, Lessons for Music 
  and Social Studies Classes, Middle School and High School Glossary, available 
  on the "Past Programs" section of www.vh1musicstudio.com 

  This lesson was developed by Dee Spencer, professor of music at San Francisco 
  State University and Willie Hill, president-elect of MENC: The National Association 
  for Music Education and director of the University Fine Arts Center at University 
  of Massachusetts-Amherst in collaboration with 

 
This lesson was developed by Dee Spencer, professor of music at San Francisco 
  State University and Willie Hill, president-elect of MENC: The National Association 
  for Music Education and director of the University Fine Arts Center at University 
  of Massachusetts-Amherst in collaboration with VH1 and 
  MENC: The National Association for Music Education