VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll VH1 Music Studio Cable in the Classroom Lesson for Music Classes, Grades 7-12 Lesson 2

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• Students will discuss and qualify personal breakthroughs.
• Students will discuss the influence of women musicians who are considered “breakthrough” artists.

Materials

• VHS VCR Player
• Television
• Audio playback equipment
• VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll, teacher selected segments from any of the five episodes, reflective of three breakthrough artists (see step 2)
• Web-based lesson materials
• Copies of Breakthrough Chart (included with lesson) for students
• Pencils/pens (students)
• Chalk board/dry erase board/overhead projector
  
  Prior Knowledge:
• Students have experience “composing,” lyrically and melodically, an original piece of music.
  (Note: it is not necessary to notate the actual melody in music notation for this project.)
  

Procedures

1. When students enter classroom, have visible on chalkboard, dry erase board, etc., the following:

Webster’s dictionary defines a “breakthrough” as

a: a sudden advance especially in knowledge or technique
   <a medical breakthrough>
b: a person's first notable success

Based on this definition, allow students time to consider a breakthrough they have had of their own. Was it the first time they played soccer? The first time they ate chocolate? The first time they saw their favorite movie?

2. Suggest to students that music, by nature, is the practice of reinvention and creativity. Popularity can be measured by “trend-setting”: what is in style at the moment, or what is “cool.” Musicians are constantly in search of an original means of expression to say what they want to say in a way no one ever has before. Within the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll program, there are a number of breakthrough artists who made great strides in their field. Teachers should feel at liberty to choose three breakthrough artists they believe would best suit their program and lesson. The following list may be helpful:

Tina Weymouth #99, Siouxsie Sioux #96, Ani DiFranco #90, Sheila E #88, Yoko Ono #84, Salt-N-Pepa #83, The Go Go’s #76, Exene Cervenka #75, Queen Latifah #72, Loretta Lynn #65, The Shirelles #64, Whitney Houston #61, Joan Armatrading #59, Cyndi Lauper #58, Alanis Morrissette #53, The B-52’s #47, Kate Bush #46, Cher #43, Patti LaBelle #41, Donna Summer #37, Bjork #36, Bessie Smith #26, Marianne Faithfull #25, Patti Smith #15, Stevie Nicks #14, Ella Fitzgerald #13, Debbie Harry #12, Annie Lennox #9, Madonna #8, Bonnie Raitt #4, Janis Joplin #3, Tina Turner #2

3. Lead students in discussion of what qualifies as a breakthrough in music. If music is constantly evolving, can a breakthrough be visible while it is occurring, or does it only become evident decades later in reflection? How is a breakthrough valued? Distribute copies of the Breakthrough Chart to students, and ask them to complete the chart as they view the teacher-selected segments.

4. Show VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll: teacher selected segments that include the artists selected for step 2. Briefly discuss the individual accomplishments and breakthroughs of the artists selected after viewing the segments.

5. Ask students to remember their own breakthrough experience from step 1, and have them analyze this experience. Is it a true “breakthrough?” What about that first experience told them they had tried something that would affect them very deeply? Does it continue to change and shape their lives today?

6. Divide students into small groups, and assign each one a female artist discussed in class thus far. The musician does not need to be a typical breakthrough artist. Each group should choose one member’s “breakthrough” with which to work, and attempt to express that breakthrough through lyrics and a melody that suit the genre of the assigned artist.

EXAMPLE: Group 1 decides to express the first time riding a bike. Group 1 has been assigned The Go Go’s. They must now show the feeling and experience of riding a bike for the first time through lyrics and a melody typical of the pop style of The Go Go’s.

7. Encourage students to keep the lyrics and melody simple enough to try to present the projects within a class period. If necessary, allow for completion as homework.

8. To summarize the activity, discuss how difficult it was to be “inventive” while trying to express their breakthroughs. Are their breakthroughs commonplace and likely to be experienced by many people, such as riding a bike, throwing a ball, etc.? Did this make it more difficult to be creative? In a field where creativity is necessary, breakthrough musicians defy the odds and create not only a unique sound, but also a direction toward which future musicians can strive. How has their perception of breakthrough artists developed through this activity?

Supplemental Resources:
Definitions, biographical information, and historical information for the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll lesson series has been excerpted primarily from the following sources:

• www.webster.com
• www.vh1.com
• Women in Early Music: http://150.252.8.92/www/iawm/pages/
• Women in Music: informational Web site with contacts and mentoring, www.womeninmusic.com/
• www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/othsubj.htm

National Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.