Teacher Resources
1
music Lesson 1: Blues Basics “Homework Blues”
(audio)
(audio)
Field Hollers and Work Songs “Fire! Fire!”
(audio)
Unaccompanied Holler Vera Hall – “Another Man Done Gone”
(audio)
Joe Savage – “Dangerous Blues” (1978)
(video)
Individual Holler / Work Song R.L. Burnside – “Wood-chopping Holler”
(video)
Group Work Song Inmates at Parchman – “Oh, Rosie”
(audio)
Lightning Washington and Prisoners – “Good God Almighty (1933)”
(video)
Lesson 2: Singing and Playing the Blues Melody and Harmony “Melody”
(audio)
“Harmony”
(audio)
C-Major Scales “C-Major-Scale (piano)”
(audio)
(audio)
“C-Major-Scale Solfege (sung)”
(audio)
Chromatic Scales “Chromatic Scale(keyboard and sung)”
(audio)
Blues Scale “Blues Scale”
(audio)
Examples of Mississippi Blues Howlin’ Wolf – “Dust My Broom”
(audio)
(audio)
“John the Rabbit (with piano)”
(audio)
Improvisation Using Blues Scale Notes “Improvisation”
(audio)
Triads and Chords “Triads”
(audio)
“Chords”
(audio)
Illustrations of the 12-bar Blues “12-bar Blues”
(audio)
(audio)
(audio)
Lesson 3: Instruments of the Blues Spirituals Blues Ballads “John Henry”
(video)
Diddley Bow/One-string Guitar Acoustic Guitar Acoustic Guitar with Slide Booker White – “Please Don’t Put Your Daddy Outdoors”
(video)
Electric Guitar Mississippi Delta Bluesmen – “Give My Poor Heart Ease” (1975)
(video)
Howlin’ Wolf – “Meet Me in the Bottom”
(audio)
Harmonica Jack Owens and Bud Spires – “Catfish Blues”
(audio)
Piano Fife and Drum Band Napolian Strickland – “Somebody Knocking at My Door”
(audio)
“Gravel Springs Fife and Drum”
(video)
Bones/Spoons/Sticks “How to Play Bones with Dom Flemons”
(video)
Jug Whistler’s Jug Band – “Foldin’ Bed”
(video)
2
meaning Lesson 1: Themes of the Blues Sacred and Secular Music Lovey Williams – “Going Away Blues”
(audio)
Lesson 2: Emotions of the Blues Memphis Slim et al – “Source of the Blues”
(audio)
Memphis Slim et al – “Happy in the Face of Problems”
(audio)
Lesson 3: Women and the Blues Rosa Lee Hill – “Rolled and Tumbled”
(audio)
3
cotton Lesson 2: Vocabulary Phineas Rockmore – “Boll Weevil”
(audio)
Unknown Axe Cutting Group – “Pick a Bale of Cotton”
(audio)
4
transportation Lesson 1: The Mississippi River Walter Brown and “Arthur” – “Roustabout Holler and Rocking the Load” (1978)
(video)
“Loading Cotton on Steamboats” (1937)
(video)
Lesson 2: Trains Lovey Williams – “Train if I Ride”
(audio)
Jimmie Rodgers – “Waiting for a Train”
(video)
Lesson 3: Highways and Automobiles James Son Thomas – “Highway 61 Blues”
(audio)
5
civil rights Lesson 1: General Complaints Anonymous – “Hidden Violence”
(audio)
Lesson 2: Political Lyrics Big Bill Broonzy – “Black, Brown and White Blues”
(audio)
6
media Lesson 1: Early Years of the Blues Lesson 2: Recording the Blues Lesson 3: Radio and the Blues
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