Lesson Overview:
Students will first learn about the history of blues music. They will then compose a melody, using a 12-bar blues chord progression.
Length of Lesson:
Two 45-minute periods
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- identify, through the use of mnemonic devices, the letter names of the lines and spaces in the bass clef.
- identify the roots of the I, IV, and V chords in the key of C Major using their prior knowledge of melodic intervals.
- compose a melody using the blocked chords of the 12-bar blues in the key of C Major.
- apply their prior knowledge of rhythm, note duration, and rules of melodic composition in their harmonic composition.
- differentiate between harmonic tones that are dissonant and those that are consonant.
Supplies:
- Piano or keyboard for teacher
- Classroom instruments (xylophones, keyboards, etc.)
Instructional Plan:
Warm Up
Blues History
Discuss the history of blues with students. Be sure to touch on the evolutionary
path of blues music, originating from slave work songs, and eventually
ending up in big cities like Chicago, New York, and St. Louis as the Great Migration
brought African-Americans north. Play examples of early Mississippi Delta blues
songs and point out characteristics of the music that came from work songs. (Call-and-response can be seen in the bluesman "calling" with his voice and then playing
a lick on his guitar between lines of verse as the "response.")
Discuss how the subject matter of most blues songs reflect their origins in
the "Deep South." Standard blues tunes like "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?"
and "Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out" speak of the poverty
of sharecropping families in the South. Discuss the act of performing blues
or going to the local juke joint to see a performer as a necessary therapeutic
release for the people of the Deep South. Even the sliding notes created by
a blues singer's voice or on the guitar with a metal or bottleneck slide elicit
the emotional cries of a people brought into the country as slaves.
Discuss Robert Johnson, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, and other Delta blues musicians. Chicago blues players could include Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf,
Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Junior Lockwood. Blues singers to research could
include Etta James, Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Koko Taylor. (If using this lesson as a stand-alone activity outside of the unit, see Harmonic Composition, An Essay for an essay that students can write on a specific blues or jazz musician.)
Music
Have students number their papers from one to twelve, representing the twelve measures
of the 12-bar blues. Play the 12-bar blues bass line in whole
notes using blocked chords in root position. Students will listen and put a
check next to the number that represents a measure where the chord changes.
Have students number their papers from one to ten. Play ten sets
of harmonic intervals. Students will write a "C" when the interval
is pleasant and a "D" when the interval is harsh. Students will complete
the words by writing "consonant" next to "C" and "dissonant" next to "D." Ask students to apply a definition to each term. The definitions must be at the level of the student so that the concept can
be applied in composition:
Consonant: an agreeable combination of musical tones
Dissonant: a clashing musical interval
Dissonance: an interval not included in a major or minor triad or its inversions (Note: This definition will aid the student in following the composition guidelines.)
Developmental Activity
The letter names of the lines and spaces in the bass clef will be reviewed,
using mnemonic devices.
- Example for bass clef lines: Good Boys Do Fine Always.
- Example for bass clef spaces: All Cows Eat Grass.
The concepts of I, IV, and V chords in C Major will be introduced, relating
the new information to students' prior knowledge of intervals covered in A Simple Melody.
Guided Practice
Have students set up their page following the guidelines listed below. A sample
page is necessary. This may be done on the board, on an overhead, or on a wipe-dry staff
poster.
- Students will connect six pairs of staves with a grand staff. The grand staff
will consist of a bar, a brace, a treble clef, and a bass clef.
- A 4/4 time signature will be added to the treble and bass clef of the first
set of staves.
- Each set of two staves will be divided into two measures with the bar line
extending from the top line of the first staff to the bottom line of the second
staff.
- The whole note and blocked chords, in root position, should be drawn in the bass clef, following the sequence of the 12-bar blues:
Measure 1: C Major I Chord
Measure 2: C Major I Chord
Measure 3: C Major I Chord
Measure 4: C Major I Chord
Measure 5: F Major IV Chord
Measure 6: F Major IV Chord
Measure 7: C Major I Chord
Measure 8: C Major I Chord
Measure 9: G Major V Chord
Measure 10: F Major IV Chord
Measure 11: C Major I Chord
Measure 12: C Major I Chord
The concepts of consonance and dissonance must be reviewed. Students will follow
these simple rules of harmonic composition to avoid a composition that sounds dissonant.
- In measures that contain the C Major Chord (or I Chord) in the bass line, the first beat of the measure must be a C, E, or G in the melody line.
- In measures that contain the F Major Chord (or IV Chord) in the bass line,
the first beat of the measure must be an F, A, or C in the melody line.
- In measures that contain the G Major Chord (or V Chord) in the bass line,
the first beat of the measure must be a G, B, or D in the melody line.
Independent Activity
Students will compose a melody over the bass line, using the 12-bar blues, as the
teacher plays the bass line on the piano in blocked chords, in root position, and
in whole notes. Students should compose using classroom instruments, such as
xylophones. Students should be encouraged to experiment and compose measures
of music one by one, testing each measure with the piano accompaniment. The
teacher will need to count the four beats of each measure aloud and return to
the beginning frequently so that students are able to play their compositions
from the beginning to the point at which they are in the process of experimenting
and creating. Students should refer to the Assignment
Checklist as they compose.
Assessment:
This project is the last project for the nine week course. If at all possible, grade the entire project together, using the Assessment Checklist.
Sources:
Web:
Authors:
-
Leslie Thomas, Teacher
Thomas Pullen Arts Magnet School
Landover, MD
