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Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Gather important information about the history of the blues and historical figures.
• Analyze the genre and techniques used by prominent blues singers and performers.
• Differentiate between harmonic tones that are dissonant and those that are consonant.
• Compose a melody using the blocked chords of the 12-bar blues in the key of C Major.
• Apply rhythm, note duration, and rules of melodic composition in an original harmonic composition.
• Perform an original composition for an audience. 

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

Videos

Websites

• Blues Journey

Teacher Background

Teachers should have a background in music (including composition and keyboard). Familiarize yourself with the media and resources prior to teaching the lesson. Teachers should also be familiar with notable blues musicians.

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with the genre of the blues and the concepts of harmonic intervals, consonance and dissonance, music notation, and key signature.

Accessibility Notes

Provide preferential seating and enable captions for all videos. More general, visual, and hearing impairment accessibility settings can be found .

Engage

1. Have playing when students walk in. Ask students to try and identify the genre.

2. Share the Blues Journey website with students. Discuss the history of the Blues and listen to song samples. Be sure to touch on the evolutionary path of blues music, originating from enslavement work songs, and eventually ending up in big cities like Chicago, New York, and St. Louis as the Great Migration brought African Americans north.

3. Play examples of early . Allow time for students to discover the characteristics of this music. Tell students the Delta Blues is one of the earliest styles of blues, rooted in songs sung by enslaved people in America. During enslavement, songs and spirituals were sung in solidarity in an effort to endure their suffering. The songs were later  infused with the guitar, making the Delta Blues the first African American guitar-dominated music. Students can read to learn more about its history.

4. Discuss how the subject matter of most blues songs reflects their origins in the “Deep South.” Standard blues tunes like and speaks to the suffering, hardships, and difficult times one may endure. Discuss the act of performing the blues or going to the local juke joint to see a performer as a necessary therapeutic release for the people of the deep south. 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 enslaved people brought into the country.

5. Divide students into groups to discover the history of the Blues. Share the resources, and Blues Journey to build more background knowledge. Have students research different musicians.

Delta Blues: Robert Johnson, Son House, and Mississippi John Hurt 

Chicago Blues: Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Robert Junior Lockwood

Blues Singers: Etta James, Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Koko Taylor

Build

1. Show students the video, , and review the . Discuss the form and terms with students, providing examples or demonstrations as needed. 

2. Tell students they will be composing 12-bar blues. The 12-bar blues is (or blues changes are) one of the most popular chord progressions in blues 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.

3. 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.” 

4. Ask students to apply a definition to each term. Be sure to provide auditory examples of each. The definitions must be at the level of the student so that the concept can be applied in composition: 

Consonance: an aesthetically pleasing sensation or perception associated with the interval of the octave, the perfect fourth and fifth, the major and minor third and sixth, and chords based on these intervals 

Dissonance: a sensation commonly associated with all intervals of the second and seventh, all diminished and augmented intervals, and all chords based on these intervals

Apply

1. Have students set up a page following the guidelines listed below. A sample page is necessary. This may be done on the board or on an overhead. 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 , in root position, should be drawn in the bass clef, following the sequence of the 12-bar blues.

2. Review the concepts of consonance and dissonance. 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.

3. Distribute the . Review the criteria and tell students they 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. Encourage them 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.

Reflect 

1. Arrange for students to perform their composition for the class. Engage students in a follow-up discussion about the elements of their peers’ compositions. Assess students’ knowledge of the concept with the . Provide specific feedback in the “notes” section.