Teaching About The Blues

Recently, I subbed in my old music room for three days. It was so much fun!! It got my juices flowing to be in the midst of all that again -- connecting with children, eliciting their interest, moving the class along from moment to moment -- it's really a rush!

The fifth graders were to study The Blues. We began by listening to Huddie Ledbetter, "Leadbelly" singing his song, "Good Morning Blues". The song is in the music text book and the accompanying CD has Leadbelly singing in a very old recording. (He died in 1949.) Then, the children tried singing the song from their music books. We discussed "blues" -- what does it mean to "feel blue", etc. First, I wanted them to understand the emotional content of the Blues.

The next day, we reviewed "Good Morning Blues" by singing it along with the CD, then I moved the balance switch on the stereo so they were the only ones singing the melody. (These CDs have that special characteristic -- very useful function for the music teacher.) Then, I asked the students to form three lines, like three sides of square, with one side missing. I stood on the missing line. Everyone was standing. I assigned each line of the song to a line of students:

Good morning, blues, blues how do you do?
Good morning, blues, blues how do you do?
I'm doin' all right, good morning, how are you?

I had to work intensely with the students, encouraging them to sing, for many were shy and unsure about singing. Finally, we got a good spirit going!

I taught them the second verse:

I lay in bed last night, turning from side to side,
Yes, I was turning from side to side,
I was not asleep, but I was dissatisfied.

They sang along with the CD, accompaniment only.

My goal in this activity was to let them see the formal structure of Blues lyrics. I asked them to tell me the form, using "A" and "B". The answer: AAB

My next goal was to help the whole class create another verse for this song. First, we got the beginning line, which we repeated, of course. All you have to do next is to find a rhyme for the last word of the first line. Each class accomplished this! It was so much fun, but scary to create something from nothing like this.

Next, I wanted to teach them about the 12 Bar Blues form. On the board I had written the numbers:
1234 2234 3234 4234
5234 6234 7234 8234
9234 10-234 11-234 12-234

We just practiced counting that out, no music, so they could get used to that pattern. Next, I played the Leadbelly recording of Good Morning Blues and we counted through the whole song! I think it's great to get really familiar with the length of a blues verse (12 bars!). After awhile, you get a feel for it.

Over the numbers on the board, I had written:
Do Do Do Do
Fa Fa Do Do
Sol Fa Do Do

We practiced singing those tones (the chord roots) alone and then along with the Leadbelly recording. Hear the song on this player. However, this is not the exact same version of the song we used.



Aha! I really felt that the students had a handle on:

• The form of the words for a Blues verse and how to create your own.
• The chord roots for the 12 Bar Blues

The teacher will probably go on to do more things. For example, she might have small groups create their own Blues verses and share them with the class. Also, she could have them use the Orff instruments to play the chord roots. They can learn and listen to many other Blues songs, too. Finally, in February, these lucky children will be able to visit The House of Blues in Chicago where they will watch a special show for students about the Blues, the history and so on.

Learning about The Blues is essential for American children -- to learn about their musical heritage and the world's musical heritage, for the Blues lead to jazz, ragtime, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and all the developments since that time!