In this lesson, students will listen to early music used in Appalachia community gatherings and a part of the Bristol Recordings. Students will play various songs, describe the music, and define why the music was used or performed in community gatherings or small groups. Students will also recognize local community events and how music is used to bring people together.

In this lesson, students will perform a 12-bar blues progression, improvise using a simple blues scale and create an original blues piece with lyrics in an AAB form. Students will discuss the background and history of where the blues originated, its early performers and the progression from blues to early forms of rock music.

After viewing the video “Anatomy of a Jam Session” from Virginia Roots: A Journey into Appalachian Music, Blue Ridge PBS, students will collaborate to create a performance of a two or three chord old-time song with available classroom instruments in the style of a jam session.

After viewing the video “Anatomy of a Jam Session” from Virginia Roots: A Journey Through Appalachian Music, Blue Ridge Public Media, students will collaborate to create a performance of a two or three chord old-time song with available classroom instruments in the style of a jam session.

This presentation provides an overview of the 2020 Music Standards of Learning and is specifically geared toward K-8 general music teachers.

After learning basic Appalachian dance movement related to flatfooting, clogging, buckdance, or the Charleston. Students will create a rhythmic cue sheet diagraming the steps of a newly created dance based on original Appalachian dance steps, using traditional or iconic rhythmic notation. Students will choose Appalachian music to demonstrate and/or teach their original dance to others providing the cue sheet as a reference.

This presentation provides an overview of the 2020 Music Standards of Learning, instructional resources, and professional learning resources available to all Virginia music educators. 

This resource demonstrates the 2020 Music Standards of Learning for middle school choral music in a chart format that shows the progression of the standards levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced.