Teaching American History

1
Teaching American History

• Day 3
• Music as a Primary Source

2
Teaching American History

• What is primary about music,
• our universal language?
• Analyzing lyrics
• what do the words tell us about the composer and
  the times

3
Teaching American History

• Analyzing the score
• Analyzing the recording techniques
• and the recording industries
• Analyzing the impact on American culture
• who is the audience and why?

4
Teaching American History

• Classroom Classics
• We Didnt Start the Fire
• American Pie
• ?
• For one list of the top songs of the 20th
  century, see
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_the_Century

5
Teaching American History

• Class project have students analyze a song that
  was popular on their birthday, and when their
  parents and when their grandparents were their
  age
• To look up the hits songs for any given day, see
• http//www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/Selec
  tMonth.htm

6
Teaching American History

• Other Online websites
• Early America
• http//www.earlyamerica.com/music/gw-life.htm
• 19th-Early 20th Century
• Birth of the Recording Industry Collection
• http//memory.loc.gov/ammem/berlhtml/berlrecording
  .html
• John Henry etc.
• http//www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/
  johnhenry/index.html

7
Teaching American History

• 20th Century
• American Memory Collection
• http//memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/ftvbib
  _at_field(NUMBER(_at_range(5147a17053b2)))
• Dust Bowl Collection
• http//memory.loc.gov/afc/afcts/audio/408/4089a1.m
  p3
• Hispanic Music
• http//memory.loc.gov/ammem/rghtml/raelPerformers1
  .html
• Ragtime
• http//lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/ragtime/rag
  time-home.html