Goal:  Gain an appreciation for different styles of blues music.

Objectives:  Students will be able to:

1. Explain three key features of blues music.
2. Discuss how blues music from the Mississippi Delta has come to be a part of Iowa’s music scene.
3. Discuss the importance of metaphor in blues lyrics.
4. Name and identify instruments used in blues music.
5. Identify blues musicians.

Questions to be answered:

1. How are the lyrics organized and what is the song format of a blues song?
2. What are some instruments used in blues music?
3. Why are the blues such an important American musical form?
4. What is the difference between traditional blues musicians and musicians influenced by the blues?
5. Who are some local blues musicians (women and men), and who are some musicians who were influenced by blues music?

Suggested Methods and Activities:

1. Students research and listen to various blues songs from different time periods in American History. Student groups determine the time period, discuss the lyrics and determine what was happening in America at that time. Consider the differences between men and women blues musicians.
   Use resources listed at: 
   
   • Go to the Blues Unit and listen to the audio clips
     
   • Folklife Volume II Blues Resources
   • The Classic Blues and the women who sang them
     
   • Give My Poor Heart Ease: Mississippi Delta Bluesmen
     
   • The Land Where the Blues Began
     
   • Let the World Listen Right

*This activity most appropriate for grades 7-10.

2. Students explore song elements and look closely at the blues song format. Ask students to find the lyrics of a favorite blues song. Discuss the lyrical parts of the song and determine if it follows the standard 12 bar blues, which consists of a three line verse with an AAB structure.  
   
   • Refer to The Blues As A Story Poem.
   • Ask students to write their own blues song.
     1. Verses—In a song, a verse is a group of lines that constitutes a unit (similar to verses in poetry). Typically, a song consists of several verses, and the rhyme scheme and rhythm are usually the same from verse to verse.
     2. Chorus—A song's refrain (verse that repeats itself at given intervals throughout the song).
     3. Bridge—Transitional passage connecting two sections of the song

 *This activity most appropriate for grades 7-10.

3. Students discuss the various instruments used in blues music. Invite a guest to play blues music or find blues music online. Identify and research the various instruments.  Have students try playing a harmonica. 
   Refer to Blues Music Box and visit links for resources.
   • The Robert Johnson Notebooks
   • Kevin BF Burt's MySpace Page
   • Ernie Peniston's Homepage

   *This activity may be used with all grade levels.

4. Students research local blues musicians or a musician that was influenced by blues music. Prepare a research paper discussing the musical roots of the musician. What aspects of blues have influenced soul music, rap, hiphop, or other styles? Research online music sources and give a presentation with musical illustrations.
   Visit the link for resources to find books to use
   • Iowa Folklife Volume II Blues Resources
   • The Classic Blues and the women who sang them
   • Blues, Soul, Rhythm and Blues
     
   • Let the World Listen Right
     
   • Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
   • Iowa Blues Hall of Fame
     

   * This activity most appropriate for grades 7-10.