Overview

These collected lessons allow General Music courses to meet prevailing state standards in English Language Arts and Social Studies. In two interactive lessons, students explore rhythmic layering and sampling while discovering the Caribbean and African origins of these music production techniques. Students also discover the cultural origins of Latin rhythms often found in Pop music hits. Lessons in the collection additionally introduce students to the history of music media, from the 45 rpm record to the music video, and introduce students to the role producers play in the modern music industry

Lessons

lesson:
Rhythm as a Representation of People and Place

How does “the beat” of popular music reflect the histories of multiethnic populations and places?

lesson:
Sampling: The Foundation of Hip Hop

Grades: High
Subjects: CTE, General Music

How is the re-use and re-purposing of existing music at the heart of the Hip Hop recording experience?

lesson:
The Latin Rhythms of “Despacito”

Grades: Elementary, Middle
Subjects: General Music

What Latin American genres inspired Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s hit song “Despacito”?

lesson:
How Records and Radio Shaped American Culture

Grades: High, Middle
Subjects: CTE, General Music, Science, STEAM

How did changes in the technology of record manufacturing effect popular music, radio, and the people who consumed both?

lesson:
The History of Music Videos

Grades: High
Subjects: Art/Design, CTE, General Music, Science, Social Studies/History

How has the relation between sound and image shifted through the history of recorded music, and how did the rise of MTV bring that relationship to a culmination of sorts?

lesson:
The Many Roles of a Music Producer

Grades: High
Subjects: CTE, General Music

What does a music producer do and in what ways does one hear the sound of a producer’s work in recordings?