Welcome, Stone White School of Rock! Below you will find TeachRock resources handpicked for your school.
Resources
Music in Movies
lesson:
Rock and Roll Goes to the Movies
How did movies help to introduce Rock and Roll culture to mainstream audiences in the 1950s?
lesson:
The Musical Roots of the Surf Sound
What is the Surf sound and where did it come from?
lesson:
The Musical Roots of the Surf Sound (Elementary Version)
How does the “Surf Sound” in Rock and Roll reflect early surf culture, and what are the roots of this genre of music?
lesson:
The Beatles and Teen Culture
How did the Beatles’ image as a “rock band” affect young people in America?
lesson:
How Records and Radio Shaped American Culture
How did changes in the technology of record manufacturing effect popular music, radio, and the people who consumed both?
lesson:
The Birth of the Microphone
How did the development of microphones in the 20th century change the way people make and listen to music?
CBGB Tribute
lesson:
Punk as Reaction
How was Punk Rock a reaction both to the commercialization of Rock and Roll and to the social climate in late 1970s Britain?
lesson:
The Sound of Blue Collar Detroit
How did Rock and Roll serve as an expressive tool for the working-class youth of Detroit?
lesson:
The Emergence of Grunge
What was Grunge and where did it come from?
lesson:
The New York City Underground
How did New York bands interact with the city's art scene to create something new?
lesson:
Music and the Berlin Wall during the Cold War
What was the Berlin Wall and how did music respond to what it symbolized?
lesson:
Introducing New Wave
What did Punk Rock provide that opened the door for New Wave acts? And what are some among the defining attributes of New Wave?
lesson:
Introducing Glam Rock
How was Glam Rock a reaction to the "seriousness" of popular music at the time?
lesson:
Glam: The Return of the Teenager
How was Glam Rock part of a new teenage culture in the 1970s?
Van Halen
lesson:
The History of Music Videos
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:
Deadheads and Reagan’s America in the 1980s
Who are the Deadheads and how did their lifestyle contrast with the conservative values promoted by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s?
lesson:
Sound Waves, Analog Synthesis and Popular Culture
How did synthesizers allow musicians to create new sounds and how did those sounds reflect American culture throughout the 20th century?
lesson:
Introducing New Wave
What did Punk Rock provide that opened the door for New Wave acts? And what are some among the defining attributes of New Wave?
lesson:
The Rise of Disco
How did Disco relate to the sentiments and social movements of the 1970s?
Coachella
Student Edition:
Who Is Prince?
lesson:
Rhythm as a Representation of People and Place
How does “the beat” of popular music reflect the histories of multiethnic populations and places?
Student Edition:
Who is Lizzo?
Student Edition:
Who Is Amy Winehouse?
lesson:
Kanye and Katrina: Environmental Racism in New Orleans
What was Hurricane Katrina, and how did Black Americans articulate the frustrations they felt in its aftermath?
lesson:
DAMN.: The Art and Importance of Storytelling
How do Kendrick Lamar’s album DAMN. and the work of photojournalist Gordon Parks tell stories that bring attention to social issues?
lesson:
The Ethics of Sampling
What makes a work of art “original,” and how does the use of “sampling” technology in Hip Hop challenge perceptions of “originality”?
Classic Metal
lesson:
The Roots of Heavy Metal
What are the musical and cultural roots of Heavy Metal?
lesson:
The Rise of the Electric Guitar
What factors led to the rise of the electric guitar as the dominant symbol of Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Jimi Hendrix: Introducing Hard Rock
In what ways did Jimi Hendrix help create a new "Hard Rock" sound while retaining a connection to the Blues and R&B of his past?
lesson:
Mainstream Metal, Parental Advisories, and Censorship
How was Heavy Metal involved in the 1980s controversy surrounding the creation of parental advisories for “offensive” music?
lesson:
The Roots of Progressive Rock
How did Progressive Rock’s incorporation of classical traditions and countercultural values help to forge a unique Rock genre in the late 1960s?
Pioneers
lesson:
Muddy Waters, the New Kid in Town
How did Muddy Waters’ music change after he moved to Chicago, and what does that say about the relationship between place and self-expression?
lesson:
Leo Fender: An Inventor Who Transformed Popular Music
Who was Leo Fender, what iconic musical instruments did he invent, and how did his inventions transform musical instrument design and popular music?
lesson:
The Teamwork Behind the Beatles
How did the input of manager Brian Epstein and record producer George Martin help The Beatles develop and refine skills that aided the band in presenting their music and personalities to a mass audience?
lesson:
The Teamwork Behind the Beatles (Elementary Version)
How did the input of manager Brian Epstein and record producer George Martin help The Beatles develop and refine skills that aided the band in presenting their music and personalities to a mass audience?
lesson:
Ritchie Valens
How did Ritchie Valens meld traditional Mexican music and Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Ritchie Valens (Elementary School Version)
How did Ritchie Valens meld traditional Mexican music and Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Designing an Electric Guitar with Shapes
How can shapes be used to design an electric guitar?
lesson:
The Leadership Skills of a Music Producer
How do successful music producers practice positive leadership skills?
lesson:
Bo Diddley: The Grandfather of Hip Hop?
How were Bo Diddley’s recordings an anomaly in relation to 1950s Pop music, and how is his rhythm-driven sound and self-presentation a precursor to Hip Hop style?
Pink Floyd
lesson:
Designing Album Covers with Color Theory
What is the science behind color theory, and how is it used in fashion and album cover design?
lesson:
The Evolution of Sound Recording
How did multitrack recording technologies enable musicians to create a form of music that could only be realized in the studio?
lesson:
Designing a Band Logo
What is a logo, what are the elements of effective logo design, and how have musicians and bands used logos to brand themselves?
lesson:
Loudspeakers, PA Systems, and the “Wall of Sound”
What is a PA system, how does it work, and how were the Grateful Dead pioneers in live sound technology?