As Kodály music educators we know how important it is to find the origin of a song. To know its history, to know what it represents. Learning the true history of American music can only make us better music educators. As stated in the June Maryland United Specialists in Kodály (MUSIK) blog, Black Lives Matter. For many, the summer months are utilized as a time for personal and professional growth. The following is information and resources that may prove beneficial to said growth.
Videos and Music
Articles
Podcasts
Books
Videos and Music
- Frankie and Doug Quimby interview, Draw Me a Bucket of Water
- Bessie Jones Recordings
- Georgia Sea Island Singers
- Fisk Jubilee Singers History
- Fisk Jubilee Singers: Ezekiel Saw De Wheel
- Nina Simone Interview, To Be Young, Gifted and Black
Articles
- Slave Code of 1740: Slaves were prohibited from having or using drums, horns, or other loud instruments that could be used for communication across plantations for fear of rebellions. When making music intricate clapping, body patting, and stamping were utilized to imitate the layering of African drum rhythms.
- New York Times, "Lifting the Cone of Silence From Black Composers"
- The Musical Culture of African-American Children in Tennessee by Marvelene C. Moore
Podcasts
Books
- Step it Down by Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes
- Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance by Phil Jamison
- Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War by Dena Epstein
- The Creolization of American Culture: William Sidney Mount and the Roots of Blackface Minstrelsy by Christopher Smith
- The Music of Black Americans 3rd ed. by Dr. Eileen Southern
- Readings in Black American Music 2nd ed. by Dr. Eileen Southern
- Dancing the Ring Shout! by Kim L. Siegelson
- The Power of Black Music by Same Floyd