Singing the Eighth-Grade Blues
Weber students jam with renowned Blues guitarist Toby Walker.
By Katie Fogarty - Port Washington Patch, NY
By Katie Fogarty - Port Washington Patch, NY
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Heaps of homework, troublesome tests. Bossy girls,
annoying boys. The travails of the American teen could fill a songbook.
On a recent sunny spring day, scores of Weber students gave song-writing
a spin, chronicling modern day laments using the Blues, a musical genre
rooted in the history of the American South.
The song-writing session capped an
interdisciplinary study called "The Blues" which uses the poetry of
Langston Hughes as a jumping off point for examining history, music and
art.
Blues guitarist, singer-song-writer and raconteur extraordinaire Toby Walker led a 45-minute showcase of Blues songs, weaving in snippets of the history of the African American migration from the south to the north. Walker illustrated with stories and photos how the blues made its journey from the Deep South work songs, spirituals and rhymed-narrative ballads to a more contemporary manifestation in the music of rock 'n' roll acts such as the Rolling Stones.
Walker performed on steel and electric guitars, a harmonica and a one-string instrument called a Diddley-bow, demonstrating the history of Blues instruments and music. Walker also conducted one-on-one tutorials with student musicians.
At the end of the session, Walker encouraged students to pen and perform their own songs.
"Lyrically they write songs that have to do with the Blues in their own lives," noted Walker.
I got way too much homework and now its 4 a.m.
I got way too much homework and now its 4 a.m.
I'm gonna finish this darn thing before the night ends
The repetitive lines of the chorus of "The Homework Blues," the creation of a team of eighth-graders, is a hallmark of blues music. Students learned the mechanics of a Blues song — stanzas and chorus — as well as the poetic techniques that makes a song sing such as rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, imagery and idiom.
Weber eighth-grade English teacher Jeff Moss has organized the Blues program for the past five years. He spends weeks illustrating how the Blues and the history of the African-American experience is woven through American culture.
"We start with the great migration, poetry of Langston Hughes, and Robert Johnson," Moss explained. "We look at rock 'n' roll of the 60s, a picture book called the Blues Journey, which is the African-American experience."
Moss took his own stab at composing, leading fellow teachers Angela Costelli and Samantha Imbriani in a rendition of the "English Teacher Blues."
Leslie Bedoya's all-girl writing group told a story even older than the Blues itself: a tale of boy trouble. "I think it's easier to express your feelings with a song," Bedoya said. "Maybe we can make them understand with a song. If you try to talk to the boys, they don't listen."
The Blues program is funded by a grant from the Port Washington Education Foundation; it's one of 29 programs funded throughout the Port Washington School District for the 2009-10 school year.
"Between 350 and 400 kids participate," Moss said. "Their response is amazing. When you ask them what they remember about eighth-grade, this is it."
Walker closed the day with a homework assignment. "Go home and Google Stevie Ray Vaughn and Muddy Waters. Listen to them play the Blues."
Blues guitarist, singer-song-writer and raconteur extraordinaire Toby Walker led a 45-minute showcase of Blues songs, weaving in snippets of the history of the African American migration from the south to the north. Walker illustrated with stories and photos how the blues made its journey from the Deep South work songs, spirituals and rhymed-narrative ballads to a more contemporary manifestation in the music of rock 'n' roll acts such as the Rolling Stones.
Walker performed on steel and electric guitars, a harmonica and a one-string instrument called a Diddley-bow, demonstrating the history of Blues instruments and music. Walker also conducted one-on-one tutorials with student musicians.
At the end of the session, Walker encouraged students to pen and perform their own songs.
"Lyrically they write songs that have to do with the Blues in their own lives," noted Walker.
I got way too much homework and now its 4 a.m.
I got way too much homework and now its 4 a.m.
I'm gonna finish this darn thing before the night ends
The repetitive lines of the chorus of "The Homework Blues," the creation of a team of eighth-graders, is a hallmark of blues music. Students learned the mechanics of a Blues song — stanzas and chorus — as well as the poetic techniques that makes a song sing such as rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, imagery and idiom.
Weber eighth-grade English teacher Jeff Moss has organized the Blues program for the past five years. He spends weeks illustrating how the Blues and the history of the African-American experience is woven through American culture.
"We start with the great migration, poetry of Langston Hughes, and Robert Johnson," Moss explained. "We look at rock 'n' roll of the 60s, a picture book called the Blues Journey, which is the African-American experience."
Moss took his own stab at composing, leading fellow teachers Angela Costelli and Samantha Imbriani in a rendition of the "English Teacher Blues."
Leslie Bedoya's all-girl writing group told a story even older than the Blues itself: a tale of boy trouble. "I think it's easier to express your feelings with a song," Bedoya said. "Maybe we can make them understand with a song. If you try to talk to the boys, they don't listen."
The Blues program is funded by a grant from the Port Washington Education Foundation; it's one of 29 programs funded throughout the Port Washington School District for the 2009-10 school year.
"Between 350 and 400 kids participate," Moss said. "Their response is amazing. When you ask them what they remember about eighth-grade, this is it."
Walker closed the day with a homework assignment. "Go home and Google Stevie Ray Vaughn and Muddy Waters. Listen to them play the Blues."
