Blues in the Schools -
A fun and educational experience!!!
LOVING THE BLUES IN ENGLAND
Here's a short clip of what happens when I teach middle school students how to play, compose, and sing their own blues songs. My wonderful 'backing band' never played the blues before, and this group of singers (one group of about 20 this particular day) never wrote their own lyrics or sang the blues before. I LOVE doing my Blues In The Schools program. Everyone gets such a kick out of it. My 14th year!!!
This was after my presentation of Blues and the Great Migration.
This was after my presentation of Blues and the Great Migration.
Blues and the Great Migration
program by Toby Walker - © Toby Walker 2017
"When you ask the kids what they remember most about 8th grade, this is it"
- Jeff Moss - English Teacher, Weber Middle School
"Out of the many teaching artists that we have worked with, you are one of the best at striking a nice balance between explaning and teaching music"
- Mark Burford, Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall
program by Toby Walker - © Toby Walker 2017
"When you ask the kids what they remember most about 8th grade, this is it"
- Jeff Moss - English Teacher, Weber Middle School
"Out of the many teaching artists that we have worked with, you are one of the best at striking a nice balance between explaning and teaching music"
- Mark Burford, Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall
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__Press Releases, Quotes and More!
N.Y. Times Article - Schoolhouse Blues
4000 students over 10 years!!!
Port Washington Patch - Singing the Eight Grade Blues
Quotes from teachers and students
Previous Schools
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What Toby's Program Is All About:
The Great Migration and the Jim Crow South - How the music of the Blues reflected this period of African American History. With the music of the blues, a slide show depicting the Mississippi blues musicians that I learned from and colorful stories, the students will experience a powerful, moving experience of what it was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South, and why some of them eventually moved to the cities of the north.
The program is geared towards 8th grade middle school students, as this dovetails into what they are currently learning about in regards to sharecropping, the Great Migration and the Jim Crow South. I prefer to work in the classroom, right up close to the students, giving them a very personal experience with the music and stories.
I use a variety of instruments in my 35 to 40 presentation such as a 1930 steel guitar, a modern electric guitar and a one string ‘Didley Bow.
There are three options:
The Virtual Presentation - all done via Zoom (or whatever the school uses) from my studio.
The Classroom Presentation - 35 to 40 minutes - one class period
The Total Experience - This is where the real fun begins!! Here we’ll add two additional periods - The Writing/Music Workshop and the Final Concert. The former consists of dividing the students up into small groups and assigning each group with a topic relevant to their experiences, such as homework, school lunch, tests, family, etc. Each group will be given the task of writing verses to a blues song, which deals with their assigned topic. While this is going on I will be teaching whichever students brought in an instrument - their teachers will have asked them to do this prior to the day of the Experience - how to play the Blues!! The then comes the Final Concert!! Here’s where it all comes together! With my new ‘Blues Band’ behind me, each of the writing groups come up one at a time and sing their songs with me and a full backing blues band of their own peers.
Feel free to contact me regarding pricing and how we can set any of these options up.
The Great Migration With The Blues meets the following themes in The National Curriculum Standards for: English Language Arts, Social Studies and Music Education
Requirements: In addition to the school providing the overhead projector and computer connected to the internet, I bring in my own full sound system. The students wishing to participate as musicians are responsible for providing their own instruments and in the case of guitarists, their own amplifiers. IMPORTANT: As this is a larger presentation, I’ll need a larger room. Many schools have utilized classrooms with folding, divided walls, opening them up to create a double classroom.
Here is how OPTION TWO has worked in other schools.
I perform the Classroom Presentation to a large group of students (75 to 100) for the first period, at end of which half of that group leaves while the other half stays for the remaining, additional two periods needed for the workshop. After a midday break, the students that left earlier in the day will come back and take part in their 2 period workshop.
Either option has worked very well in every school that has participated in this experience. The one thing that I will stress is that I prefer to work inside the classroom with the students, as opposed to working in a full auditorium. I’ve found that the personal, up close approach has been the most effective way for the students to get the full benefit of this program.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"The kids were completely captivated! Out of the many teaching artists we have worked with, you are one of the best at striking a nice balance between explaiining and playing music"
- Mark Burford Carnegie Hall
"Dear Toby, Thanks so much for your presentation to my class on 'The Blues and American Culture'. Your knowledge of the history and meaning of the blues, as much as your singing and guitar-playing, added immensely to the students' understanding of the subject. One student, I believe, spoke for the entire class when she told me she was delighted to have met 'such an amazing and engaging musician.' When I teach the course again, I very much hope you'll be able to return to Cornell to offer another such lecture/demonstration."
- Richard Polenberg Marie Underhill Noll Professor of History Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow Cornell University"
"Thank you for your superb performance for our 5th and 6th graders. You grabbed the attention of the students immediately and held it continuously throughout the hour-long performance. The excitement of the music was enhanced by the depth of your knowledge of early blues musicians and a warm sense of humor in sharing their stories with us. It was truly an inspiring performance!"
- Eileen Gorman, Pulaski Street School Riverhead NY
MORE QUOTES FROM TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
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Funding: For schools in Suffolk and Nassau County NY contact your county BOCES Arts in Education Dept. as my program is listed their catalog.
Suffolk County: http://www.esboces.org/aie/
Nassau County: http://www.nassauboces.org/artsined
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
See For Yourself!!!
Here's a peek at an exciting blues residency at Weber Middle School!!!
Toby Walker dazzles the French!!!
Previous School Performances
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
N.Y. Times Article - Schoolhouse Blues
4000 students over 10 years!!!
Port Washington Patch - Singing the Eight Grade Blues
Quotes from teachers and students
Previous Schools
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What Toby's Program Is All About:
The Great Migration and the Jim Crow South - How the music of the Blues reflected this period of African American History. With the music of the blues, a slide show depicting the Mississippi blues musicians that I learned from and colorful stories, the students will experience a powerful, moving experience of what it was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South, and why some of them eventually moved to the cities of the north.
The program is geared towards 8th grade middle school students, as this dovetails into what they are currently learning about in regards to sharecropping, the Great Migration and the Jim Crow South. I prefer to work in the classroom, right up close to the students, giving them a very personal experience with the music and stories.
I use a variety of instruments in my 35 to 40 presentation such as a 1930 steel guitar, a modern electric guitar and a one string ‘Didley Bow.
There are three options:
The Virtual Presentation - all done via Zoom (or whatever the school uses) from my studio.
The Classroom Presentation - 35 to 40 minutes - one class period
The Total Experience - This is where the real fun begins!! Here we’ll add two additional periods - The Writing/Music Workshop and the Final Concert. The former consists of dividing the students up into small groups and assigning each group with a topic relevant to their experiences, such as homework, school lunch, tests, family, etc. Each group will be given the task of writing verses to a blues song, which deals with their assigned topic. While this is going on I will be teaching whichever students brought in an instrument - their teachers will have asked them to do this prior to the day of the Experience - how to play the Blues!! The then comes the Final Concert!! Here’s where it all comes together! With my new ‘Blues Band’ behind me, each of the writing groups come up one at a time and sing their songs with me and a full backing blues band of their own peers.
Feel free to contact me regarding pricing and how we can set any of these options up.
The Great Migration With The Blues meets the following themes in The National Curriculum Standards for: English Language Arts, Social Studies and Music Education
Requirements: In addition to the school providing the overhead projector and computer connected to the internet, I bring in my own full sound system. The students wishing to participate as musicians are responsible for providing their own instruments and in the case of guitarists, their own amplifiers. IMPORTANT: As this is a larger presentation, I’ll need a larger room. Many schools have utilized classrooms with folding, divided walls, opening them up to create a double classroom.
Here is how OPTION TWO has worked in other schools.
I perform the Classroom Presentation to a large group of students (75 to 100) for the first period, at end of which half of that group leaves while the other half stays for the remaining, additional two periods needed for the workshop. After a midday break, the students that left earlier in the day will come back and take part in their 2 period workshop.
Either option has worked very well in every school that has participated in this experience. The one thing that I will stress is that I prefer to work inside the classroom with the students, as opposed to working in a full auditorium. I’ve found that the personal, up close approach has been the most effective way for the students to get the full benefit of this program.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"The kids were completely captivated! Out of the many teaching artists we have worked with, you are one of the best at striking a nice balance between explaiining and playing music"
- Mark Burford Carnegie Hall
"Dear Toby, Thanks so much for your presentation to my class on 'The Blues and American Culture'. Your knowledge of the history and meaning of the blues, as much as your singing and guitar-playing, added immensely to the students' understanding of the subject. One student, I believe, spoke for the entire class when she told me she was delighted to have met 'such an amazing and engaging musician.' When I teach the course again, I very much hope you'll be able to return to Cornell to offer another such lecture/demonstration."
- Richard Polenberg Marie Underhill Noll Professor of History Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow Cornell University"
"Thank you for your superb performance for our 5th and 6th graders. You grabbed the attention of the students immediately and held it continuously throughout the hour-long performance. The excitement of the music was enhanced by the depth of your knowledge of early blues musicians and a warm sense of humor in sharing their stories with us. It was truly an inspiring performance!"
- Eileen Gorman, Pulaski Street School Riverhead NY
MORE QUOTES FROM TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding: For schools in Suffolk and Nassau County NY contact your county BOCES Arts in Education Dept. as my program is listed their catalog.
Suffolk County: http://www.esboces.org/aie/
Nassau County: http://www.nassauboces.org/artsined
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
See For Yourself!!!
Here's a peek at an exciting blues residency at Weber Middle School!!!
Toby Walker dazzles the French!!!
Previous School Performances
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________