Deborah Thompson is from a musical family and plays banjo, guitar, and dulcimer, with repertoire from living and playing in Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and New England. She performs solo and with various groups, currently with the old time and Americana band, Skipjack. She has taught classes and workshops in Appalachian music and dance for all ages since 1984, including public school residencies, Elderhostels, and music camps.
Her specialty is interpreting Appalachian music and dance, presenting programs that tie together the history of the Appalachian region, information about and demonstrations on various instruments, and a smattering of music theory. Her training includes many years of performance and playing with traditional musicians, experience with interviewing traditional artists for cultural and heritage studies, as well as a B.A. and M.A. in Appalachian Studies.
Learning American History through Folk Music
This residency is created with 8th graders in mind, but may be adjusted to fit any grade level. Many examples will be drawn from Kentucky music and music of the Appalachian Region, with appropriate connections to America as a whole.
The following elements of the Kentucky Core Content will be addressed:
AH-08-1.1.1: Students will compare or evaluate the use of elements in a variety of music.
AH-08-2.1.1: Students will analyze or explain how diverse cultures and time periods are reflected in music.
AH-08-3.1.1: Students will describe or explain how music fulfills a variety of purposes.
AH-08-4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.4: will be addressed somewhat, as students will sing along, improvise, and create music using a variety of instruments and other sound sources.
While I have created this residency with only 5 days in mind, it could be easily stretched to a 10 day residency, which would improve it, in that it would allow for more student participation and connection to other parts of the curriculum. The students could research different time periods, bring in music appropriate to the different time periods and purposes, and could write reflections and reactions to the music in the form of poetry, news stories from different time periods, journal writing, biographies of period musicians (real or fictional), or enact musical personae from different time periods.
Day One: Presentation of Early American music and European influences (fiddle, jaw harp, ballads, shape-note music, hymns).
Students will sing along on ballads, start to learn to read shape note music, evaluate the use of elements in the music.
Day Two: Early American music and African influences (banjo, mouthbow, percussion, call-and-response, polyrhythms, spirituals).
Students will sing along on call-and-response, lyric songs, learn different rhythms and practice with polyrhythms, evaluate the use of elements in the music.
Day Three: Development of American music from variety of influences (lap dulcimer, minstrel music, lyric music, religious music, Civil War music, work songs).
Students will sing along on lyric music, religious music including shape-note and spirituals, incorporating rhythm, evaluate the use of elements in the music.
Day Four: Development of late 19th and early 20th century folk music (guitar, blues, old time string band music, early commercial recordings, gospel music).
Students will sing along on blues, gospel, and popular music based on folk music. Rhythm instruments will be used when appropriate, evaluate the use of elements in the music.
Day Five: Development of bluegrass music, early rhythm and blues, and the folk revival will be touched on. Review of the chronology and elements of the previous days.
Students will be given the opportunity to ask and answer questions about the different time periods, purposes, and elements of the music presented this week. They will be asked to complete writing assignments or musical compositions throughout the week that will help them integrate the information they have learned.