FROM COLONY TO COUNTRY: LEARNING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BY WRITING BROADSIDE BALLADS

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PURPOSE:

• Creating broadside ballads as a means to understanding contemporary social change
• Looking at the broadside ballad as an indicator of the social and political climate of the American Revolution

The workshop leader will:

• Show how the changes in musical style from Colonial to Revolutionary times mirror the political changes;
• Engage teachers in creative activities designed to help students understand the nature and function of music in general and the topical ballad in particular;
• Share materials and resources that teachers can use to expand their knowledge of British Colonial and Federal American music;
  Help teachers consider adaptations of the learning activities to various classroom settings.
  

Rationale
In teaching a multifaceted topic it is often difficult to know how to integrate various disciplines in order to enhance understandings without compromising the integrity of any of the disciplines. In this workshop ballad writing is used as a bridge between disciplines. By asking students to compose their own song texts and to set them to familiar tunes, musical transcription is unnecessary and presentation is uncomplicated and informal.

In this manner, the process of writing ballads to understand the American Revolution is available to teachers of all disciplines. The non-music teacher can use this process with a high comfort level to support the curriculum in the classroom. At the same time, music teachers can use these activities on a more technically demanding level in music classes.

STUDENT AND TEACHER WORKSHOPS INCLUDE:

• A mini-concert of music from the American Colonies from 1600-1800.
• Discussion #1: What is a Common Tune?
• Discussion #2: What is a Broadside Ballad?
• (Constructing a Revolutionary War Timeline) or
• (Consulting a current Newspaper)
  The selection of an event, either a historical event from the timeline or a current event from the newspaper, and create a ballad based on the tune of Yankee Doodle, using the model of the Star Spangled Banner (originally a drinking song). Teachers will do this in small groups; students will remain in class.
• Participants will perform their ballad for the group