Social Education 80(3), pp 134–140

©2016 National Council for the Social Studies

Listening for History:

Using Jazz Music as a
Primary Source
Marcie Jergel Hutchinson and Lauren McArthur Harris

Picture this … It’s 8 o’clock on a Wednesday: “The regular crowd shuffles in” to an definition, but I don’t think I have one
interdisciplinary teacher workshop called “Everybody’s Got the Blues: Migration of anymore, unless it is that it is a music
the Blues in Post-World War II United States and United Kingdom.” After explor- with an African foundation which came
ing the push/pull factors of the Second Great Migration, social studies, music, and out of an American environment.’”
English teachers are on their feet clapping the shuffle rhythm, “stompin’ the stallion,” —Duke Ellington as quoted
and singing an improvised 12-bar Delta Blues song about their morning while the by Stanley Dance3
workshop organizer accompanies them on double bass.
Jazz is America’s music. It has deep
Now, picture students in an 8th grade linked to jazz: blues, gospel, and rag- roots in ragtime, blues, and the music
U.S. history class stomp clapping free- time. The program, called Jazz from A of the black church. It was shaped in
dom songs of the civil rights movement, to Z, represents collaboration between American cities such as New Orleans,
high school students researching the Arizona State University and the Mesa Chicago, New York, Kansas City,
“Leadership and Legacy” of Muddy Arts Center in partnership with Jazz at Pittsburgh, Detroit and Los Angeles after
Waters to align with the National History Lincoln Center.1 Through an integrated the mass migration of African Americans
Day theme, world history students writ- study of jazz music within the context of and immigrants in the first half of the
ing a poem entitled “War Is” in reac- historical study, teachers and students twentieth century. Musicians steeped in
tion to World War I poems and songs can enrich both their historical and cul- these American urban cultures exercised
they analyzed, and high school juniors tural knowledge. Music is an effective their freedom of expression and made
assuming the persona of a jazz musician resource for teaching social studies, but jazz their own.
they have researched for a performance- it is often left out of secondary social Jazz musicians, deeply affected by
based learning assessment in a twentieth- studies classrooms.2 Jazz music selec- time and place, created a soundtrack
century U.S. history class. Imagine music tions make for particularly compelling to America’s history. The jazz trumpet
teachers seeking out social studies teach- primary sources since the music often of the great Louis Armstrong accompa-
ers in a workshop to better understand reflected the times. Additionally, music nied the migrants of the Great Migration.
the historical context of Bessie Smith’s is a source that adolescents can relate to Americans and Europeans danced their
performance of “Downhearted Blues,” and enjoy. In what follows, we highlight way through the Great Depression to the
or teachers pouring over Martin Luther useful resources and discuss how any swing music of Count Basie and Benny
King Jr.’s 1964 speech in Arizona—ana- teacher can incorporate jazz into their Goodman. The importance of jazz music
lyzing it for historical references, liter- history courses. emerges from its democratic roots and its
ary elements, and passages with musical tendency toward improvisation; these
qualities. Jazz in the Social Studies elements, along with technological
These scenes highlight activities Classroom advancements of the twentieth century
from a five-year professional develop- “If ‘jazz’ means anything at all, which is and the prominence of the United States
ment program focused on an interdis- questionable, it means the same thing on the world stage have enabled it to
ciplinary approach to teaching U.S. and it meant to musicians fifty years ago— cross political and cultural boundaries.
world history using jazz and music often freedom of expression. I used to have a Jazz music is found in every era of twen-
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 Photographer: Marcie Jergel Hutchinson
Rodney Whitaker, one of the Jazz from A to Z workshop organizers, engages a high school student in singing the blues, January 14, 2015.

tieth-century history from the origins of (www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/weary- National Council for the Social Studies
jazz to World War I, the 1920s, the Great blues) to examine aspects of the African themes of CULTURE; TIME, CONTINUITY
Depression, and the post-World War American experience during that time AND CHANGE; INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND
II era. (See Table 1, a table of historical period. Although there are many aspects INSTITUTIONS; AND GLOBAL CONNECTIONS.
eras and musical genres). Additionally, of jazz music that teachers can empha- Using jazz music as a primary source
jazz music connects well with literature, size in social studies instruction, we have helps students understand the signifi-
art, and poetry. For example, in study- found that two of the most useful and cance of the past, comprehend diverse
ing the Great Migration in the first part engaging are (a) focusing on multiple per- cultures and shared humanity, assess
of the twentieth century, students could spectives by examining jazz in the context change over time, develop historical
analyze and compare composer Duke of U.S. and world history, and (b) analyz- empathy and recognize the importance
Ellington’s “Harlem Air Shaft,”(www. ing the compositional and performance of individuals who have made a differ-
youtube.com/watch?v=D4NN-lecNvw), styles as well as the music lyrics. ence in music and in history. This type
painter Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Like other primary sources, music of analysis also meets the Common Core
Series, (www.moma.org/interactives/ can be analyzed and interpreted. This Standards for Literacy in History/Social
exhibitions/2015/onewayticket/) and poet analysis provides multiple perspectives Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects
Langston Hughes’s “The Weary Blues” that can help students understand the as well as the English Language Arts
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Table 1. 20th Century Historical Eras and Related Music

Please see “Jazz from A to Z” at www.mesaartscenter.com/index.php/engagement/jazz-a-to-z/resources for information on each era

and links to songs, past workshop topics, and teaching materials. See also “Smithsonian Jazz” at americanhistory.si.edu/smithsonian-jazz/
education; “Folk Music and Song” at www.loc.gov/folklife/guide/folkmusicand song.html; and “Music that Scared America” at www.
humanities.uci.edu/history/ucihp/resources. Lyrics are often found with an Internet search; enter the song title and author. Free perfor-
mances of most songs can be seen (or heard) on YouTube (www.youtube.com) or Spotify (www.spotify.com/us).

Historical Era Musical Genre/Artist/Song – Some Examples

Ragtime: Scott Joplin, “Maple Leaf Rag”

Roots of Jazz; New
Blues: Leadbelly, “Good Morning Blues”
Orleans, Mississippi
Jazz: Jelly Roll Morton, “Black Bottom Stomp”; King Oliver, “Snake Rag,” “Chimes Blues”; Louis Armstrong, “St.
and the South
Louis Blues,” “Sugar Foot Stomp”; Sidney Bechet, “Maple Leaf Rag”

World War I, Ragtime/Early Jazz: James Reese Europe, “On Patrol in No Man’s Land”; Eubie Blake and Nobel Sissle,
1914–1918 “Charleston Rag” and “Shuffle Along”; Lucky Roberts, “Junk Man Rag”

Women in Jazz: Mary Lou Williams, “Jitterbug Waltz,” “Zodiac Suite”; Ella Fitzgerald, “How High the Moon,”
The 1st Great
“Cotton Tail”; Dinah Washington, “What a Difference a Day Makes,” “Lover Come Back to Me”; Sarah Vaughn,
Migration, 1915–40s
“Lullaby of Birdland,” “Embraceable You.”
The Culture Wars,
Jazz: “The Whoopin’ Blues”; Louis Armstrong, “West End Blues,” “Potato Head Blues,” “Heebie Jeebies”
1920s
The “New Woman,”
Blues: Bessie Smith, “Preachin’ the Blues,” “Safety Mama,” “Yes, Indeed He Do,” “Downhearted Blues”
1920s

The Great Depression, Swing Music: Count Basie, “Swingin’ the Blues,” “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”; Duke Ellington, “The Mooche,” “Take
Keeping Spirits Up, the ‘A’ Train”; Benny Goodman, “Sing, Sing, Sing”
1930s Vocal Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald, “Tisket-a-Tasket,” “Cotton Tail”

Civil Rights and the Blues/Folk: Leadbelly, “Bourgeois Blues,” “Scottsboro Boys”; Josh White, “Jim Crow Train,” “Uncle Sam Blues”
New Deal, 1930–40s Jazz: Billie Holiday: “Strange Fruit”

World War II, 1940s Bebop: Charlie Parker, “Ko-Ko,” “Cherokee”; Dizzy Gillespie, “Salt Peanuts”

1950s: Conformity &

Hard Bop: Charles Mingus, “Fables of Faubus”; Sonny Rollins: Freedom Suite
Dissent

Gospel Music: Mahalia Jackson, “Come Sunday” / Freedom Songs (Congregational Singing): “Wade in the Water,”
Beginnings of
“I Shall Not Be Moved,” “O Freedom”
Nonviolent Resistance
Jazz: Max Roach: We Insist: Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite; Vocal Jazz: Nina Simone, “I Wish I Knew”

Gospel Music: Mahalia Jackson, “I Been ‘Buked and I Been Scorned”

1963 Civil Rights Jazz: John Coltrane, “Alabama,” Donald Byrd, “Amen,” “Cristo Redentor”
Movement Popular Music: Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ in the Wind”; Sam Cooke, “A Change is Gonna Come”; Curtis Mayfield,
“People Get Ready”; Staple Singers, “Long Walk to DC”

Jazz: Dizzy Gillespie, “Night in Tunisia,” Louis Armstrong, “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue,” Duke
Jazz Diplomacy during
Ellington, “Far East Suite,” “Blue Bird of Delhi”; Dave Brubeck, “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” “Calcutta Blues”; Iola
the Cold War
and Dave Brubeck, The Real Ambassadors

Delta Blues: Son House, “Walkin’ Blues”; Robert Johnson, “Crossroad Blues”; Muddy Waters, “I Be’s Troubled”
Post-World War II; 2nd
Urban Blues: Muddy Waters, “Mannish Boy”; Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon, “Chicago House Rent Party,”
Great Migration; Civil
Johnny Young, “Stockyard Blues”; Big Bill Broonzy, “Black, Brown, and White”; Willie Dixon, “It Don’t Make
Rights in the Urban
Sense”; Marvin Gaye, “Inner City Blues”; Stevie Wonder, “Living for the City”
North and West
Jazz: Nina Simone, “Backlash Blues,” “To Be Young Gifted and Black”

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Using Music as a Primary HANDOUT
Source (An Analysis Tool)
Read this handout in its entirety before listening to the music.

1. Describing the Music using Historical Context:

Title: ______________________________________________________________________________________

Composer: _________________________________________________________________________________

Date Recorded:_____________________ Recording Company & Location:______________________________

Events Happening in the World/Country/Region at the Time:________________________________________

Background of the Composer: (position, nationality, gender, occupation, social class, religion, ethnicity, etc.)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What did you hear? (First time played) Type of Music (folk, classical, blues, jazz, rock, etc.):

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Instruments (brass, woodwinds, strings, percussion): _______________________________________________

Vocals: Is there a vocalist in the piece? __________________________________________________________

What language/dialect is being sung? ___________________________________________________________

3. Analyzing the Music: (Second time played) Compositional and Performance Style: Use musical terms to
analyze the music you just described (e.g., beat, call and response, dynamics). See the “Jazz Glossary”
for definitions: http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/jazzglossary/archives.html.

Musical Term Analysis (How is it used in the music? Why?)

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 HANDOUT (cont.) Song Lyrics: Write down the most important words of the song. How do they
help tell the song’s story?

Words/Phrase Analysis (What does the word mean? Why is it used?)

Note anything the music informs about life in the world/nation/region at the time it was created.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Video Performance (if available): Describe the performance (wardrobe, location, choreography, staging, inter-
action between the performers and the audience, depiction of the music, etc.) of the piece. How does the
performance of the piece help to further the message of the song?

4. Interpreting the Music: (Based on the description and the analysis of the piece.)
Motivation/Purpose: What is the message of the piece? What is the composer trying to do? Explain (using
specific references from the music).
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Audience: Based on your description and analysis of the piece, who was the intended audience for the music?
Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Impact/Effectiveness: Is the composer’s message effectively presented in the music? What impact would it
have on the intended audience? How did it make you feel? Explain with specific references to the music and
its historic context.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Lasting Impression: What is the most memorable or powerful aspect of this piece? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Standards for Speaking & Listening and accessible to anybody who learns tions of a particular place and time. As
(e.g., interpreting a song’s “word choice, to listen to, feel, and understand it. The a primary source, music awakens the
points of emphasis, and tone used” www. music can connect us to our earlier listener to personal perspectives on past
corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/SL/11-12/). selves and to our better selves-to-come.” events and beliefs. Like other art forms,
—Wynton Marsalis, managing music reflects society and can be a force-
Multiple Perspectives: Giving and artistic director of Jazz at ful agent for change. Songs throughout
Voice to the Voiceless Lincoln Center4 history have given a voice to the voiceless.
“Jazz music is America’s past and its Music opens a window to the past, James Reese Europe conveyed the hor-
potential, summed up and sanctified allowing us to hear the sounds and emo- rors endured by the Harlem Hellfighters
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during World War I when he composed Jazz at Lincoln Center’s teaching profes- or sang in a choir. Using a jazz glossary
and performed “On Patrol in No Man’s sionals;5 however, the analysis tool can (ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/jazzglos-
Land.” Bessie Smith sang of issues that be used with any genre of music from sary/archives.html) and their own expe-
still face women: domestic violence, folk to country or rock and hip-hop. Like riences, these students served as “experts”
male supremacy, and working-class reali- any other primary source, music must by explaining the musical terms to their
ties. Leadbelly sang the blues of African be put in its historical context. Students classmates and helping them identify
American migrants who experienced using the Music Analysis Tool rely on them in the performance. For example,
alienation, loneliness, and discrimina- historical thinking skills to consider the the music students pointed out how the
tion during the Great Migration. Josh historical perspectives and context of a piano player established the tempo by
White’s songs of social protest attacked particular piece of music. Students are accenting the beat or pulse of the song.
segregation during World War II. Dave guided through five steps of analysis that That tempo helped the listeners to
and Iola Brubeck parodied U.S. diplo- include examining the historical context, focus attention on the lyrics sung by the
matic efforts in Asia and Africa during examining the compositional and perfor- “Empress of the Blues.” Then it was time
the Cold War with their musical produc- mance style, and assessing the impact of for the class poets to shine. They could
tion, The Real Ambassadors. By examin- the piece in history. After students com- help analyze the lyrics by determining
ing these historical eras through the lens plete the Music Analysis Tool, teachers important words and discussing how the
of music and the people who created the can use the additional questions (See p. word choice and Smith’s phrasing of the
music, students can engage in historical 137) for a whole class discussion. melody drove the message of the song.
empathy for people and events typically Recently, a group of eighth grad- After a few minutes of quiet time to
not included in social studies curricula. ers in a team-taught Language Arts interpret the music using their descrip-
Teachers can integrate these perspectives and Social Studies class analyzed a tions and analysis of the piece, students
into the units that they currently teach recording of “Downhearted Blues” then engaged in “think, pair, share” in
(see “Jazz from A to Z” for sample les- by Bessie Smith (www.youtube.com/ their groups and came up with some
sons and resources: www.mesaartscenter. watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA) as part of a unit amazing interpretations. All the students
com/engagement/jazz-a-to-z/resources). on the 1920s. The students worked in recognized the song as a modern depic-
pairs to describe the music in its histori- tion of women by linking evidence from
Analysis Beyond Lyrics cal context by discussing traditional and the song with the issues facing women in
Social studies teachers sometimes have more modern views of women in the the 1920s. Many students thought that
students analyze music lyrics as part 1920s, and determining significant bio- the music and the lyrics were powerful
of primary source analysis activities. graphical aspects of the lives of Bessie and would have attracted young women
However, it is less common for students Smith and the composers of the piece: who were ready to challenge traditional
to analyze the genre, vocals, and com- Alberta Hunter and Lovie Austin. After views. One usually quiet young woman
positional and performance style of a the first play of “Downhearted Blues” eagerly described Bessie Smith’s perfor-
piece of music. The Jazz from A to Z pro- many students, including those who had mance as bold, confident, and deliber-
gram has developed an analysis tool (See not studied music before, could deter- ate, basing her opinion on evidence from
handout/worksheet) to assist teachers in mine the type of music, name the instru- the instrumentation, the historical con-
using any piece of music more fully as a ment used, and comment on the use of text, and Smith’s approach to the music.
primary source. The first author, Marcie language in the lyrics. In checking for Students were eager to share their lasting
Hutchinson, created the Music Analysis their understanding, it was easy to iden- impressions of the piece using evidence
Tool for teachers in consultation with tify students who played an instrument from the music and the historical context.

Discussion Questions
1. What does the title of the piece tell you about the message of the 3. What questions would you ask of this composer in an interview?
song? Who was the composer? Provide some information on his/her 4. Do you agree with the message of the piece? Cite specific information
background. to support your view.
2. What historical events were occurring at the time the piece was written? 5. Imagine yourself to be a music critic at the time the piece was first
What was the motivation of the composer to write the piece? Does the performed. How would you rate the piece? Why?
music effectively support the composer’s message? (Include relevant 6. How will you remember this piece so you can identify it when you hear
and specific detail from the historical context in your answer.) it again?

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 Students left the class talking about how informed, deliberate and civil manner.
women still face some of the same issues Marcie Jergel Hutchinson has 31 years expe-
that Bessie Smith sang about in the 1920s. Notes rience teaching high school American and European
1. The professional development program was par- history. Hutchinson is currently the Director for K-12
tially funded by a grant from the National Initiatives for the history faculty at Arizona State Uni-
Conclusion Endowment for the Arts. versity in Tempe, Arizona, and coordinator, curriculum
“In music and in life, serious listening 2. Jeffery A. Mangram and Rachel L. Weber, designer and presenter for the Jazz from A to Z project.
“Incorporating Music into the Social Studies Lauren McArthur Harris is an Assistant Pro-
forces you to recognize others.” Classroom: A Qualitative Study of Secondary fessor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and
—Wynton Marsalis6 Social Studies Teachers,” Journal of Social Studies the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious
Research 36, no. 1 (2012): 3-21.
Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
3. Stanley Dance, The Jazz Cadence of American She is a former ninth grade World History teacher.
By teaching our students how to use Culture (New York: Columbia University Press,
music as a primary source, we not only 1998), p. 5.
engage them in historical thinking, we 4. Wynton Marsalis with Geoffrey C. Ward, Moving
to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life
also teach them how to be active listen- (New York: Random House, 2008), 13
ers. The Jazz from A to Z workshops we 5. The music analysis tool was developed by Marcie
Hutchinson in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln
have run and the Music Analysis Tool Center’s teaching professionals Rodney Whitaker
we have developed have allowed teach- and Eli Yamin. The collaboration was influenced
ers and students to practice listening in part by analysis tools from Frederick D. Drake
and Lynn R. Nelson, Engagement in Teaching
and hear the voices of past musicians History: Theory and Practice for Middle and We would like to thank Rachel Collay, Brian Girard,
whose music reflected the times and also Secondary Teachers, 2nd ed. (Upper Saddle River, Kathy Hays, Nancie Lindblom, and Mary Roberts for
N.J.: Pearson, 2008), 67-77; and National Archives,
advanced social change. By practicing “Document Analysis Worksheets,” www.archives. their helpful feedback on an earlier draft. We would also
listening, students are better equipped to gov/education/lessons/worksheets. like to thank all the Jazz from A to Z teachers, including
6. Marsalis with Ward, 66.
recognize others’ voices on current issues Misty Willis and Brian Buck, who have shared lessons
and then express their own ideas in an and projects they developed after attending workshops.

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