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Learning Pathway

Listen What I Gotta Say: Women in the Blues (6th–8th)

Click Here to see this Pathway for grades 3–5

Welcome to Listen What I Gotta Say! Women in the Blues––a new Learning Pathway from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings!

Designed for students in 6th–8th grade, we hope the Lessons in this Pathway will be useful in music, history, language arts and social studies classes. Each Lesson is an authoritative, engaging, and highly contextualized resource that teachers can use to teach about an important American music tradition called the "blues". As they explore music made by artists like Big Mama Thornton, Mamie Smith, Gladys Bentley, Memphis Minnie, and Ma Rainey, students will discover just how diverse the blues can be.

Blues compositions are often autobiographical in nature and encompass a wide variety of emotions. Yes, some are melancholy and deal with personal struggles and difficult topics. However, they can also be joyful (and some are even funny). Too often, the songs and contributions of men have dominated lessons about blues music. Instead, this Pathway amplifies how women have also been fundamental to the creation and popularity of this genre.

This Pathway was funded in part by the Smithsonian Youth Access Grants program and received Federal support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. It also received in-kind, collaborative support from the Society for Ethnomusicology and the National Association for Music Education.

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Less -
  • Lesson 1
    Hear Me Howl! Introduction to the Blues
  • Lesson 2
    Before the Blues: From Africa to America
  • Lesson 3
    Melting Pot: Becoming the Blues
  • Lesson 4
    Standardizing the Blues
  • Lesson 5
    Blues in the Country
  • Lesson 6
    Blues in the City
  • Lesson 7
    Non-Conformity in the Blues
  • Lesson 8
    Intersections of Race and Class in the Blues
  • Lesson 9
    Blues Royalty: Women Who Ruled the Blues