High School Guitar

Project 2: Guitar Traditions

Due Date: Wednesday, November 8th

Value: 12.5% of your 2 nd Quarter Grade

 

Assignment: You will work in groups of two or three. Each group will be assigned a guitar style to investigate: classical, flamenco, bossa nova, jazz, blues or country. These are all guitar traditions with long histories and many great players. Your job is to teach the class about your style.

 

Sources: This web page has a series of questions for you to find the answers to about your style. It also has some links to get you started on finding the answers. Don’t feel limited to only these websites, you can, and are encouraged to look for information from other sources. Each style in the assignment also includes some examples for you to listen to to get an idea of what this music sounds like. You will have two periods of class time to work on this assignment.

 

Requirements:

  1. Each group will give a presentation of about five minutes in length. All group members should participate in the presentation. Your presentation should include the answers to the questions for your style and a short listening example so the class can hear what the music sounds like. Do not use the same listening example given on the web page. However, you can get another example from the same source. You are also welcome to use your guitars to show us what the music sounds like. You can’t read your presentation, but you can use index cards to help you remember key information, or to help you organize. If you want to use cards, they have to be approved by the teacher before you present. Cards with paragraphs of information will not be permitted.
  2. Each group will also make a poster about their style. Your poster should be informative and have aesthetic value as well. Choose colors and a design style to give us a feel for this music. Do not use the same image posted on the assignment! As part of your presentation, explain to us why you designed you poster in the way that you did and how it relates to the music you are presenting.

Scoring: The presentation (70%) will be marked for content, organization/preparation and your ability to communicate the information. The poster (30%) will be scored for content and aesthetic value.

 

Guitar Traditions

 

 

Bossa Nova

Classical Guitar

Country Music

Flamenco

Jazz

Blues

 

Bossa Nova

- Listen to Wave, and Corcovado by A Jacaranda

http://music.download.com/ajacaranda/3600-9054-100835985.html?tag=MDL_quickurl

Classical Guitar

Listen to :Variations on a theme of Mozart by Darthguitar, Gavotte – Steven Lane Daw
http://music.download.com/2001-10685_32-0.html?tag=MDL_nav_dir&

Country Music
Listen to: Longbranch Instrumental – Hillbilly Dust
http://music.download.com/2001-8960_32-0.html?tag=MDL_nav_dir&

Listen to: Don’t Let the sun go Down – Annica and the Countryneers
http://music.download.com/2001-8348_32-0.html?tag=MDL_nav_dir&

Flamenco
Listen to: Spanish Nights, Flamenco Energy

http://music.download.com/2001-7976_32-0.html?tag=MDL_nav_dir&

Jazz

- Not So Bop Blues by Barney Kessel

- On With Charley by Wes Montgomery

Blues

 

- Listen to: Going Back to Alabama, Gonna Send You Back to Georgia

http://music.download.com/2001-7976_32-0.html?tag=MDL_nav_dir&

 

Guitar Traditions

 

Questions:

Bossa Nova

  1. What country does Bossa Nova come from?
  2. When was this music first played?
  3. What two styles of music were combined to make Bossa Nova? Where does each come from?
  4. Who was the most important Bossa Nova composer? Name three of his compositions.
  5. What American saxophonist helped make Bossa Nova popular in the U.S.A.?
  6. When was this music popular in the U.S.A.?

Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossa_nova

http://truefire.com/list.html?store=audio_lessons&section=guitar_player&orderby=issue&offset=460&item=2053

 

Classical

  1. What guitarist made the guitar a respectable instrument in Classical music?
  2. What instruments are traditionally used in Classical music?
  3. Where does this music come from?
  4. Who were some important composers who wrote Classical music for the guitar?
  5. Who are the most important Classical guitarists alive today?
  6. How did Classical music influence heavy metal guitar? Who are some guitarists who play in this style? What instrument are they trying to emulate with their guitars?

Links: : http://www.guitarsite.com/

http://www.shredaholic.com/katilius1.html

http://www.guitarshredshow.com/

 

Blues

  1. Where did this music come from?
  2. What is the legend of The Crossroads?
  3. What is call and response?
  4. What instruments are usually used in a blues band?
  5. How did the invention of the electric guitar change blues music?
  6. What is slide guitar?
  7. What rock guitarists and bands brought blues music to a wider audience?

Links: http://www.history-of-rock.com/blues.htm

http://blues.about.com/od/blueshistory/a/briefhistory.htm

http://www.learnrootsmusic.com/

 

Country

  1. When did this style of music first appear?
  2. Who were the first two influential country music acts?
  3. What city is most often associated with country music?
  4. What themes do country artists usually write about?
  5. What instruments are usually played in this music?
  6. What is a (pedal) steel guitar?
  7. What is “chicken picking”?
  8. What other styles of music have influenced modern country music?

Links: http://www.roughstock.com/history/begin.html, http://www.thanksforthemusic.com/history/

http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_video_lessons/lesson-13.php

 

Flamenco

  1. Where (country and region) does this music come from?
  2. What ethnic groups are credited with inventing flamenco?
  3. What are the three art forms present in flamenco?
  4. What instruments are usually used in flamenco music?
  5. How do flamenco musicians use their bodies to make music?
  6. Who is considered to be the founder of modern flamenco guitar?
  7. Who are some current guitarists and bands who play in this style?

Links: http://www.classicalguitarmidi.com/history/flamenco.html

http://www.flamencodance.com/history.html,

 

Jazz

  1. Where (country and region) does this music come from?
  2. What instruments are most commonly used in jazz?
  3. What kind of guitars are used in jazz?
  4. Who were some important early jazz guitarists?
  5. What is swing (the rhythm)?
  6. How is improvisation used in jazz?
  7. What is fusion? When was it popular?
  8. Who are some important fusion guitarists?

http://www.jazzitude.com/progressions_guitar100.htm

http://www.liraproductions.com/jazzrock/

http://www.petethomas.co.uk/