Music Unit: The Blues

A great guide for introducing students to the Blues!! This unit booklet serves as a guide through Blues chords and improvisation. Students will have the most success if they have access to keyboards or pianos, especially for the 12 bar Blues chord section. The improvisation can be done on any instrument, but piano seems to easily accessible by most students. This booklet is 14 pages long and includes a variety of activities and grading rubrics. It typically takes about 16 weeks to work through this unit with all of the activities and giving students enough practice time to solidify skills.

Included Activities:

• A very short history on the Blues
• Multiple listening activities
• 12 bar Blues Chord progression
• 12 bar Walking Bass line
• Blues improvisation
• Reflection opportunities

There are copies of this unit using quarter notes and half notes as well as crotchets and quavers. There is also an answer key included for your convenience.