The Bulletin o f t h e S o c i e t y f o r A m e r i c A n m u S i c f o u n d e d i n h o n o r o f o S c A r G . t. S o n n e c k Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 Spring 2010 All the Little Birdies Go “Tweet, Tweet, Tweet” Using Digital ResoURces to teach ameRican mUsic By Carrie Allen ing traditional and online undergraduate tal archives, given our university’s limited music and humanities courses in African- archival holdings. This morning, within the span of eight American music and American sacred Searchable online archives of historical seconds, Twitter informed me of a tragic music at a large urban university. newspapers can also be a helpful tool in plane crash in Poland, reminded me of Librarians and archivists at many uni- building awareness of national or regional Tiger Woods’ indiscretions, and told me versities and museums are leading the historical context. Some of these are that Jesus could save my eternal soul. The charge in selecting, designing, and assem- database accessible only through univer- issues of immortality, death, and redemp- bling excellent digital archival exhibits; sity subscriptions (such as the ProQuest tion had been “tweeted” to me before in some cases, institutions have digi- Historical Newspaper Database, or vari- I had even drunk my morning coffee. tized entire collections of resources relat- ous state newspaper databases such as the This dizzying cognitive ride reminded me ed to American history in general and Texas Historical Newspaper Database). that we inhabit a digital world and that American musical history in particular. Some newspapers, however, such as we as professors are asked increasingly These exhibits and collections of pho- the Chicago Defender, have free, pub- to marshal a dismayingly vast array of tographs, clippings, letters, and other lic searchable online archives stretch- internet resources to enrich our teaching. primary sources can be used to enrich ing back for decades; students in my Most of our current pedagogical philoso- class lectures, posted in online teaching African American Music class sometimes phies about digital resources probably lie software (such as Blackboard) as supple- search black newspapers such as these somewhere on the spectrum between mentary resources for student research for historical data on musical practices Reluctantly Acquiescing to the Inevitable projects, and can form the basis of cre- and artists. A brief written assignment and Enthusiastically Riding the Wave of ative written assignments. Recently, a fac- guiding students to search the ProQuest the Future. Most of us have come to love simile of an early-19th century defense of Historical Newspaper database for 18th- JSTOR; nearly all of us decry student slavery by a Southern Methodist minister reliance on Wikipedia; and a lot of us from the University of North Carolina’s continued on page 18 probably have pulled up a YouTube video “Documenting the American South” dig- “on the fly” during a class lecture. I pro- ital archive proved invaluable for contex- pose that it is possible for those of us who tualizing the spirituals for students during in this issue: teach American music to intentionally a lecture. The Beinecke Rare Book and and intelligently move beyond showing Manuscript Collection at Yale University the occasional YouTube video to harness- is curating a beautiful online exhibit Using Digital Resources 17 ing multiple types of digital resources in entitled “Let It Resound: Sheet Music in to Teach American Music order to strengthen our students’ under- the James Weldon Johnson Collection.” standing of the many musical traditions This focused sampling of sheet music, Ottawa Conference and 20 we love. Here I will briefly explore ways organized by genre with helpful explana- Award Reports of using digital archival exhibits, online tory captions, has allowed students to newspaper archives, online multimedia, engage visually with the uncomfortable and commercial music industry websites iconography of early and mid-20th cen- Cincinnati 2011 26 in undergraduate classes on American tury “race music.” In both cases, this music topics. The following discussion exposure to primary sources would have Reviews 29 is drawn from my experience in teach- been impossible to replicate without digi- continued from page 17 frequently tweets about his appearances organize the sources I find online, I use at cultural landmarks such as Carnegie Delicious, which allows me to “tag” a century newspapers mentioning hymn- Hall, as well as his many government digital resource from any computer as writing and public hymn-singing helped awards and educational endeavors). soon as I see it with self-designed genre or students develop an awareness, based on Another assignment designed to help artist categories such as Delta blues, early primary sources they saw with their own students understand Southern Gospel soul, Chicago gospel, or ragtime. Later, eyes, of the broad popularity of public music as a commercial industry required when searching for a suitable resource for hymn-singing in colonial America. them to visit www.singingnews.com, the a particular unit or topic, I can look up Free audio and video files of interviews genre’s main trade publication, to answer websites organized under my Delicious and performances at web sources such guided questions about industry data, tags and begin sifting through resources as NPR.org and PBS.org, and full docu- musical values, and religious and political to craft a focused assignment or enrich mentaries on music traditions at www. ideology presented on the site. a lecture. folkstreams.net, can immeasurably enrich In experimenting with assignments In conclusion, it has helped me to lectures and, like primary sources, form based on digital resources, I have found see digital resources as a complement the basis of written assignments. The several strategies that seem to yield more to, rather than a replacement of, stan- first lecture I gave in my American sacred useful results, both for students and for dard pedagogical tools such as textbooks music class featured archival footage of professors. When crafting assignments and journal articles. Many of the writ- Martin Luther King, Jr., and a congrega- based on online resources, provide stu- ten assignments my students complete tion singing “Leaning on the Everlasting dents with clear parameters to prevent require them to engage with both older Arms” during the Montgomery bus boy- their being overwhelmed within a website and newer forms of print and audio cott. The grainy black and white clip was or database: restricting the years of the media. The benefits for students in available only through the University of online search, giving them precise search engaging with digital media are manifold. Georgia’s Digital Civil Rights Library. terms and synonyms, specifying a discrete For courses in American music, using Recently, students streamed an audio number of search results to examine, and free online sound media can circumvent documentary produced by Alabama providing detailed written prompts can the paucity of available CD compila- Public Radio on the black gospel quartet help students successfully navigate and tions suitable for college instruction in tradition in Bessemer, Alabama, then coherently organize “raw” digital data. American music traditions. Examining answered a series of written prompts Additionally, stating the purpose(s) of the digital archives allows students to engage about the sound file. In another class, assignment motivates students to take it with primary sources housed far out- students visited Harvard University’s seriously and even enjoy the exercise. A side their home institutions, which may online Hip-Hop Archive last semes- written assignment using digital resources not have strong archival holdings in the ter to stream free audio of recent rap might include a purpose statement such relevant topic areas. Using high-quality songs engaging with social activism, then as “this exercise will familiarize you with resources maintained by academic and answered relevant questions asking them searching an online newspaper archive government arts institutions takes stu- to combine insights from their listening in order to prepare you for your term dents out of Wikipedia territory into with historical data drawn from reading. paper research; it will also help you more reliable and rich intellectual ter- Professors can assemble entire playlists of develop a stronger awareness of the wide- rain and helps them develop the ability free streaming audio at NPR.org using spread nature of revival movements in to critically evaluate the digital media any mode of organization desired (art- the American northeast in the mid-19th with which they will be saturated the ist; historical period; song topic; genre) century.” Warning students about anach- rest of their lives. Providing audio, visual, which can help immensely when teach- ronistic terminology to describe race or video, and print materials appeals to mul- ing courses for which no pre-existing CD gender and explaining unfamiliar typo- tiple learning styles and creates a richer compilation exists. graphical conventions are two more ways learning experience. Most of all, though, A final category of online resources you can facilitate more successful experi- teaching with carefully-selected digital that can be incorporated into teaching ences with primary print sources online. resources sends the message to students include commercial and social network- For the professor, locating and manag- that, far from being dusty nostalgic tra- ing websites. Crafting written assign- ing a potentially-overwhelming mound ditions, nearly every American musical ments based on websites of record labels, of digital resources can be streamlined genre enjoys a vibrant and living presence artists’ promotional websites, and online through a few easy steps. Many ven- in the digital world that has become our music trade journals can help students erable cultural institutions with strong home.