Times are tough in our schools, and that’s not news. Cutbacks in education are everywhere, and music programs in our schools are often the first to suffer the budget axe. That’s a shame. Early music education has a hand in creating a lifetime enjoyment through both listening and playing music, and budding musicians are suffering that loss now more than ever.

Furthermore, typical early Music Ed experiences in concert band settings aren’t necessarily the most conducive to lead down the path to playing contemporary jazz, blues and rock. Ask any fourth grade concert band clarinet player to name his favorite clarinet player, and you’ll be lucky to get one name; but, ask who’s their favorite guitar player, and you’ll have to stop them after ten or twenty!

Towards this end, when my hometown (Columbia, Missouri) started its own blues festival and BBQ competition (“Roots n Blues n BBQ”) one of the things they wanted to do was provide music education that would help both preserve and create the blues’ most valuable asset: it’s players! To do this, they coordinated with the event’s sponsors – the National Endowment for the Arts, and Missouri Arts Council – to use the festival to secure funding to bring “Blues in the Schools” to Columbia Public Schools.

What is “Blues in the Schools?” Well, in reality, there is no cohesive, nationally directed initiative that is an established program for schools grades K-12. It is more decentralized and individualized.

But, the Blues Foundation “Blues in the Schools” webpage is a great starting point to help you find someone that’s right for your local school district and your intended age group.

Blues in the Schools artists/teachers can provide anything from an in-school assembly or all-day workshop, to a weeklong residency culminating in an actual performance at an assembly or event. The week-long residency is the route Roots n Blues n BBQ took with artist TJ Wheeler.

TJ brings everything but the kitchen sink with him to the classroom to provide a broad educational experience for the kids.“I bring a one-string diddley bow, a 7- string archtop jazz guitar, and everything in between, including a washtub bass that when broken down serves to carry all kinds of percussion toys, as well.” His classroom experience varies by age group, of course, but includes a history of the blues, playing along with simple percussion toys for the youngest kids, lyric writing groups, guitar lessons, combo work with older kids, and working together as a team towards an all-ages performance at the festival at the end of the week.

“Music has always been used to pass tradition and history from one generation To another. Blues history is the history of our nation. Through the blues, students learn about pride, slavery, freedom, civil rights and the movement of America toward a more profound democracy.- Chris Belcher, Columbia Public Schools Superintendent

“In eleven years of teaching music, the 2010 Blues in the Schools program was the most exciting and uplifting experience that I have had the opportunity to provide for my students. In addition to the positive attention they received from T.J. and the adults in our school family, the final performance gave our students something to feel proud about.”- Pam Sisson, Music Teacher at Grant Elementary

“Singing with TJ was great, because it was fun to learn from someone who was an expert in the blues. I thought it was really cool that we got to write our own songs together and not just sing from a book. Writing, performing and recording our own songs made me feel like a professional!”- Henry, student at Grant Elementary

If you’re interested in bringing Blues in The Schools to your community, you can get started at the Blues Foundation webpage: http://www.blues.org.