Music as Means of Social Justice

Grades 10-12

Hattie Saunders
 Course Description:

In this class, students will learn about the impact that music has had on various social
movements throughout history. Students will choose a social movement from history and
present (in an informal setting) to their classmates about how this movement influenced music.
Students will analyze the song structure, chord progressions, and lyrics of notable protest and
social justice songs throughout history and identify commonalities between them. Students will
use these knowledges to compose their own social justice song about a cause that has meaning
to them and use industry-standard recording equipment to create a recording of their song.
Finally, students will collaborate to organize and perform a benefit concert. Students will
nominate local charities and vote as a class to decide where the proceeds of said benefit concert
will end up. Students will research in order to make informed decisions about ticket prices,
setlists, merchandise, and other aspects of the benefit concert. Students will use professional
skills such as organization, management, and delegation to execute and advertise (and
merchandise) a benefit concert as a way to give back to their community.

Rationale:

This class was designed to serve high school students in the Santa Monica/ Malibu
district of Los Angeles County, California. This district has a total of 11,005 students and about
500 teachers, making the student:teacher ratio about 22:1 (National Center for Education
Statistics, 2018). Of these 11,005 students, 50% are Caucasian, 29.4% are Hispanic or Latino,
6.6% are African American, 6.2% are two or more races, 6% are Asian American, and the other
1.3% are Native American or Pacific Islander. (California Department of Education). 924 students
in the district are English Language Learners, which makes up about 8.4% of students. (California
Department of Education). Approximately 25% of students were found to be socioeconomically
disadvantaged (this statistic defined as “qualifying for free or reduced lunch or have
parents/guardians who did not receive high school diploma”). 0.2% of students are in the foster
care system, 7.2% of students are found to be “chronically absent,” and 91.5% of students
graduate high school (California School Dashboard).

This state (and this district) has a rich history of social justice, and often pioneered our
country’s social movements. This class is designed to explore the impact that music has had on
these movements and allow students a creative outlet to further their own causes and
movements. In other words, the class is designed to explore how the past can affect our future.
Students will learn professional skills that can be applied to any career, in addition to enhancing
their creativity and musical abilities.

The creative outlet this class provides is vital for students of all backgrounds. For
economically disadvantaged students, this class allows them to speak their minds and bring light
to issues that aren’t often talked about in schools (and in society as a whole.) For more
privileged students, this class is an opportunity to open their eyes to various social issues
 throughout history (including the present day), as many people are unaware of social issues
until these issues are presented to them.

Expected Impact on Students

In this course, students will gain an understanding about music as it relates to social
justice movements. Students will explore various social movements throughout history and
music commonly associated with these movements (Standards 1.4, 1.6, 3.1 3.4, and 3.5).
Students will gain understanding about common chord progressions (Standards 1.4 and 2.10),
lyrical styles (standards 1.4, 2.7, 2.10), and song structures (Standards 1.6, and 3.5) used in
songwriting, and use these knowledges to craft songs about modern causes that speak to them
(standards 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, and 2.10). Students will combine their creative and musical skills used to
write songs with their professional and organizational skills to plan a benefit concert for a local
charity (or charities) of their choosing (community engagement). Students will research the
various “moving parts” that go into a successful concert, such as advertising, planning a set list,
reaching out to performers, ticket sales, etc. and use these knowledges to plan and execute
concert, performing the songs written for the class.

Expected Community Impact:

Within this course, students are given the opportunity to express concerns they have
about their communities and the environment they live in. This provides them opportunities to
reach out to their communities and express ideas as to how to make the community more
enjoyable for everyone involved. In addition, this class allows students to plan and execute a
benefit concert to aid a local charity (or charities) in their community. This not only provides
local movements with funding to make change and progress, but also allows the community to
interact with these students and seeing first-hand the impact that music has in their lives. Due
to the high population of working music industry professionals in this area, this class also allows
for community involvement in the form of mentors and internships. Guest artists can be brought
in to teach students about common chord progressions in modern-day music and give feedback
on student projects, as this feedback is often more impactful than a teacher’s opinion.

​ usic as a Means of Social Justice: Composition Project

M

Context Statement:
This project is designed to accompany a Music as a Means of Social Justice class.
The purpose of the class is to explore how social justice movements have
impacted music making and analyze famous protest songs. The composition
project is designed as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of what
makes protest music successful and allows them to advocate for causes close to
their hearts.

To preface this project, students will have compared different protest and social justice songs- from “This
Land is Your Land” to “Prayin’”- to determine common song structures, chord progressions, and lyrical
themes in social justice music. In addition, they’ll have researched how music has been used to further social
justice and political movements since the 1960’s (within protests, benefit concerts, musicals, etc.), and have
formed their opinions about aspects of protest songs that are “good” and “bad,” (aesthetically pleasing vs.
displeasing).

To begin this assignment, students (individually or in groups) will choose a cause that speaks to their heart
that they are comfortable writing about and sharing with the class. This could be a large-scale issue or
something as simple as “school starts too early.” This can also be prefaced with teacher suggestion. For
example, the teacher could initiate a day of “what do you think about _____ issue/event that is happening?
Write a song about it.”
Then, the students will collaborate with the teacher to research their cause and find meaningful literature
about said cause (poetry, speeches, etc.) and use this literature as inspiration for song lyrics. The students
will use their knowledge of popular chord progressions and song structures to craft a melody and
bare-bones accompaniment, then adding on various beats, instruments, and effects (alone or in groups).
The final assessment of this project will act as a benefit concert for a class-chosen local charity, where each
song will be performed for an audience, tying this class into the greater community and allowing students
to showcase their efforts.

Stage 1 - Desired Results

I can identify parts of a song and song structures.
I can identify common chord progressions in social justice music.
I can identify social causes that mean a lot to me.
I can research social causes and use literature to draft lyrics.

Standards:
1.5 Analyze and describe the use of musical elements in a
given work that makes it unique, interesting, and
expressive.
1.6 Compare and contrast the use of form, both past and
present, in a varied repertoire of music from diverse
genres, styles, and cultures
2.9 Improvise harmonizing parts, using an appropriate
style.
2.10 Improvise original melodies over given chord
progressions.
Goals:
- I can identify noteworthy social justice songs and
connect them to the movements they accompanied
(K) (3.1)
-I can analyze and identify common song structures
and chord progressions in protest and social justice
movements (K) (1.5, 1.6)
-I can play at least 3 of the 5 most common chord
progressions acoustically or via technology (S)
(2.10, 2.7

2.6 Compose music in distinct styles. - I can draft lyrics using literature, speeches, and
knowledge I have about my social justice topic. (T)
2.7 Compose and arrange music for various combinations
(2.8)
of voice and acoustic and digital/ electronic instruments,
using appropriate ranges and traditional and - I can improvise a melody and harmony over a
nontraditional sound sources.
I-vi-IV-V chord progression (S) (2.9, 2.10)
2.8 Create melodic and rhythmic improvisations in a style
or genre within a musical culture (e.g., gamelan, jazz, and - I can use my knowledge about social justice music,
mariachi). chord progressions, and song structure to create a
song. (T) (2.6, 3.1, 3.4)
3.1 Identify the sources of musical genres of the United
States, trace the evolution of those genres, and cite
well-known musicians associated with them.

3.4 Perform music from a variety of cultures and historical

periods.

Generative (Essential) Questions:

- How has music been used to further (or hinder) social movements throughout history?
- How do students write social justice music?
- What components and non-musical factors contribute to the success (or failure) of benefit concerts?
- What musical factors contribute to the success of benefit concerts?
- How can personal and societal meaning be combined into the context of one
song?

Stage 2 - Evidence

Develop rubrics, checklists, and informal assessments (like observation guides) to assess learners growth in
your setting. Develop a final
● I can identify noteworthy social justice songs and connect them to the movements they
accompanied (K) (3.1) by matching at least 75% of songs with their social movements when
provided with a list.
○ Developing: ​I can match more than half of the movements on a list with a song associated
with this movement
○ Exceeds Expectations:​ Student matches more than 75% of the social movements with their
associated songs.
● I can analyze and identify ​common song structures​ and the ​5 most common chord progressions​ in
protest and social justice music (K) (1.5, 1.6)
○ Developing:​ I can analyze and identify at least one chord progression and at least one song
structure found commonly in social justice or popular music.
○ Exceeds Expectations:​ student can analyze and identify all of the most common song
structures and chord progressions, as well as research rarer chord progressions and song
structures.
● I can play at least 3 of the 5 most common chord progressions acoustically or via technology (S)
(2.10, 2.7)
○ Developing:​ I can play at least 1 of the 5 most common chord progressions acoustically or
via technology
○ Exceeds Expectations: ​I can play all 5 of the most common chord progressions acoustically
and​ via technology
● I can draft lyrics to a verse and chorus of a song using literature, speeches, and knowledge I have
about my social justice topic. (T) (2.8)
○ Developing:​ I can work with others to craft lyrics to a verse or chorus using literature and
speeches about a given social topic.
○ Exceeds Expectations:​ I can research a social topic and draft lyrics to an entire song.
● I can improvise a melody and harmony over a given chord progression (S) (2.9, 2.10)
○ Developing:​ I can improvise a melody or harmony over a given chord progression OR
improvise the melody and harmony of half of a song.
○ Exceeds Expectations:​ students can improvise melody and harmony of an entire song over
a given chord progression AND improvise percussive and non-pitched aspects of a song.
 ● I can use my knowledge about social justice music, chord progressions, and song structure to create
at least a verse and chorus of a song. (T) (2.6, 3.1, 3.4)
○ Developing​: I can use my knowledge about social justice music, chord progressions, and
song structures to create a section of a song (verse, chorus, etc)
○ Exceeds Expectations:​ I can use my knowledge about social justice music, chord
progressions, and song structures to write a complete song.

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Unit 1: Historical Context:

In this unit, students will pick one social justice movement or event from a list and research this event and
the music that accompanies it. Research will focus mostly on prevalent songs (and song responses) within
these movements and notable lyrics and themes within these songs. For example, if a student picked
immigration as their movement, they might submit “Superman Es Ilegal’ (trans. “Superman is illegal”)” by
Los Hermanos Hortiz or if their movement was the vietnam war protests, they might present “War” by
Edwin Starr.

No two students will be permitted to research the same movement, and all students will present their
research to their classmates. This allows students to teach each other about the various music associated
with different social and political movements without requiring each student to research every movement.

This project will be repeated several times, each focusing on a new kind of artistic medium or movement-
for example, one project will focus on different benefit concerts throughout history (such as Live Aid), while
another will focus on musicals emphasizing social justice (such as RENT or Urinetown).

Then, the class as a whole will analyze these songs and identify commonalities between them, such as
chord progressions, song structure, beat/rhythm, tempo, lyrical themes, etc. to make a class list of “what
makes an effective protest song?” Many of these commonalities and themes will be what students are
assessed on when it comes to their songwriting project.

This unit will also include a trip to the Los Angeles Museum of Social Justice, allowing students a hands-on
experience in the history and impact that social justice movements have had (and continue to have) on the
U.S and the world. The museum provides in-depth context about many of the social movements that
students will have studied, and shows how music and culture furthered these movements.

Unit 2: Instrumental and Lyrical Exploration:

In this unit, 3 weeks of classes will be dedicated to instrumental (and technological) exploration for
students. The students can decide how structured these classes will be (from very structured “we’ll all be
learning a few guitar chords today” to very unstructured “students can choose any and all instruments,
digital audio workshops, pro-tools, and other technologies they’d like to learn and consult with the teacher
or other online resource videos in order to expand upon their current skill set. By the end of these classes,
students will be required to demonstrate at least 3 of the “common chord progressions” determined in the
prior unit.

Now that students have identified common lyrical and harmonic themes in social justice music, they will
put these guidelines into practice with mock song scenarios. The teacher will identify a current event and
ask students to write mini-songs based on them. For example, the teacher can mention a minor issue
 currently affecting the students’ community (such as a new traffic light or school start times) and as guiding
questions such as “If you were to write a song about _____, what would the lyrics be?” or “If I play this
chord progression, you improvise a melody for a song about ______.” This allows students to “dip their
toes in the water” before jumping head-first into full-song composition projects.

Unit 3: Composition Projects:

In this unit, students will spend most of the semester writing, recording, and producing a social justice
songs about a topic (or topics) of their choosing, either individually or in groups of no more than 4 people.
Students will use their knowledges of common chord progressions, song structures, and lyrical themes to
create meaningful music and lyrics about their chosen social causes and will edit and mix these songs based
on class and teacher feedback. The teacher will introduce a “mix-it-up” project and set restrictions for
groups/songs based on students’ individual strengths and weaknesses. For example, if a student excels at
guitar playing, but struggles with using pro-tools, the teacher may require him to be the “producer” for the
“mix-it-up” project so that he gets better at using the tools and resources more unfamiliar to him.

Final Project:

Students will have 2 months to plan and execute a benefit concert, where they will debut some of their
social justice songs for the first time. The class will vote on a local charity to benefit, and the teacher will
assist in the delegation of the advertising, organization, merchandising, ticket sales, and set-list (potentially
including cover songs and “guest artists” from within the school or community) priorities among the class,
and students will be responsible for executing their specific aspect of the benefit concert, and will all be
required to perform in the concert at least once (solo or with a group).

Budget and Materials

Proposed Budget

Item Name Use Cost Quantity Overall Cost

(linked to w will this be used by students/teacher?) (per unit)
provider)

Mic/Studio Students will use this to record music (vocals and $75 5 $375
Setup instruments)

Pro-Tools Students will use this to edit, produce, and mix $299 1 $299
Perpetual recordings of original songs.
Education
License

Electric guitar Students will use an electric guitar to play and record $179 1 $179
kit- includes original and previously released music as it relates to
amp, case, social justice.
picks, tuner, etc.

Electric Bass​ kit- Students will use an electric bass to play and record $299 1 $299
includes amp original and previously released music as it relates to
and case social justice.

Cajon (acoustic Students will use a cajon to play and record original $99 1 $99
drum) and previously released music as it relates to social
justice.

Electric drum Students will use an electric drum set to play and $270 1 $270
set record original and previously released music as it
relates to social justice.

Acoustic Guitar Students will use an acoustic guitar to play and record $290 1 $290
and case original and previously released music as it relates to
social justice.

Transportation Students will take a field trip to the Los Angeles $82/ hour 5 hours $410
(field trips) Museum of Social Justice for an in-depth look at how
music and culture have impacted social movements in
American history.

T-shirt press Students will use the T-shirt press to hand-craft $122 1 $122
and student designed merchandise for the end-of-year
heat-transfer benefit concert.
vinyl

Vinyl cutter and The vinyl cutter and design software will be used to $180 1 $180
software design t-shirts, stickers, and other merchandise for the
end-of-year benefit concert.

T-shirts These blank t-shirts will be pressed with vinyl and sold $1.49 20 (plus $36.62
as merchandise at the end-of-year benefit concert. shipping)

Other Remainder of the budget- set aside for unforseen costs $40.38
(additional tax, such as additional shipping charges and taxes
shipping costs,
etc.)

Total Cost $2,500

Additional Grant:

Educator Grants: Guidelines and Vision:​ Provided by Tolerance.org. Teaching Tolerance

Educator Grants support educators who embrace and embed anti-bias principles throughout
their schools. These grants, ranging from $500-$10,000, support projects that promote affirming
school climates and educate youth to thrive in a diverse democracy.
The grants fund projects on three levels: school, classroom and district.
Educators nationwide in public or private K-12 spaces, as well as in alternative schools,
therapeutic schools and juvenile justice facilities are eligible to apply. We make funding
decisions based on the following criteria: 1. Objectives (How do your goals and outcomes align
with our program’s vision? How is the project relevant to students? How are students involved
in project planning or execution?) 2. Demonstrated Need (Who will be served by this project?
How does the project fill a clear gap in the school’s capacity to serve students?) 3. Sustainability
& Support (What is the commitment from a leadership team? How is it expressed by various
stakeholders?) and 4. Results (What are you trying to achieve and how will you report results?
How will you demonstrate the impact of the project?)

Sources:
California department of education. (2019). Retrieved from www.cde.ca.gov/.

California school dashboard and system of support. (2019). Retrieved from

www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/cm/​.

He​nwood, B. (2017, May 22). ​The history of American protest music, from “Yankee Doodle” to
Kendrick Lamar.​ Retrieved from
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/12/14462948/protest-music-history-america-trump-beyo
nce-dylan-misty

Lewis, T. L. (2004). Service Learning for Social Change? Lessons from a Liberal Arts College. ​Teaching
Sociology,​ ​32(​ 1), 94–108. ​https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X0403200109

Museum of Social Justice. (2017). Retrieved from ​https://www.museumofsocialjustice.org/

National center for education statistics (NCES) home page, part of the U.S. department of education.
(2019). Retrieved from nces.ed.gov/.

Shear, M. (2016, October 13). ​5 Most popular and common guitar chord progressions for song
writers.​ Retrieved from
https://www.uberchord.com/blog/5-popular-common-guitar-chord-progressions-song-writers/

TeachRock.org. (2019). ​Music and social justice movements​.Retrieved from

https://teachrock.org/collection/music-social-justice-movements/

Wesley, R. (2018, November 16). ​Song structure and dynamics: How to bring more excitement in
your songs.​ Retrieved from
https://www.robinwesleyinstrumentals.com/song-structure-dynamics/