Teach the Beat!

Bringing the distinctive D.C. sound of go-go into the classroom.

Teaching for Change is honored to work with D.C.  area schools and the authors of The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C. to develop lessons and share teaching ideas for infusing the history and music of go-go in middle and high school social studies, language arts, math, music, and/or D.C. history classes, and to bring renowned go-go performers into D.C. classrooms.

"Go-go has stayed true to time-honored cultural scripts such as live call-and-response, live instrumentation, as well as its locally rooted fashions, slang, dance, distribution and economic systems. Simply put: Go-Go never sold out. There is a grit and texture to the music that gives voice to the communities where it was created." –Natalie Hopkinson

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February 6: Anacostia HS Drumline Learns About Go-Go

February 06, 2020  /  Mykella Palmer

By Allyson Criner Brown

On Thursday, February 6, 2020, celebrated go-go musician Sweet Cherie Mitchell, keyboardist and singer for the all-female Bela Dona Band, joined the music class at Anacostia HS (DCPS) as part of a Teach the Beat visit to bring go-go music to D.C. classrooms. Teaching for Change coordinated the visit with Anacostia HS as part of the 2020 Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

Members of the school’s drumline received special pass to participate in the visit and showed off their talents, moving between the classic sound of marching band drumlines, go-go pocket beats, and the bounce beats that are popular among younger go-go performers and listeners and made for “beat your feet” style dancing.

A highlight of the visit was when Sweet Cherie led the room in Junkyard Band’s go-go classic, “Sardines.” A student joined in as one of the vocal leaders of the song and began dancing, while one of the drummers joined her in the circle and midway through the song added a bounce beat to the rhythm. After the visit, students had a deeper appreciation for some of the go-go classics and the music behind them.

Anacostia_VID_20200206_145609

Special thanks to the Horning Family Fund whose generous donation for the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action made this visit possible.

categories / 2020
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