mrx said:
Great idea - are you using original music, or redoing period pieces? Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) just wrote and performed a series of pieces about the history of Chicago, one of which is now part of an exhibit at the Historical Society.
No, it's all original. As an example of the hoops one has to jump through, here's an example for one project as it relates to getting into schools:
California Educators
This material conforms to the history-social science framework for California public schools and brings to life insightful and interesting stories in a musical presentation of historical accounts in the Coachella Valley.
To each setting, time and place are established and accounts of individuals are depicted in the manner in which they saw themselves. Interesting details of the period or event, and an individual’s hopes, fears, and dreams are among the tools used to make the stories within the songs engaging. From the CD, the listener will be taken to that time and place from a human interest standpoint with music performed on folk and roots instruments common to period such as guitar, banjo, mandolin, mandocello, dulcimer, and autoharp.
This material also applies to the frameworks of visual and performance arts with the primary educational impact area being the historical and cultural content combined with the creative expression of original work and the aesthetic valuing of the transfer of historical data from a performance arts source. By combining the elements of music and history, my goal is to engage the imagination of the listener in a new and exciting fashion.
The songs as they relate to content standards of history-social studies framework for California public schools:
1. Desert Submarines - conforms to standard 3.3.3.
2. Indio Station - conforms to standards 4.4.1, and 4.4.4
3. With These Wings – conforms to standards, 3.3.1, and 4.4.6
4. Palmdale - conforms to standards 4.4.3, and 4.4.4
5. La Quinta Hotel - conforms to standard 4.4.4
6. Training Center Boogie - conforms to standards 3.4.3, and 4.4.5
7. Cahuilla - conforms to standards 3.2.2, 3.2.4, 3.4.3, and 4.2.1
8. Centerline - conforms to 3.3.1, and 4.4.6
9. Judge McCallum - conforms to standard 3.3.3
10. Dr. Carreon - conforms to standard 3.3.1
11. Moonlight Motor Inn - conforms to standards 3.3.3, and 4.4.4
12. Cabot Yerxa – conforms to standard 3.3.3, 4.4.4
13. All American Canal - conforms to standard 4.4.6, and 4.4.7