Listening Glyphs Black History Month

Celebrate Black History Month in music class! I am always looking for new ways to help kids connect with the fabulous music of African American composers and performers. I rarely stick with doing that just during Black History month, but love the extra emphasis that I can give them during this time. These listening glyphs give your students an opportunity to listen to some music in several genres and give you an opportunity to assess their understanding of some basic music concepts in a fun and easy way.

A glyph is a pictorial representation of data. These clever worksheets ask students to color each portions of the picture based on what they hear. These glyphs were designed for use with some specific songs from African American composers and performers. Each glyph asks students to listen for 4-5 things in a piece. Some of the concepts covered: loud or soft/quiet, fast or slow, instrument family identification, steady beat or no steady beat and more.

Each listening glyph also includes a short blurb about the composer or performer with a few key details about their life and work. Review this before or after you listen to the piece to strengthen student understanding.

There are actually 2 versions of each Black History Month listening glyph.
12- Designed for primary grades, these listening glyphs contain the performer or composer’s name and the title of the song. Students are asked to listen for basics like tempo, dynamics, instruments, etc.

12- Identical listening glyphs for each of the songs listed below, designed for older students. Although the pictures are the same, students are asked to identify “vocalists” instead of “singers”, “rondo” or “verse and chorus” instead of “repeated parts”, “forte” and “piano” instead of loud and soft/quiet and so on.

Listening glyphs are included for:
“The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin
“Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson
“I Know Where I’ve Been” by Queen Latifah from the musical Hairspray
“I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” by Billie Holiday
“Getting’ Jiggy Wit It” by Will Smith
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
“Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
“At Last” by Etta James
“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
“Respect” by Aretha Franklin
“Georgia on My Mind” by Ray Charles
“Ave Maria” by Marian Anderson

This file comes as a PDF. Due to copyright restrictions, recordings of these songs are NOT included in this download. They are available for purchase in all of the usual places. You may also be able to find recordings on YouTube that will work in your classroom. I have included a link to a Spotify playlist that you can also use for these pieces.

More Listening Glyphs That You Might Enjoy:
Armed Forces Listening Glyphs
Nutcracker Listening Glyphs
John Williams Listening Glyphs
Christmas Listening Glyphs

More Resources for Black History Month
Composer of the Month Scott Joplin
Black History Month Bulletin Board
Jazz Musicians Bulletin Board
Jazz Musicians BUNDLE
Jazz Musicians Research Pages