Let's face it, if anyone really has a need to sing blues music, it's Chinese students. They're learning about American music right now, so I decided to spend a week teaching them about the classic 12 bar blues.
The format and chord progression equally technically and lyrically simple as it is bursting with passion and emotional insight. Perfect. My students came up with some interesting lyrics and topics - most revolved around the themes of gross cafeteria food, too much homework, and love.
The best part was that at the beginning of class, one of my students said "blues music is so boring." He quickly changed his mind once I told him that it was not only permitted, but encouraged to sing about "idiot teachers" and "mice in the rice."
That may have been one of my most successful lessons yet.
--
Byron Yee
TEFL English Teacher - Shenzhen, China
The format and chord progression equally technically and lyrically simple as it is bursting with passion and emotional insight. Perfect. My students came up with some interesting lyrics and topics - most revolved around the themes of gross cafeteria food, too much homework, and love.
The best part was that at the beginning of class, one of my students said "blues music is so boring." He quickly changed his mind once I told him that it was not only permitted, but encouraged to sing about "idiot teachers" and "mice in the rice."
That may have been one of my most successful lessons yet.
--
Byron Yee
TEFL English Teacher - Shenzhen, China
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