In celebration of Black Music Month, the National Museum of African American Music and QuaverEd have announced their collaborative project to bring NMAAM’s school curriculum, From Nothing to Something, into the digital age and to an expanded audience.
Prior to the museum’s opening, the NMAAM education team has perfected its lessons and design of From Nothing to Something into six different workshops highlighting how instruments influenced the development of music genres: Spoons, Harmonica, Lyrics, Cigar Box Guitar, Banjo and Wash Tub Bass.
The curriculum has been used within Metro Nashville Public Schools previously. Through the partnership with QuaverEd, the curriculum (beginning with Spoons and Banjo) will be brought to life in a highly engaging, interactive fashion and made available to teachers globally through digital programming.
“Quaver’s commitment to supporting Per-K–8 music educators is unparalleled. We know that they will do a world-class job bringing our vision into the digital age and sharing it with their network of music educators,” said Tamar Smothers, NMAAM director of Education and Public Programs. “Through our Museum Without Walls program, NMAAM has already reached more than 132,000 individuals across the country through our programming, and we hope this is just the beginning of our work with Quaver to share our message across the globe.”
For more than a decade, QuaverEd has served teachers around the globe from its Music Row studios, building a reputation for quality, responsiveness and passion for music education. Today the company serves more than 12,000 music educators in all 50 states.
“Meeting with NMAAM CEO Henry Hicks several years ago, we envisioned the opportunity to ensure that the museum’s teaching resources and approach would have a broader reach,” said Alice Rolli, Quaver Vice President of Sales and Advocacy. “We are honored to have this opportunity to serve the museum’s vision of sharing the central role African Americans have played in shaping and creating all genres of American music.”
The curriculum will be launched in conjunction with the museum’s opening in September 2020.
