EARLY CLOSURE ALERT: NMAAM's Roots Theater is closed all day today (9/18) and the museum closes early at 4 PM.
MoreThe National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) is committed to education, offering a range of programs that engage students, educators, and the broader community in exploring the rich tapestry of African American musical heritage.
At the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM), we inspire learners of all ages through the power of music. While the From Nothing to Something program is no longer active, its archived videos offer children a fun way to explore rhythm, instruments, and music-making.
For educators, the Rivers of Rhythm Institute provided training in culturally informed music education, helping teachers share the impact of African Americans on music with their students. These resources reflect NMAAM’s ongoing mission to educate, celebrate, and inspire through music while providing a brief overview of each genre covered in the Rivers of Rhythm Galleries at NMAAM.
FN2S welcomes guests to participate in sessions to explore and learn how African Americans transformed music history and turned common household items into musical instruments: from spoons to the harmonica, cigar box guitars to the banjo, rhythm and drums to the washtub bass. The program speaks to multiple generations with an audience ranging from K-12 students to seniors. There is something for everyone to learn in the workshops. Students and groups from around the world visit the museum each week to experience the interactive history in person. Highlighted sessions from the program include:
From African traditions to American blues and jug bands, the story of the spoons shows how rhythm can start with the simplest of tools. Students will understand the historical origins of music produced by spoons and traced from Africa to Europe to the Middle East. “Playing the spoons” is one of the oldest forms of creating music.
The harmonica was developed in Europe in the early 1800′s. Christian Friedrich Buschmann from Germany is often cited as the inventor of the Harmonica in 1821. Participants are given knowledge to distinguish characteristics of African American music genres from historical periods.
Students explored the significance and presence of African-based/influenced rhythms within popular forms of American music.
Youth analyzed audio and written music from different genres (Blues, Spirituals, Hip Hop, Rap, etc.) where African Americans have made significant contributions, recognizing the similarities between academic literary arts and music.
Africans who were transported to the Caribbean and Latin America were playing banjos in the 17th and 18th centuries. Students learned the first mention of the Banjo in the American colonies occurred in 1754, referred to as a “banjer” in a Maryland newspaper.
Examining the evolution of a music genre, the wash tub bass was originally made by the Baka people of the Congo, and can still be found among tribal societies in Africa and Southeast Asia. When Africans arrived in America, they used everyday items to replicate this instrument.
“This music education series, From Nothing to Something, is an innovative way to introduce the historical threads of ingenuity engaged by African Americans to audiences.”
– Margaret Campbell-Holman, Retired Music Educator and Executive Director of Choral Arts Link
The Rivers of Rhythm 6 Episode Series brings NMAAM’s core exhibit to life online. Mirroring the museum’s six genre galleries, these short theatrical videos highlight the origins, evolution, and cultural impact of Spirituals, Blues, Jazz, Gospel, R&B, and Hip Hop. Each episode offers a vivid glimpse into the music and history that shaped America, creating a flowing digital journey through the story of African American music.
Spirituals and Gospel | NMAAM Rivers of Rhythm – Episode 2
The Blues | NMAAM Rivers of Rhythm – Episode 3
Jazz | NMAAM Rivers of Rhythm – Episode 4
Rhythm and Blues | NMAAM Rivers of Rhythm – Episode 5
Hip Hop | NMAAM Rivers of Rhythm – Episode 6
These lesson plans invite students to explore the deep connections between music, history, and cultural expression. Through topics like activism, geography, and poetry, learners will examine how African American music has shaped—and been shaped by—social movements, regional identity, and literary traditions. Each lesson is designed to foster critical thinking, historical understanding, and creative engagement with the powerful role of music in American life.
In this lesson student will learn about the origins of protest music in the U.S. and connections to Folk Spiritual, Folk Gospel, and the Freedom Songs (50s and 60s)
In this lesson, students will explore the diaspora of musical genres, particularly Blues and Jazz, throughout the United States.
In this lesson, students will explore the poetry of Langston Hughes and determine how music captures the essence of his poetry. Students will also examine the theme, emotion, imagery, and sensory elements present in Hughes’ poetry
Learn with NMAAMs interactive exhibits.
May 10 – Current: The Jubilee exhibit celebrates the enduring legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers—a vocal ensemble that helped introduce African American spirituals to the world.
Delve into the history and influence of the blues, originating from the work songs and field hollers of sharecroppers and lumber mill workers in the Deep South and Mississippi Delta during the 19th century.
Discover the history and influence of religious music, tracing its roots from indigenous African music through the formation of African American spirituals and hymns to the “Golden Age of Gospel” in the 1940s–1960s.
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