Music Timeline

Free!

Music Timeline provides a timeline that spans the 1950s into the 2000s and shows the popularity of musical genres (e.g., Jazz, Rock, Indie, Folk, Country, Rap, R&B, etc.) to each other at different times. Users can then click on the timeline, and the website will zoom into that section of the timeline to show more detailed information about when landmark albums were released in that genre and how that genre relates to its subgenres (e.g., Alternative Indie to Emo, New Wave/Post Punk, etc.). Users can then hover their mouse over the timeline, and the website will highlight significant albums that were released and align to that genre. Finally, users can click an album, and the website will load Google Play, which lets users read about the album, listen to samples of it, and purchase it.

Instructional Ideas for Music Timeline

1. To build on students’ interest in music, teachers can allow them class time to explore this website. Next, using this website as a springboard, students can identify their top three musical genres and write a description in their own words that describes each genre. Students can visit other websites to help them write their descriptions, such as Begin Band or Encyclopedia Britannica. When finished, students can share their description with a partner to gain feedback and make any revisions before submitting them for grading.
2. Teachers can have students select a genre of interest and view the different albums associated with that genre. Next, students can identify information about each album, its significance, how many albums were sold, social commentary included in the album, and critics’ reviews of the album. Based on that information, students can rank the top five albums and include a short justification for each album that supports its ranking.
3. When researching historical events that happened between 1950 to present, students can look up the year(s) when that event took place on this website and identify albums that were released during that time. Students can then read information about the albums to identify if they included any message or commentary about the event in their music and, if so, what the album worked to communicate. Students can then share their findings by posting the album, its message, and their thoughts about the message to a classroom website or in small groups.
4. When studying a musical group, genre, or time period, students can use this website as a reference in their work. Students can also click the links to Google Drive to further study the topic/albums of interest.

Screenshots of Music Timeline