Ballad of America preserves and celebrates music from America's diverse cultural history.

Music Library
Articles and videos with fascinating stories of songs, genres, instruments, people, and more

For Educators
Resources to help teachers, both traditional and homeschool, integrate music and United States history

Sing It
Sing-along videos, recordings, lead sheets, and more to facilitate the singing of American folk songs by people of all ages

Live Events
Multimedia programs that entertain, inspire, and inform people of all ages, delivered in-person and online

Official Partner

America's Music

The music in America today is part of a continuum that reaches back to the Indigenous peoples and stretches across the Atlantic Ocean to the Old World. Music, instruments, and songs tell the story of the ordinary and extraordinary people who have populated the United States and propelled it into the 21st century. The genres of music explored through Ballad of America include traditional folk songs, fiddle tunes, ballads (both Old and New World), sea shanties, railroad and cowboy songs, Appalachian, ragtime, spirituals, work songs, minstrel, blues, jazz, jug band, rhythm and blues, old-time, country and western, Cajun, bluegrass, and rock & roll.

Musical Introductions to History

We are excited to introduce the first video in a new series called Musical Introductions to History. Each Mini Doc (under 10 minutes) introduces a historical topic through a short documentary and a relevant song from the period. Indentured Servitude: A Musical Introduction featuring "The Distressed Damsel" is now available. We'll be rolling out more videos as we produce them.

Along with the Mini Doc, Musical Introductions to History include other free resources for the classroom, distance learning, and homeschooling. Students learn how ordinary people shaped history and created music that reflects their experiences, and they come away with something to investigate.

Every topic comes in three forms:

    • Teaching Guides — everything you need on a single web page or printable PDF, including the Mini Doc and Slides
    • Mini Docs — short videos, under ten minutes, that open with a documentary on the featured topic and close with a related song
    • Slides — ready-to-present Google Slides decks with the Mini Doc embedded, plus the setup, what to watch and listen for, and discussion questions