5 Days of a Great Musician: The Story & Music of Pete Seeger


A Note to Open School Students and Families:

I often tell my students, “it is okay to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them and do everything you can to correct them the next time”.

Well, I make mistakes, too. I made two big mistakes on the Specialists Activity page this week. I’m so embarrassed! But, I’m going to try to learn from them. And, I will correct them below.

Mistake #1: The musician’s name this week is Pete Seeger, not Pete Seegler. There is no “L” in his last name.

I honestly don’t know how I got it in my head that Seeger has an “L”. I learned about Pete Seeger when I was a little boy. I have listened to his songs many times of the years. And, I never made this mistake before.

I think it’s just one of those situations where if you look at a word long enough, you begin to think that it looks wrong even though it is correct. So, you change it. Then, you realize after it’s too late that you were right the first time!

In any case, our musician this week is Pete Seeger. S-E-E-G-E-R.

Mistake #2: Pete Seeger was indeed a great musician, absolutely worth talking about, but he did NOT write a large number of popular folk songs as I claimed.

Pete Seeger was many things. He was a singer, an ukulele player, a banjo player, a guitar player, a recording artist, a performer, a lover of song, a seeker, a sharer, an arranger, a producer, a revivalist, a humanitarian, an activist, a dreamer, a friend to all people, and so much more.

But, Pete Seeger didn’t write a whole lot of original songs. He wrote a great one or two. But, the amount of music he wrote is not at all close to the amount of other composers we have discussed previously.

That said, Pete Seeger did something that is nothing short of amazing. As you will see this week, Pete Seeger broke through racial and cultural boundaries. He helped to unite the world. He made it possible for us all to sing together as one. He found a way, through music, to make us all feel like one big family.

5 Days of Pete Seeger

Day 1, If I Had a Hammer & A Pete Seeger Story

Day 2, This Land is Your Land & A Pete Seeger Play Along

Day 3, Guantanamera & Pete Seeger Fun Facts

Day 4, Turn, Turn, Turn & Pete Seeger Coloring

Day 5, We Shall Overcome & a Pete Seeger Sing Along