Early America: Cluck Old Hen/I Had a Rooster

Mike Seeger sings two folk songs about animals in traditional Southern style to maintain their distinct flavor. Both feature the banjo, a traditional gourd banjo on “Cluck Old Hen” and today’s steel-string banjo on “I Had a Rooster.”

Early America: Derby Ram

Folksinger Mike Seeger performs the English-American song “Derby Ram” for a group of students. Seeger explains, “Exaggeration is the core of this English-American song reputed to be one of George Washington’s favorites. I’ve been singing this version since I was about 12.” The guitar and harmonica are featured instruments.

Exploring Excellence: Kimani Griffin

In this From the Top at Carnegie Hall video segment, 17-year-old guitarist Kimani Griffin of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, plays the third movement Preludio e toccatina from "Aquarelle" by Sérgio Assad.

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Found Sound: Joshua Jones

In this From the Top at Carnegie Hall video segment, 16-year-old Joshua Jones plays a breath-taking rendition of Paul Smadbeck's "Rhythm Song" on the marimba.

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Frankie Quimby of Sapelo Island

In this video segment from EGG: the arts show, resident Frankie Quimby discusses the African slaves' history on Sapelo Island. Singers perform "Swing Low Sweet Chariot."

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Gullah Music

In this video segment from EGG: the arts show, visit Sapelo Island, an island in Georgia inhabited by descendants of African slaves.

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Gypsy Airs: Anna JiEun Lee

In this From the Top at Carnegie Hall video segment, 12-year-old Anna JiEun Lee plays a dazzling violin piece by Pablo de Sarasate called Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs).

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Innovation through Experimentation: Kiyoe Wellington

In this From the Top at Carnegie Hall video segment, hear a young double bassist from Hawaii play a soulful contemporary piece.

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Islamic Art

This video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly highlights the traveling exhibition "Palace and Mosque,” which features one of the most renowned Islamic art collections in the world.

Japanese Culture: Bunraku

In this excerpt from a documentary on Bunraku, students meet an apprentice studying to be a puppeteer at Bunraku Theater in Osaka. In addition, they learn a little bit about the history of this classic Japanese art form and see puppets being manipulated.

Japanese Culture: Japanese Aesthetics

Shozo Sato provides a brief overview of Japanese aesthetics and explains the major differences between Western and Japanese aesthetics. He talks about the Japanese emphasis on stylization and the function of art and the artist in Japanese society.

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Japanese Culture: Kabuki Actor's Technique

Shozo Sato describes Kabuki acting technique and the training that Kabuki performers, traditionally all male, go through in order to learn how to play male, female, young, and old characters. He demonstrates vocal inflections and actual movements—walking, how the head is held, poses—of various Kabuki characters.

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Japanese Culture: Kabuki Makeup

Kabuki master Shozo Sato applies makeup to actor Michael Goldberg as he discusses about how makeup is applied and how colors and lines help suggest character. In Kabuki theater, makeup is used to express a character’s personality.

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Japanese Culture: Koto

Kazue Sawai, a well-known koto player and widow of Tadao Sawai, who is considered the greatest modern koto player, performs “Midare” (“Chaos”) on the traditional Japanese instrument. Used with permission of Films for the Humanities and Sciences, a division of Films Media Group, Princeton, NJ. All rights reserved.

Japanese Culture: Scene from Macbeth Kabuki-Style

In the segment Macbeth: Kabuki Style, actors Michael Goldberg and Barbara Robertson perform the scene from Macbeth in which Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot the murder of Duncan. The text used by the actors in this video was adapted to better suit Kabuki-style performance and only resembles the standard text of Macbeth.

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Kentucky/Appalachian Culture: Shady Grove/Bandyrowe

Folksinger Jean Ritchie performs the Appalachian tune “Shady Grove,” a traditional song she learned from her family. Then she performs “Bandyrowe,” a song for which she made up verses to help get her two sons to sleep when they were very young. Ritchie accompanies herself on the lap dulcimer.

Late-Period Egyptian Bronze Falcon

In this video from Antiques Roadshow antiquities appraiser Max Bernheimer examines a beautifully cast bronze falcon, created during ancient Egypt's Late Period.

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Late 19th-Century American Indian Clothing

Tribal arts appraiser Douglas Deihl examines a collection of American Indian clothing and objects, dating back to the 1880s and 1890s and representing several tribes, in this video from Antiques Roadshow

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Listening with Your Eyes: Matthew Lipman

In this From the Top at Carnegie Hall video segment, 16-year-old violist Matthew Lipman plays "La Campanella" from the Second Violin Concerto by Niccolo Paganini.

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The Little Mermaid: Character Analysis

This video from Great Performances: The Little Mermaid from San Francisco Ballet focuses on the moment the Little Mermaid falls in love with the prince and saves his life.