Free Sheet Music Celebrating Black Composers (Songpack for Kids & Classrooms)

Looking for meaningful, ready-to-play music that celebrates the contributions of Black composers and the African American musical tradition? This free songpack gives you eight beautiful arrangements — complete with solfège, lyrics, and the story behind every song — so you can bring history to life in your music room, homeschool, or living room.

Music tells a story, and few stories are as powerful as those carried by spirituals, ragtime, and the folk songs that shaped American music. The Prodigies Songpack Celebrating Black Composers was created to help kids not only sing and play these songs, but understand where they came from and why they matter. Every arrangement is color-coded and solfège-friendly, so even beginning musicians can join in.

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What's inside the songpack

Eight printable arrangements, each with lyrics and solfège, spanning spirituals, ragtime, Broadway, and traditional West African and South African folk songs:

We Shall Overcome

Named by the U.S. Library of Congress as “the most powerful song of the twentieth century,” We Shall Overcome was the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The song is rooted in the hymn “If My Jesus Wills” by Louise Shropshire and was later adapted by Zilphia Horton and Pete Seeger. This arrangement is in C major with mostly diatonic harmony and a secondary dominant chord that gives the song its forward motion. Includes ukulele tab and lyrics.

Chant (Bandana Sketches)

You may recognize this melody as the spiritual Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen. Composed by Clarence Cameron White, this moving tribute honors heritage and ancestry, with dissonant chords and melancholy string arrangements that add weight and complexity. Arranged in F major and includes solfège.

Funga Alafia

A traditional West African “song of welcome,” Funga Alafia is arranged as a duet in C major using the C major pentatonic scale. In just four measures it offers call & response, syncopated rhythms, and a canon. Funga is a welcome gesture and alafia a wish of health, peace, or prosperity.

Li'l Liza Jane

A deceptively simple song with a history spanning centuries and continents. Ethnomusicologist Natalie Curtis linked its origins to an African American song and dance, and its chorus is thought to be inspired by Funga Alafia. Arranged in C major with call & response, syncopated rhythms, and rhyming couplets.

Love Will Find a Way

From the groundbreaking Broadway musical Shuffle Along — the first Broadway show to prominently feature syncopated jazz — by composer Eubie Blake. The show helped desegregate theaters in the 1920s and gave many Black actors their first Broadway roles. Arranged in E♭ major with lyrics and solfège.

Philadelphia Gray's Quick Step

Written by Francis Johnson, the first Black composer to have his works published as sheet music and to perform in racially integrated concerts in the United States. Reminiscent of early jug- and string-band music that became modern folk and bluegrass. Arranged in F major and includes solfège.

Shosholoza

Originally a folk song for gold and diamond miners traveling between Zimbabwe and South Africa. It features a repeating rhythmic ostinato and a call & response form that creates beautiful harmony when sung together.

The Entertainer

Scott Joplin, “the King of Ragtime,” composed this classic rag in 1902. Joplin helped preserve African American musical heritage by fusing formal training with the syncopated rhythms of ragtime. This arrangement of the main theme is in C major with a five-note accompaniment and solfège.

Come By Here

You may know it as “Kumbaya.” Likely an African American spiritual that originated in the American South before traveling around the world, Come By Here is a true global folksong. Arranged in C major with lyrics and solfège — fun, syncopated, and best played at a lively tempo.

Who this songpack is for

This free collection is perfect for elementary music teachers building Black History Month lessons, homeschool parents who want culturally rich music in their curriculum, and families who simply love singing and playing together. Because every song includes solfège and color-coded notation, kids of all levels can participate — whether they're on deskbells, boomwhackers, ukulele, piano, or just their voices.

How to use it in your music room

Pair each song with its story to turn a music lesson into a history lesson. Start by singing the melody on solfège, add an instrument, then introduce the composer and the cultural context. The arrangements work as standalone sing-alongs or as part of a larger unit on American music history, spirituals, or world music.

Frequently asked questions

Is the songpack really free?

Yes. Enter your email above and we'll send the full printable collection to your inbox at no cost.

Do I need to read music to use it?

No. Every arrangement includes solfège and lyrics, and Prodigies' color-coded approach makes the songs accessible to non-readers and beginning musicians.

Can I use these songs in my classroom?

Absolutely. The songpack was designed for music teachers and homeschoolers to use with students.

Bring music to life with Prodigies

These songs are just a taste of how Prodigies makes music education joyful and accessible. Grab the free songpack above, and when you're ready to give kids a complete, color-coded music curriculum, explore everything Prodigies has to offer.

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More free music resources

• Free Gospel Songpack for Kids
• Free Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Sheet Music
• Free K-5 Music Lesson Plans

When you're ready for a complete, color-coded music program, explore the Prodigies Music membership or the standards-aligned PK-5 Curriculum for classrooms, and play along with color-coded deskbells.