Chet Atkins - Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Chet Atkins
CERTIFIED
GUITAR
PLAYER
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Teacher’s Activity Guide
EXHIBIT OPEN AUGUST 2011 – JUNE 2012
The following activities are designed to help students further explore Chet Atkins’s life and career.
Suggested charts and diagrams can be copied on the board or a transparency. Many of the activities are
supported by children’s literature. These books are listed on the accompanying reference sheet.

1. Music as an Outlet:
“ I would lean on [the guitar] for the love I never seemed to have enough of
and depend on it for the friendships I didn’t always find.” –Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins did not have an easy childhood. He had asthma, which
made it hard for him to breathe. His parents divorced and lived in two
different states. His family didn’t have much money. Music became his
way to escape his troubles and to set himself apart.
a. How did Chet learn to play the guitar? Did his family have
money to pay for lessons? Where did he find his inspirations?
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b. Find Chet’s first guitar, a Sears Silvertone. What do you notice
about this guitar? Do you think that it was new when he got it? Does
it look like any of the other guitars in the exhibit?
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c. Chet wanted to be famous, but he didn’t want to sound like all the other guitar players. He created his own technique that
set him apart. Find the panel in the exhibit that talks about this technique and describe it in your own words.
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d. What do you use as your outlet? Is it playing sports, creating music or art, or something else?
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2. Learn About Guitars
a. Chet Atkins played many guitars during his career. Pick three guitars that you find interesting, and compare them in the
space below. What is the same? What is different? Read the exhibit label to identify the maker and model.
Guitar Maker:
Model:
Year:
Description:
Chet Atkins (left) with his Silvertone guitar and friend Buster Devault.

. The museum cares for many historically important instruments. As you explore the galleries, take a close look at some of the
guitars on display. Pick three of your favorites and write about them. How are different guitars personalized? What do the guitars
tell you about the performers who used them? What do you like about them?
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c. Create your own guitar. Draw it below and describe your new instrument. How many strings does it have?
What color is it? Is it acoustic or electric? How does it sound when you play it?
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3. Mapping Chet Atkins
a. Chet lived and worked in many cities in the U.S. Look through the exhibit and write down as many cities as you can find.
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b. Which of these cities would you like to visit? Pick three of the cities you listed above and, using the Internet or library books,
learn about these places. Write down three interesting facts about each city.
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c. Chet had the opportunity to perform outside the United States. Look through the exhibit and write down the names of
countries where he played.
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d. Have you traveled outside the country? Where did you go, or
where would you like to visit? Pick one country outside the U.S. and
learn three interesting facts about it, using the Internet or library
books. Write them below.
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Jim Reeves, Chet Atkins, and Bobby Bare on tour in 1962,
with unidentified woman.

Chet Atkins and Anita Kerr studying session charts, c. 1960.
4. Collaborating
a. In 1983, Chet gave himself the title Certified Guitar Player and began signing his
name Chet Atkins, cgp. He gave this honor to only four other “pickers,” who played
the guitar like he did. Look through the exhibit to find the names of those four
musicians and write them below.
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Tommy Emmanuel, John Knowles, Jerry Reed, and Steve Wariner
b. Chet gave these four men this honor because he respected their work and he enjoyed having the opportunity to collaborate with
them. Describe below what it means to collaborate with someone. What are some types of collaborations that you might expect to
see represented in this museum?
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c. Look through the exhibit and write down the names of three of Chet’s other collaborators. Don’t forget to check and see who he
might have worked with early in his career!
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d. Learn about the three collaborators you identified as working with Chet. If they are musicians, try to find a sample of their
music. Write down your notes in the space below.
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e. As you walk through the museum, look for other examples of collaboration. Write down a few that you see and describe how
these people work together.
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e. Join two or three of your classmates and collaborate on an art project. Remember that collaboration means capitalizing on each
person’s strengths. What does each of you bring to the project? What is the best way to use your individual talents toward the team goal?
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5. Listening to the Radio
a. Radio was important in Chet’s life. As a boy, he found inspiration listening to jazz and country music on the radio. His first
professional jobs were playing fiddle and guitar for radio shows. Look through the exhibit and write down some of the stations
where he worked.
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b. Can you find the replica of a radio tower in the museum? Why do you think this is included in the museum?
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c. Using the Internet or library books, learn about the radio. What did early radios look like? Did most homes have a radio set?
What were a few of the shows broadcast in the 1920s and 1930s?
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COUNTRY MUSIC LIVES HERE ®
d. In a group with two of your classmates, choose
a decade in the twentieth century. What were major
milestones in radio history during this period? What
kinds of radio shows were popular? Find recordings of
radio shows from those ten years. When every group in
the class has finished, present the history of the radio in
the twentieth century.
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Chet Atkins and his future wife Leona Johnson at WLW–Cincinnati, c. 1945.
Courtesy of Merle Atkins Russell and the Estate of Chester B. Atkins.
Country Music Hall of Fame ® and Museum
Downtown Nashville • 615.416.2001 • CountryMusicHallofFame.org
The Country Music Hall of Fame ® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, Inc., a section 501(c)(3) non-profit
educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964.