Music Monday

I just came home from dinner after my Orffestra program at school. Orffestra is my after-school club of 3rd and 4th graders. We sing and play Orff instruments, with a lot of the music we play coming from the Orff Music for Children Volumes, and basically have a good ol' musical time. Today's Music Monday is inspired by a different Carl Orff piece, Carmina Burana--one of my favorite vocal pieces *ever.*

Enjoy!

And Finally... Part III

So you saw that I was out in Lubbock taking a two week class, and then you stuck around to read Part II about Orff Schulwerk. Now, the thrilling conclusion... Part III, all about Kodaly!

Before I tell you about Kodaly, let's start with how to pronounce it. It sounds like "co-dye" with emphasis on the first syllable.

Alright, now that you know how to say it, let's get on with the show. The Organization of American Kodaly Educators has a wonderful outline of everything that is Kodaly. In a nutshell, the Kodaly Concept is that singing is the foundation of musical learning. The voice is an instrument we all have, and that we can use throughout our lives. Through singing, children learn how to read and write music, improvise and create. In a Kodaly elementary music classroom, children use folk songs, singing games, and chants to have these experiences.

Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian composer who spent much of his life advocating music education in Hungary. He believed that if people are well-educated musically (starting in early childhood), they become more informed and appriciative listeners of professional musicians. Kodaly also saw folk music as being important for continuing a culture's traditions. Along with Bela Bartok, another Hungarian composer, he gathered folk songs from villages all over Hungary. In fact, many of his compositions were inspired by Hungarian folk songs.

In my opinion, music teachers don't have to, and shouldn't, see themselves as solely "Orff" or "Kodaly." Both can and should be used in the elementary music classroom. In my own class, for example, I use singing games, rhymes, and folk songs. But with these songs, I also have my students play on Orff instruments, create, and move. All of these activities together make my students well-rounded musicians. Yes, they enjoy playing singing games to learn musical concepts, but they also love playing instruments. Why should I deprive them of one or the other, just so my teaching falls into someone's strict guidelines of what an ideal music class should be?

"Shady Grove" is one of my favorite folk songs, and is one that often will randomly pop into my head. Here it is as sung by Jean Ritchie, who sang many, many folk songs for children on her mountain dulcimer. Enjoy!

Where Was I? - Part II

Recently I posted about a two-week summer training I was taking. I mentioned the two main philosophies of elementary music education, Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly. Many music educators feel that you're either in the Orff camp or the Kodaly camp, but not both. I disagree. Both can, and should, be used together to create more meaningful experiences for the children in the music class.

The American Orff-Shulwerk Association has a wonderful explanation of what Orff Schulwerk is. Basically Orff Schulwerk is a way to teach music that involves a lot of student creativity using songs, chants, rhymes, instruments, and movement. Students use these materials to experience musical concepts before identifying them. In Orff Schulwerk, students are active learners, participating in both decision making (ex: helping to create movement to accompany a song) and music making.

Thanks to Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman (pronounced Kate-mahn) and their work together, we have such a wonderful methodology. You may have heard of Carl Orff as a composer -- Carmina Burana is probably his most famous work. Orff and Keetman wrote four volumes of music, Music for Children. These volumes are wonderful pieces of music that children absolutely love to play and create with. My favorite piece from the volumes is Street Song. It's very challenging, but so much fun to play.



If you're an elementary music teacher, and interested in taking Orff training, I highly recommend taking it at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. All of the teachers there are absolutely top notch, and they create an environment where you can feel comfortable to learn and grow.

Where Have You Been, Bohemian Rose?

I've been to your Art Fire and Etsy shops, and they're both on vacation! Where did you go???

If you're asking yourself this oh-so-important question, you've come to the right place. Both of my shops are temporarily on vacation for two weeks, until Sunday, June 21. So never fear, they'll be back up and ready for your soapy needs in another week!

Right now I'm in the very flat city of Lubbock, TX, taking a two week elementary music education training. This summer I'm taking Kodaly Level I. There are all together four levels of training to take before I can say I'm Kodaly certified. My roommate is taking Level II this summer... Here's hoping I can stick it out to the bitter end!

If you're asking yourself, what *is* Kodaly anyway? read on.

There are two major schools of thought in music education - Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly. (As a side note, I'm already Orff certified. You'll see how Orff and Kodaly go wonderfully together in the classroom.)

Check back later for my gripping part II to find out exactly what Orff and Kodaly entail!