Information
about Kodály-Inspired Music Education
You may be
unfamiliar with the Kodály Concept of Music
Education. It is a child-centered method of music education that
sequentially develops basic musical skills and teaches both the reading and writing
of music. The goals of the Kodály method are:
ˇ To instill the love of music in EVERY student
ˇ To enable EVERY learner to become musically literate
Here are the key elements of the method.
Singing: Singing is perhaps the
most important tool in the Kodály method. Zoltan Kodály himself called it
the "essence" of his method. The voice is the most natural instrument
and is an instrument that every child has. Singing is not only a
wonderful mode of expression for our children to use,
it is also one of the best learning tools because they produce the sound
themselves. They DO it themselves.
"I hear and I forget,
I see and I Remember,
I do and I understand."
- - Chinese Proverb
Folk Music: Folk Music is vital to the Kodály
method. There is no better material to use than the songs and singing
games used by children for centuries. Folk music is also full of the
basic musical characteristics that we teach our students in the general music
curriculum. First students are taught to sing and analyze music of their
home country and then they are introduced to music of foreign cultures.
Solfége: Solfége
is used in the Kodály method to build many musical
skills. The moveable do system is used to aid in teaching musical
literacy and the pentatone, (do, re, mi, so, la) is
highly useful with young learners because of its predominance in their folk
music!
Music and Quality : The quality of music used in the Kodály method must always be high. Music should always be
folk music or the best music composed by the masters! Teachers must
be very well trained both in the methods of teaching, and in their vocal and
musical skills.
The Kodály method is an exciting way of teaching and
makes use of some of the best teaching ideas and techniques for music education.
Learning is based on the developmental readiness of the child. The method
uses movement as one of the most important learning tools - from hand signs to
singing games. Instruments such as xylophones and recorders are also used
in the curriculum. This allows the Kodály
method to be enhanced by the Orff Approach and also
the ideas of Dalcroze. The Kodály
method aligns with and surpasses the National Standards for Music Education as
well as the