The Kodály and Orff Schulwerk Methods
Across the first four weeks of this Semester, I immersed myself within two of the most significant strands of music pedagogy: the Kodály method and the Orff Schulwerk approach. Much of this learning occurred through active music-making by singing, moving, clapping, improvising, playing instruments, and musical games. In this method of learning through making the music first, I began to see how these philosophies are built around the performing of music, and backgrounded and embedded the theory throughout the lessons. Experiencing these approaches from the perspective of a student allowed me to reflect on what elements of each philosophy I wish to implement in my own teaching, and how they will shape the educator I aim to be.
The Kodály approach was developed out of Hungary in the mid 20th Century and centres the voice as the primary instrument, as well as emphasises the importance of developmental sequencing and inner hearing. In these classes I learnt and sang folk song repertoire, practiced implementing solfa hand signals and participated in structured singing activities and ensemble games. I found this clearly scaffolded method of instruction made the learning process accessible and always engaging. Occasionally the material we were learning became quite complex in body and rhythmic coordination, and I experienced first-hand moving beyond Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and into frustration. I was often surprised by how effectively the simple musical material could quickly lead to exploring complex concepts, and contribute to the development of ‘whole musicianship’. This is explained by Kodály as the four elements of becoming a well trained musician: a well trained heart, mind, ear and hand, that are all working in equilibrium. These ideas align with McPherson's ideas of the multi-modalities of being a musician, which requires developing every facet of musicianship, including less obvious ones such as appraising, analysing, conducting and even teaching itself.
The Orff Schulwerk approach is a complementary pedagogical method, and I found its focus on embodied learning to work well in tandem with the Kodály method. Its emphasis on combining music and movement, as well as incorporating body percussion, ostinato and layered ensemble part work helped to create a strong sense of collaboration in the classroom. This approach made me reflect on the often dominance of the Western art music tradition, and how its separation of music and movement is anomalous to the vast majority of musical traditions worldwide where the two are inseparable. I found that approaching musical concepts in this kinesthetic way also made them immediately tangible, and how teaching through these methods can help support diverse learners who may rely more on movement to understand rhythm and develop a sense of beat.
Working and learning within the Kodály and Orff methods really highlighted to me how essential it is to have confident vocal modelling, and the role of the teacher as facilitator in establishing a supportive learning environment. I found that moving beyond simple direct instruction and teaching as part of the collective provided a way in for all types of learners, and ensures that every student has an opportunity to be actively engaged at all times.
When I reflect on these pedagogical philosophies together, I can see how each contributes distinctively to my emerging professional identity. Kodály offered a framework for building musical literacy through a clear structure, as well as providing musical systems such as solfa and ta-ti-ti. Orff meanwhile emphasised musical embodiment, and allows for inclusive engagement through kinesthetic learning. Experiencing both of these approaches practically broadened my understanding of the variety of pedagogical methods, and opened up my worldview to engaging with different methods of learning.
Below are some explainer videos of both Kodály and Orff Schulwerk.
