Zoltan Kodály

 Kodály  In Paris, nearly three years ago, I was taking part in an international conference on art education. When asked at what age I thought a child's musical education should begin, I replied "nine months before birth!" Today, I would go further, a child's musical education begins nine months before...not his own--but his mother's birth... What a child has heard in the first six years of life can not be eradicated later. Thus it is too late to begin teaching at school, because a child stores a mass of musical impressions before school age, and if what is bad predominant, then his fate, as far as music is concerned, has been sealed for a lifetime. (Kodály, "Speech", 1951)

Bela Bartok

Kodály Philosophy  music belongs to every child.  “... music is a spiritual food for everybody. So, I studied how to make more people accessible to good music.”  “The most important thing is to actualize the instinctive love of the child for singing and playing.. in other words, to bring about the miracle of music.”  musical learning must begin with the child’s own voice, the most ancient, and natural instrument for making music;

 Kodály believed that the future of a nation’s music is determined in their schools.  Kodály pointed out that teachers should consider carefully their own musicianship and love of music before teaching children.

 I would advise my young colleagues, the composers of symphonies, to drop in sometimes at the kindergarten, too. It is there that it is decided whether there will be anybody to understand their works in twenty years' time.

 There is a well-known saying of Bulow’s: “He who cannot sing, be his voice good or bad, should not play the piano either.”  Developing the ear is the most important thing of all. Concentrate first of all on recognizing note and key (p. 186)

 At the sol-fa competition we looked into a shocking void. Brilliant pianists are unable to write down or sing faultlessly a simple one part tune after hearing it fifteen or twenty times. How do they expect to imagine an intricate piece of several parts if their internal ear is so undeveloped? They only play with their fingers and not with their head and hearts. They are not musicians but machine operators.

Good musicians  So, who is the good musician? You are not one if you worry about the piece and play it to the end with your eyes glued to the music; you are not one if you stop because someone accidentally turns two pages at once (and even worse if you stop without any turning at all!). But you are one if you guess in a new piece and know in a familiar piece what is coming – in other words, if the music lives not only in your fingers, but in your head and your heart, too (p. 190).

Teacher’s training  Kindergarten teachers must be enlightened as to their enormous responsibility, and the extent to which they harm the child in his human and Hungarian character if they nurture him on poor songs. And though they can be forgiven if they are not aware of what they are doing, they must be urgently taught how to distinguish between good and bad (p. 147).

The characteristics of a good musician can be summarized as follows:  1. A well-trained ear  2. A well-trained intelligence  3. A well-trained heart  4. A well-trained hand.  All four must develop together, in constant equilibrium. As soon as one lags behind or rushes ahead, there is something wrong. (p. 197, 1954)

Main Goals  music experience and instruction must begin in a child’s life as early as possible  instill within each child a love of music based on knowledge and understanding, stemming from first-hand, active music- making experiences, beginning with lullabies, childhood chants, folk songs, and singing games.  musical materials to be used must be of the highest artistic caliber.

Principles of Kodaly Approach  Human voice  Folk Music  Music Literacy

 If one were to attempt to express the essence of this education in one word, it could only be - singing.....Our age of mechanization leads along a road ending with man himself as a machine; only the spirit of singing can save us from this fate..... It is our firm conviction that mankind will live the happier when it has learnt to live with music more worthily. Whoever works to promote this end, in one way or another, has not lived in vain. (p. 206, 1966) Singing Voice

 Listen to all folksongs attentively for they are the treasure trove of the most beautiful melodies and through them you can get to know the character of peoples (p. 190).  Folk traditions, first of all with their singing games and children’s songs, are the best foundations for subconscious national features (p. 131).  Children should learn their musical mother tongue, the folk music of their own country, before the music of other cultures Folksongs

Music Elements  …the elements of music are precious instruments in education. Rhythm develops attention, concentration, determination and the ability to condition oneself. Melody opens up the world of emotions. Dynamics variation and tone color sharpen our hearing. Singing, finally, is such a many- sided physical activity that its effect in physical education is immeasurable… (p. 130)

Materials of the Kodály Approach:  Authentic children’s musical literature: nursery rhymes and songs, singing games  Authentic music of the child’s culture: folk songs, chants, play parties and folk dance.  Authentic folk music of other cultures Music of the Masters, the music from country to country.

Authenticity  In our opinion those who get immature children to sing our vigorous, beautiful folksongs with texts changed with good intentions – but usually bad results – commit not only reprehensible tastelessness and an offence against literature but, at the same time, pedagogical tactlessness (p. 137).

 Reading examples and exercises based on music of oral/aural traditions  Masterpieces of Western Art Music & World Music

Methodological Tools  Moveable-do tonic solfa  Curwen/Glover hand signs  Rhythmic duration syllables  Stick or solfa notation

Hand signs

Kodály Pedagogy  from sound to sight, from the known to the unknown, from the simple to the more complex, and from the concrete to the abstract.  Learning occurs through problem-solving, comparison, and guided question-and- answer.  Musical elements and concepts are taught in a sequence based on the most prominent musical idioms of a culture’s song repertoire.

Kodály Pedagogy  Prepare phase: the activities are arranged to provide the children with opportunities to experience new concepts through listening, singing, doing body movement, and playing instruments prior to any conscious learning. The songs and rhymes used in this phase of teaching can be ones the children already know or new ones they are taught. All new songs and rhymes are taught by rote.

 Presentation (“make conscious” or labeling) phase should be carefully prepared before being presented to the students. The teacher’s task is to be a facilitator who provides the atmosphere, materials, and questions, which will lead the students to find the answers. New concepts must be shown and named, so that they are presented (labeled or made conscious). Staff notation is introduced in this phase.

 Practice/reinforcement phase: is usually the most enjoyable part of the teaching sequence. Repetition, through practice, is an effective way to help students retain information in their long-term memory. The teacher should be creative in making up practice exercises that help reinforce the newly-learned concepts both aurally using old and new musical material and visually using staff or written notation.

 Create phase: students apply their knowledge by engaging in higher level improvisation, composition, and performance on instruments, thereby demonstrating mastery of the musical element or concept.

 The Organization of American Kodaly Educators OAKE was founded in 1975 to serve as a meeting place for music educators who embrace the Kodaly Concept of Music Education. It draws its membership from educators of all levels, public and private, students, administrators, and others who share in its support and promotion.

24 5