MODULE III

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module the students should be able to;

1. Understand the different method of teaching music in the classroom
2. Incorporate different teaching strategies and philosophies in classroom learning
3. Differentiate the methods of some music educators (Kodaly, Da’lcroze)
4. Sight sing simple to complex melodic patterns
5. Write activities using different teaching methods
6. Implement classroom activities confidently
The Kodaly Method
Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, and music educator, who
along with Bela Bartok is recognized for creating a new style of Hungarian art music based on
the folk music heritage of Hungary. Though his efforts in music education, Kodaly sought to
cultivate a far-reaching musically literate Hungarian society. His philosophical and pedagogical
contributions to the field of music education have become known as the kodaly concept or
kodaly method of music education now in worldwide use.
Kodaly believed that music should belong to everyone and not just to a musical elite. “It is
the right of every citizen to be taught the basic elements of music, to be handed the key with
which he can enter the locked world of music. To open the ear and heart of the millions to
serious music is a great thing.
He believed that “with a few years “technical preparation children can achieve results
measurable by the most exciting of absolute artistic standards” He observed, “with music ones'
whole future life is brightened. This is such a treasure in life that it helps us over many troubles
and difficulties. Music is nourishment a comforting elixir. Music multiplies all is beautiful and of
value in life.
The Importance of Excellent Artist –Teachers
We believe that students must be taught music based on an apprenticeship model of
instruction that closely mirrors a teaching model used by exceptional instructors. Simply stated,
students learn the craft of music from individuals who themselves are excellent musicians.
“There is a need for better musicians, and only those will become good musicians who work at
it every day. The better a musician is the easier it is for him to draw others into the happy,
magic circle of music. Thus, will he serve the great cause of helping music to belong to
everyone.
Music instructors need to develop students ‘inherent musical abilities in the classroom through
performance, creativity, listening, critical thinking, and musical literacy skills as well as enabling
students to become stewards of their musical and cultural heritage. The goal of music
instruction is to create a community of learners in the music classroom that experience and
explore all the various facets of music and begin to share this knowledge as a service to the
community.
Children as Performers: Singing, Instruments and Movements
Singing
Kodaly was convinced that singing is the most direct mean to a musical education. Singing
requires the rapid internalization of sound and provides immediate participation in the musical
experience. Kodaly’s intent was to lead students to a deep appreciation of art music. Since the
human voice is the most intimate of all instruments and the inner ear is more easily developed
through this personal medium, the voice is the most logical starting point.
Instruments
Kodaly believed that instrumental instruction should also incorporate the use of singing. Kodaly
did acknowledge the use of instruments to provide appropriate and tasteful song
accompaniments in the classroom. He believed that children should perform simple melodies
on instruments.
Movements
The composer was convinced that movement through singing games and folk dancing is critical
for the musical development of children. In order to develop children’s musicianship skills as
performers, we should include activities for developing children’s singing, instrument playing,
and movement skills. Movement activities may also include teaching simple conducting
patterns.
A musical curriculum built on the kodaly concept of music education aligns with the national
content standards for music educators.
Singing alone and with others
Singing provides the foundation of all learning in the kodaly classroom. Through singing
students are guided to discover and subsequently internalize the elements of music. Students
learn a varied repertoire of multicultural music, classical music, and recently composed music
through singing. The curriculum engages students in group and solo singing, call and response
songs, melodic ostinati, rounds, canons, partner songs, and art music.
Performing on Instruments Alone and with others
Kodaly teachers use a variety of rhythm instruments as reinforcement of beat and rhythm
concepts. Melody instruments such as barred instruments and step bells are used to perform
borduns and ostinati and may be used to practice melodic concepts. Recorders, guitar, and auto
harp may be introduced into classroom activities once students have reached a level of
maturation that enables them to perform on the instruments.
Children use their knowledge of rhythmic and melodic elements as well as their stylistic
knowledge of folk music as the basis for their improvisation activities and compositions in the
classroom. Instructions engage students in a myriad of improvisations activities such as
improvising rhythmic or melodic and rhythmic ostinati. These activities also provide assessment
of student understanding of musical elements and musical styles as well as their skill of
performance.
Reading and Writing Music
Kodaly trained students learn to read and write music using stick notation or staff notation,
solfege and rhythm syllables, and hand signs. Beginning reading and writing excercises and
examples include simple pentatonic, pentachord, and hexachord melodies and progress to
diatonic major, minor, and modal melodies as well as two-and three-part compositions
Evaluating Music and Music Performance
Because singing and performance is at the heart of the kodaly classroom, instructors and
students continually evaluate their performance. Knowledge of musical elements improves the
stylistic knowledge of the repertoire studied. The instructor may provide assessment rubrics for
performance that can be used by students for evaluation.
Understanding Relationships between Music, the Other Arts and Disciplines
Kodaly-inspired music education develops students’ kinesthetic abilities as well as spatial
mathematic, and reading aptitudes in the music classroom; skills that are readily transferred to
other areas of the curriculum.
Understanding Music in Relation to History and Culture
Kodaly-trained students study the folk music and art music of different cultures and eras.
Children learn the text of folk songs in their original language; something that permits the music
instructor as well as classroom teachers to discuss historical information and make connections
to related disciplines and art forms. The study of art music includes history, an understanding of
the various style and periods common to other art forms: visual arts, architecture, and dance.

Explanation of the Framework of Lesson Plan

Lesson Section One: The Introduction
Repertoire and or Concepts or Elements
One goal of the introduction of the lesson is for children to develop beautiful singing.
Another goal is for children to demonstrate their knowledge of music repertoire. In this section
of the lesson the children are able to demonstrate through performance that they are
“stewards of their cultural heritage” as well as performers. Another goal of this section of the
lesson is for children to demonstrate known rhythmic or melodic musical elements through
performance. This may include singing songs with rhythm or solfege syllables. In this portion of
the lesson, we develop beautiful singing through breathing exercises and vocal warm-up
exercises.
Lesson Section Two: Core Activities
The first period of concentration in the lesson involves the acquisition of repertoire and the
performance of new concepts or elements.
Acquisition of Repertoire: Teach a New Song
Instructors present a new repertoire to students for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they
wish to teach a song to students to develop their singing ability another time a song may be
taught because they need to provide a musical context for teaching future musical concepts.
When teaching a new song try to link the new song to the activities in the lesson’s introduction-
either by using the same key, same rhythmic or melodic motifs, the same meter, the same
character, or simply the same tempo.
Performance and Preparation of a New Concept or Element
During this section of the lesson, the instructor will be preparing and presenting concepts
that are outlined in the music curriculum under the title of “Children as Critical Thinkers.”
Students develop their critical thinking skills by developing their knowledge of music literacy. It
is through discovery-based learning that children develop their acquisition of music literacy
skills.
Movement Development
During this section of the lesson, the teacher will be preparing and presenting movement
concepts that are associated with specific games outlined in the music curriculum under the
title of “Children as Performers” In this section of the lesson, the instructor develops students’
movement skills based on game activities associated with song material.
Performance and Musical Development
In this section the instructor will be practicing concepts outlined in the music curriculum
under the title of “Children as Critical Thinkers’ This is the section of the lesson that reinforces
knowledge of known or previously taught musical elements while focusing on a particular music
skill such as reading, writing, or improvisation and composition.
Lesson section Three: Closure
Performance and Lesson Review
Review the new song. Students may review known songs or play a game. The instructor
may also perform the next new song to be learned in a subsequent lesson.
The Dalcroze Approach: An Overview
Dalcroze pedagogy aims to promote abilities, such as sense of rhythm, finesse of hearing and
spontaneous expression, that are according to Jacque-Dalcroze , vital to a competent musician.
Thus, the approach focuses on developing musicianship in a large view and works to support
and complete other music studies.
Dalcroze teaching takes place mostly in groups. In exercises, students often move in a space
with improvised, recorded, or vocalized music, or sometimes without any music at all. Through
movement of the whole body, music is felt experienced, and expressed; reciprocally, the
movements express what the participants hear, feel, understand, and know. Movement is
simultaneously a means of personal, social, and musical discovery and a tool for analysis.
The approach includes three interrelated areas of study: rhythmics, solfege (ear training), and
improvisation. Though the different areas can be taught separately, which is often the case in
teacher education, Dalcroze teaching commonly incorporates all the areas within one teaching
process, in which the areas intermingle and interact. Each one of the following four sections
examines the four interrelated areas respectively- specifically, rhythmics and a sense of rhythm,
solfege and finesse of hearing, improvisation and the ability of spontaneous expression, and
plastique anime (the realization of music in body movement) and kinesthetic awareness.

Rhythmics and a Sense of Rhythm

Dalcroze argues that music, especially its rhythmic component, has its origin in natural body
movements and thus is physical in nature. Accordingly, he suggests that it is most natural to
develop a sense of rhythm through body movement. Through other familiar gestures and
movements, such as running, walking, skipping, hopping, clapping, galloping, and swaying,
other basic rhythms and meters are introduced.
In rhythmic exercises, body movement is combined with music listening based on the argument
that music and body movement are intrinsically linked. Especially in the beginning, the
movements are kept natural and simple (e.g., walking, stepping, clapping and gesturing)
Solfege and Finesse of Hearing
The term solfege refers to exercises and studies that aim to develop the capacity of hearing,
listening, responding to, singing and playing, remembering, identifying, and notating any
combination of sounds. One goal is to build a connection between what is heard and what is
written.
Solfege seeks to develop the “inner ear”, which is the ability to mentally produce exact sound
images without the help of the voice or an instrument. A teacher can develop students’ inner
hearing skills by having them practice alternating between singing aloud and internally.
Dalcroze, particularly sought to develop this capacity so that students would be able to
mentally hear rhythms, intervals, phrasing, and dynamic nuances of music when reading music,

Sample Exercise
1. Sing-sing the melody (using note names or number and conduct in 4/4)
2. Sing the melody repeatedly. When the teacher says “hop” change the tempo to twice as
fast. In the next “hop,” return to the original tempo (quick response exercise)
3. When singing the melody, change the meter in each measure as indicated by the
teacher (for example; 4 quarter notes, 4 eight notes, 4 half notes, 4 quarter notes.
4. Change the last quarter note (or any of the notes) of each measure to a half note
5. Sing aloud only g-notes, and sing the other notes in silence (inner hearing exercise)
6. Add to the previous exercise; Clap all the c- notes (multitask exercise)
7. Sing the melody, but improvise or vary the melody of the third measure.

Improvisation and the Ability of Spontaneous Expression

In Dalcroze exercises, students improvise by moving, singing, or playing an instrument. Overall,
Dalcroze practice offers abundant possibilities for such improvisation and spontaneous
expression. Improvisation motivates students to express their own ideas, stretches students’
imaginations, and brings about a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction
Some practical examples of movement improvisation include the following:
1. Following in movement the music or the leader’s movement.
2. Exploring space, time, and energy with exercises.
3. Employing creative movements inspired by images, emotions, stories, or pictures
4. Moving or leading the movement by a certain body part (head, shoulder, elbow)
5. Integrating movement and voice exercises, for example, following your own/another
person’s voice in movement, or accompanying movement with the voice or an
instrument.
6. Transforming a rhythmic phrase into movement (and sounds)
Dalcroze teachers are expected to be able to improvise music in their lessons. Improvisation is
designed to initiate a response movement; it is the main means of dialogue with students.

Practical Application
The ideas of Dalcroze pedagogy can be applied to all levels of music education, including
colleges and universities, early childhood education programs, primary and secondary schools,
private lessons, and community settings for both newborns and older adults.
Teachers usually create their own ideas, exercises, and materials and should be prepared to
adapt them to fit each teaching situation. Music is explored through movement and other
musical activities such as singing, listening, and improvising. Teachers can also organize singing
games and songs with movement; folk, ethnic, and historical dances: and story creation and
various types of dramatization. As the process develops from easy to difficult, it involves
students in a pleasurable experience at all times. Importantly, it partly is an extension of
previous work and partly includes the presentation and manipulation of new material.
Teaching Children in the Primary Grades
In the primary grades, movement exercises are easily integrated into music teaching because
children naturally react to music with the whole body. Early Dalcroze experiences are
dominated by the use of movement activities and free exploration. Children are asked to show
with movement what is taking place in songs, stories or music. With young children, Dalcroze
teaching first encourages the spontaneous intuitive movement reactions to music and only
after later focuses on refining them. As a result, bodily skills and physical expression are
developed. The music is often improvised for children to follow. Or the music follows the
movement of the children so that they can feel: “I am right”. Overall, children should be offered
opportunities to perceive, respond to, and experience music through movement with their
whole bodies and to learn to move, sing, and hear. As a result, according to Dalcroze, they
attain not only a love of music but also a desire to express musical feelings.

Discussion Questions
1. Explain the value of a music education and the place of music in the school curriculum.
2. For you as a teacher, what may be the benefits of using a philosophy of music education
to guide your instructions?
3. What are the characteristics of a well-trained music instructor?
4. Write a statement of your personal philosophy of music education. How will your
philosophy statement change for each grade level you teach?