Approaches to Teaching Music Suzuki Developed by viloinist Shinichi Suzuki

Approaches to Teaching Music

Suzuki

• Developed by viloinist Shinichi Suzuki

• Stems from idea that children can learn music similar to the way they learn to speak

• Called the “mother-tongue approach”

Parental involvement

• One parent is expected to learn how to play

• Parents work with teacher

• Parents serve as “home teachers”

Approach

• Uses listening & repetition

• Encouragement

• Interaction with other children in group lessons

• Use of repertoire for learning (not exercises)

• Notation introduced later

Dalcroze

• Is not dance

• Has 3 components:

• Eurhythmics
• Ear training
• Improvisation
• Basis is on listening & responding to music

history

• Founded by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950)

• Was a response to his students lack of musical understanding

• Being musical = connections between ear, brain and body

Kinesthetics

• Respond to music through locomotor or non locomotor movement

• Singing is accompanied by movement

Kodaly

• “music belongs to everyone”

• Developed out of a need for music instruction to be built on the existing repertoire of children’s music

• Goal is literacy

History

• Hungarian composer & ethomusicologist Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)

• Changed pedagogy to reflect singing, use of solfege, literacy of notation, and use of folk melodies

“Americanized” Kodaly

• Uses pentatonic songs

• Curwin hand signs

• Ear training used to develop “inner hearing”

• Movable “do”

• Use of rhythm syllables

Orff-Schulwerk

• Translated: Orff – School work

• Stems from “elemental” music

• Games, chants, and songs

History

• Grew out of ideas from Carl Orff (1895-1982) and Dorothee Gunther

• Together, they founded the Guntherschule which incorporated music, dance & theatre

• School was destroyed in WWII, and Gunild Keetman partnered with Orff to restore music & movement training to children

• The Schulwerk method developed from this, and has since spread

Key elements

• Use of imitation and exploration

• Ideas build from student’s contribution

• Use of pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments

• Literacy stems from experiences

• Improvisation & composition

Gordon’s Music Learning Theory

• “audiation” is goal

• Sound before symbol approach

• Based on a hierarchy of skills

Discrimination Learning

• Aural & oral

• Verbal association

• Partial synthesis

• Symbolic association

• Composite synthesis

Inference learning

• Generalization

• Creativity and improv

• Theoretical understanding

Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project

• Funded in 1960’s

• Learning is connected from one level to the next, progressively advancing

Key ideas

• Student generated sounds

• Includes:

• MMCP Strategies
• Student recitals
• Listening to recordings
• Research reports
• Guest recitals
• Skill development
• Group singing