Quotes by Kodály:
“Those who cannot see
what they hear and
cannot hear what they see,
are not musicians”
~
“Brilliant pianists could not
write down a single melody…
after hearing it 15 to 20 times! They are not musicians but
machine operators”
~
“No other subject can serve the
child’s welfare - physical and
spiritual - as well as music”
~
“We must look forward to the
time when all people in all
lands are brought together
through singing, and when
there is a universal harmony”
~
Zoltán Kodály: Up Close and Personal
~ A Student’s Account
April 11, 2015 | National Association for Music Education
(Eastern Division Conference)
Main topics:
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My first class
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His life - milestones
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Kodály as the educator
- Is his work a method?
-
Kodály as the composer
- Listening to excerpts of Kodály’s symphonic works
- Psalmus Hungaricus brings international fame
-
History and Development of solfège:
- Creation of solfège syllables -listening to the Hymn where it started
- Tonic Sol-Fa - hand signals
- The Two Systems: Fixed Do vs. Movable Do
-
Other Great Contributors of the 19th and 20th Centuries
-
Kodály Music Education in action:
- Audience Participation
Hand-signals, Sight-singing (multiple parts), dictation of rhythm and melody, assigning proper
solfège syllables and more
- A movie clip by Steven Spielberg
>> Download the printable PDF file
February 13, 2015 | Community MusicWorks
Comments from Presentation:
1. What new or compelling ideas did you gain from today’s discussion?
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The importance of singing!
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Teaching music in a natural progression, bringing people together through singing
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That Kodaly’s philosophy was about the value of music for children and society, not just methodology.
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That teaching solfege can start not with 7-note scale, but pentatonic.
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The idea of using pairs more between students is interesting to me, although I am not sure how to adapt it for very beginning students who have difficulty hearing the basic intervals to begin with.
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Fascinating workshop! I found out so many things I didn’t know- about Kodaly, singing history, and teaching. Jorge is a fascinating man! Thank you for your stories, information, and ideas!
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Compelling ideas for use in pedagogy.
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Information on Kodaly mainly and others (such as Arezzo, Boethius).
2. How might these ideas impact your own practice going forward?
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I would love to find more folk songs to integrate into my teaching practice. I also realize my
solfege is a little rusty! Even though I sing with my students often, I can see the value of
using solfege more often. -
I will work on pentatonic singing with my violin students.-Knowing how the system was created
using a piece that uses the different pitches inprominent locations gives me some ideas for
how to familiarize students with the pitches andsyllables. -
Using more solfege and body motions when teaching music would be something I would
like try more. -
I am very interested in discovering more about Kodaly and this solfege method.
I learned fixed do in college, and while singing has always been comfortable for me, I find it challenging to swtich to moveable do very quickly. -
We will see! Definitely will use things I learned today.
3. Any other comments or suggestions?
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This was helpful and inspiring. Thank you!
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I enjoyed your presentation – the variety of history, anecdote, and examples of solfege.
Thank you! -
It’s difficult for me to get a sense of how to apply these exercise for beginners based on doing
it with experienced musicians who have already studied ear training. I would love to try
something unfamiliar or go through step by step how to introduce them. -
Maybe more information on how to teach this method.
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It was amazing! Really, really enjoyed the seminar.
>> Download the printable PDF file