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:
  • My first class 
  • His life - milestones
  • 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?

  • The importance of singing!

  • Teaching music in a natural progression, bringing people together through singing

  • That Kodaly’s philosophy was about the value of music for children and society, not just methodology.

  • That teaching solfege can start not with 7-note scale, but pentatonic.

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • Compelling ideas for use in pedagogy.

  • Information on Kodaly mainly and others (such as Arezzo, Boethius).
     

2. How might these ideas impact your own practice going forward?

  • 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?

  • This was helpful and inspiring. Thank you!

  • 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.

  • It was amazing! Really, really enjoyed the seminar.
     

>> Download the printable PDF file