Zoltán Kodály, The Father Of Music Education - Mozart’s Monthly Memo - Volume 14
October 12, 2021
Father of the Kodály Method
New Crescendo Kids Session Begins Tuesday, October 19. New students are welcome!
This Memo includes
Feature Article: Zoltán Kodály, The Father of Music Education
Student Achievements - recognizing the hard work and accomplishments from our students in the last month.
Upcoming MOM events includes our “back to school” Crescendo Kids Online class
Parents Ask Pam - Does the online program really work for preschoolers?
Feature Article - Zoltán Kodály, The Father Of Music Education
Zoltán Kodály, born in 1882, has great influence in our music education today. Do you remember being taught to clap rhythm and say, “ta, ta, ti-ti, ta”? Well, that was one of Kodály’s inventions.
Kodály, was born in Hungary and studied violin and piano as well as singing in a cathedral choir. Later, he taught himself cello to complete the family string quartet. As a child he enjoyed making music with his parents and his school orchestra. At age 15, his school orchestra performed one of his compositions. Because of his father’s job, his family moved around a lot, and he became quite familiar with the folk music of various regions.
In 1900, Kodály entered the University at Budapest. There he became a lifelong friend of Béla Bartók and the two began collecting folk songs, first from Hungary and later from other Eastern European countries. All in all, they collected over 3000 folk songs. Hungary, at the time had been occupied by Germany for over 100 years. Upper class Hungarians spoke German and listened to German European music (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn) while the lower class continued to speak Hungarian and sing Hungarian folk music. Bartók and Kodály realized that their culture was being lost and sought to create orchestral pieces using their own folk melodies to engage the upper class. As a result, Kodály is now recognized as the father of modern Hungarian music.
As Kodály transitioned into teaching music, he learned a lot about how children learn and which teaching methods worked best for them. He believed that music should be a social and cultural experience and his philosophy was to keep it simple, bringing everything back to the basics. He wrote several books on how to teach music to children as well as educational music for schools.
The Kodály Method today consists of several aspects of teaching music to children.
Learning music should be fun!
Children learn best in groups especially from an early age. In the early 1900’s, children traditionally were taught music one-on-one. This meant that most children did not get music education at all! Group lessons also allowed for collaboration between the students as they learned and created music of their own.
The voice is a fundamental instrument that should be part of music education. Kodály used solfège syllables, (do, re, mi, etc.) hand symbols for each syllable, and the concept of a movable “do” to teach musical concepts to young children. Additionally, Kodály created rhythm syllables to teach complicated rhythmic patterns to children. Solfège had been around for hundreds of years. Hand symbols for solfège were introduced in the mid 1800’s. But it is Kodály’s utilization of these techniques that put it all together.
The Kodály Method of teaching music has been adopted in American schools since the 1950’s. In Move Over Mozart, we also follow much of the philosophy and techniques taught by Zoltán Kodály.
Here are some of Zoltán Kodály’s compositions. You may click on the Spotify playlist for your convenience. (Thanks to teacher, Mr. Josh, for compiling the playlist.)
Dances of Marossszék (for piano)
Variations on a Hungarian Folksong, Fly Peacock
Háry János Suite
Dances of Galánta
Sources
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-is-kodaly-and-how-does-it-relate-to-ear-training/
https://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main?composerid=2847&ttype=BIOGRAPHY
https://biography.yourdictionary.com/zoltan-kodaly
Student Showcase
Each week we try to showcase a different student from our classes. Thanks to Serena and Rosalie for sharing their music with us! Like us on Facebook to see the new student each week.
Serena, a student of Mr. Josh, performing Allegro.
Rosalie, a student of Mr. Josh, performing Hoedown.
Student Achievements
Our students are making great progress! These students have accomplished new goals this last month.
5X5 - play the piano for 5 minutes, 5 days in a week, for 5 weeks in a row - Clive L, Iris H, Jacob S, Joses C, Lillian R, Lisielle S, Lora E, and Nathan H.
Completed their current lesson book - Finnegan A, Gus K, and Torino Z.
Special song, advanced piece completed with perfect playing and memorization - Joses C, and Nathan H.
Played their song at least 50 times in the first week - Torino Z.
Advanced to the next music level - Ellie D.
Upcoming MOM Events
FRIENDS save $25! Do you have a friend that is looking for a piano teacher? We are offering $25 off each for friends that sign up together or to friends of current students. Use the coupon code, FRIENDS when signing up.
Want to see all upcoming events? Check out our calendar. It includes when the next Crescendo Kids class begins, school closure dates, piano parties, and recital dates.
Parent Information Meetings - Have questions about our online piano class program? Want a tour of our practicing app? Click the link to schedule your meeting with Miss Pam. Parent Info Meeting
FREE Online Piano Party! Students share their own music as well as participate in musical games, creating music and learning some music history. Each party is a little different with a theme and a special guest instrument. Come, meet our piano teachers, play some music, and have fun! All ages and musical levels are welcome. Parties are available to non-students, former students as well as current students. Click the link to sign up. Piano Party Sign Up
Sunday, November 7, at 11:00 am. RSVP required.
30 - Minute Private Online Piano Lessons - Did you know that many of our teachers also teach privately? Now you can continue your child’s musical education, or your own, with Move Over Mozart. Click here for more information. Private Lessons
New Crescendo Kids Online begins Tuesday, October 19. Ready to start? Our piano classes are fun and easy to do! Now is a great time to join. Students are put into one of 4 classes depending on their age and musical ability.
Crescendo Kids Online Sign Up
Pre-Reading - Ages 3 - 5 years, or students not yet reading,
We use a color-coded method for the students to match their five fingers to five keys on the piano. New songs using only those 5 notes are given each week.
Primary - Ages 5 -7 years or older and brand new to music,
This group is for the very basics of piano playing. Students learn to play simple rhythms, correct hand position, and the names of the white keys on the piano.
Beginning Elementary - Ages 7-12 years or younger and reading notes,
This is for students just starting to read notes on the staff. Students are taught how the staff relates to the piano and how to translate the notes to making music. Also, having the students memorize a few key notes on the staff will help greatly with their ability to read music.
Advanced Elementary - Ages 7 - 12 years with previous piano lessons
This group already reads notes on the staff and can immediately identify many of the notes by name. They will learn more advanced technique and music theory beyond the initial basics of learning to play.
Parents Ask Pam
Have a question for Miss Pam? You can email, text message, or message on Facebook your questions. She will respond immediately to you, and your question might be featured in future newsletters.
Q: Does the online program really work for preschoolers?
A: YES! We have noticed amazing improvement with our youngest students. Yes, there is a bit of adjustment as the student learns the boundaries and expectations of online lessons, but this is completely normal for any type of class, online or physical. Yes, we need parents to sit in the lesson with their child and be the teacher’s hands. Parents may be asked to point to the “music” as their child plays. But with this minimal parental involvement, our preschool students are thriving and playing just as well, or even better, than when we had physical classes. We have a preschool, pre-reading curriculum designed specifically for our youngest students.
Your Comments And Questions
We want to hear from you! What are some ways that you have included music education in your children’s lives these last couple of years? Please leave your questions and comments below.