Music teachers in public schools deserve quite a bit of respect. My time as a music education major and woodwind methods instructor at the university level opened my eyes to the importance of not only teaching, but teaching mindfully. Are you really teaching in a developmentally appropriate manner for the student(s) that you’re working with? How can you tell? The one method that has always fascinated me has been the Kodály Method used in elementary classrooms. This method has a strong focus on students engaging in music from a variety of angles and was originally designed for children. However, these methods can also allow the private instructor to engage their students more and help build their musicianship in addition to improving their competency on their main instrument/voice. The following is a list of methods one can use to engage students in lessons using principles from the Kodály Method.
1. Children as Stewards of their Cultural and Musical Heritage: Repertoire
The core of the Kodály Method is based around folk songs. Although this can be tricky to incorporate into a private studio, this can be a great opportunity to introduce your students to a wide variety of music from different genres (classical, jazz, pop, hip-hop, etc.) and other musical cultures. Questions to help you brainstorm:
How is your instrument/voice used in other cultures and genres? If it isn’t used, what is used that’s close to what you specialize in?
What is the cultural heritage of your student(s) and how can you incorporate it into your lessons (i.e. Take folk songs that would be used in Kodály and arrange them for your students to play)? Here are some links to help you brainstorm:
2. Children as Performers: Performance
Start of lesson body and vocal warm-up - Body warm ups can be a great way to get students to loosen up, relax, and become engaged in the lesson. Many times, it’s not enough to warm-up just the instrument/voice.
In addition to playing their instruments, students should gradually be introduced to singing in lessons as well. Some will definitely be shy about it, but it should still be encouraged. If a student is having pulse issues for example, one strategy would be to have them hum or sing the music while keeping the pulse by tapping their chest lightly. For students who are shy, here are some strategies:
You should be singing with your students - If you’re not willing to do it, your students most certainly will not do it. You have to set an example of what proper musicianship is, and that means singing.
Have students hum first, then gradually introduce singing.
Once students are comfortable with singing:
Introduce singing in your head while tapping the pulse or rhythm of the music. Hearing the music in your head is a crucial skill for all students to develop.
Introduce hand signs - the Kodály Method makes extensive use of hand signs to gradually introduce concepts such as pitch. This can be paired with humming/singing to allow students to conceptualize pitch in a more kinesthetic manner. Also, getting away from the instrument is a good idea every once and a while so that students can focus more intently on the music.
3. Children as Critical Thinkers: Music Literacy
Incorporating solfège and hand signs into lessons is a great way to get students to analyze music from different perspectives and can help those who are more kinesthetic learners (this is also explained in Children as Performers: Performance).
When working on different time signatures, start with the pulse, not the notes - Many times, children get very confused with music notation because they can’t conceptualize it and apply it to areas they are familiar with. For example, if you have a student that is learning compound meter, remove the notes temporarily and just go over strong and weak beats using symbols - grouped like music notation - that the student(s) would be familiar with (i.e. “Let’s count the rain drops to the beat!”) (For older students, line notation - using a mix of big and small lines to represent the strong and weak beats - might be a better option)
4. Children as Creative Human Beings: Improvisation and Composition
Not just rhythms, but improvisation as well - Take a standard rhythm book and have students clap the rhythms as well as improvise their own melody using the rhythms. This gives the students the chance to synthesize the new material while building their creativity.
Have students write their own rhythm exercises (incorporating melody if you want)
With older students - have students write their own cadenzas to solo works they are studying. (This strategy plays well with extensive listening exercises to help students learn about different styles of music)
5. Children as Informed Audience Members: Listening
Always have music playing before each lesson - Help diversify a student’s listening experience by having a diverse array of works for students to listen to as they enter your studio. This can easily be done through Zoom by sharing your computer sound. Make sure to have more than your favorite genre of music and have more than your instrument as the focus. As you’re listening to the work, ask the student questions about what they hear.
What’s the first thing you think of when listening to this music?
What do you feel when listening to this piece?
What instruments do you hear playing?
If an older student is studying a piece from a certain composer, have music of the same period playing and inquire with the student about what they are listening to.
Is the ensemble small or large?
“How does this music differ in style from [insert different work here]?” or “What do you notice about how the trills are performed?” - This is usually a better way of going over stylistic practices of particular periods as opposed to giving the student a lecture. Hint: no one likes lectures...
A good example would be listening to Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and comparing it to Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Clarinet Quintet.
Now, why would one want to use any aspects of the Kodály Method in their lessons? The main reason is that it forces you to not only teach the instrument/voice, but also musicianship. This creates a foundation that allows for further development in other areas of music. I know what you might be thinking: “But that’s the job of the public school teacher.” Yes, the public school teacher has much more experience and knowledge in this area, but that does not mean that you as the private teacher can’t use the same methods in your lessons. If anything, this may help the public school teacher better teach their students by allowing concepts to become more easily ingrained and as a result, help the next generation become more creative and critical thinking human beings.