Zoltan Kodály
 In Paris, nearly three years ago, I was taking part in an
international conference on art education. When
asked at what age I thought a child's musical education
should begin, I replied "nine months before birth!"
Today, I would go further, a child's musical education
begins nine months before...not his own--but his
mother's birth... What a child has heard in the first six
years of life can not be eradicated later. Thus it is too
late to begin teaching at school, because a child stores
a mass of musical impressions before school age, and
if what is bad predominant, then his fate, as far as
music is concerned, has been sealed for a lifetime.
(Kodály, "Speech", 1951)
Bela Bartok
Kodály Philosophy
 music belongs to every child.
 “. . . music is a spiritual food for everybody. So, I
studied how to make more people accessible to
good music.”
 “The most important thing is to actualize the
instinctive love of the child for singing and playing
. . in other words, to bring about the miracle of
music.”
 musical learning must begin with the child’s own
voice, the most ancient, and natural instrument for
making music;
 Kodály believed that the future of a nation’s
music is determined in their schools.
 Kodály pointed out that teachers should
consider carefully their own musicianship
and love of music before teaching children.
 I would advise my young colleagues, the
composers of symphonies, to drop in sometimes at
the kindergarten, too. It is there that it is decided
whether there will be anybody to understand their
works in twenty years' time.
 There is a well-known saying of Bulow’s:
“He who cannot sing, be his voice good or
bad, should not play the piano either.”
 Developing the ear is the most important
thing of all. Concentrate first of all on
recognizing note and key (p. 186)
 At the sol-fa competition we looked into a
shocking void. Brilliant pianists are unable
to write down or sing faultlessly a simple
one part tune after hearing it fifteen or
twenty times. How do they expect to
imagine an intricate piece of several parts if
their internal ear is so undeveloped? They
only play with their fingers and not with
their head and hearts. They are not
musicians but machine operators.
Good musicians
 So, who is the good musician? You are not one if
you worry about the piece and play it to the end
with your eyes glued to the music; you are not one
if you stop because someone accidentally turns two
pages at once (and even worse if you stop without
any turning at all!). But you are one if you guess in
a new piece and know in a familiar piece what is
coming – in other words, if the music lives not
only in your fingers, but in your head and your
heart, too (p. 190).
Teacher’s training
 Kindergarten teachers must be enlightened
as to their enormous responsibility, and the
extent to which they harm the child in his
human and Hungarian character if they
nurture him on poor songs. And though they
can be forgiven if they are not aware of what
they are doing, they must be urgently taught
how to distinguish between good and bad
(p. 147).
The characteristics of a good musician can be
summarized as follows:
 1. A well-trained ear
 2. A well-trained intelligence
 3. A well-trained heart
 4. A well-trained hand.
 All four must develop together, in constant
equilibrium. As soon as one lags behind or
rushes ahead, there is something wrong. (p.
197, 1954)
Main Goals
 music experience and instruction must
begin in a child’s life as early as possible
 instill within each child a love of music
based on knowledge and understanding,
stemming from first-hand, active musicmaking experiences, beginning with
lullabies, childhood chants, folk songs, and
singing games.
 musical materials to be used must be of the
highest artistic caliber.
Principles of Kodaly Approach
 Human voice
 Folk Music
 Music Literacy
Singing Voice
 If one were to attempt to express the essence of
this education in one word, it could only be singing. ....Our age of mechanization leads along a
road ending with man himself as a machine; only
the spirit of singing can save us from this fate. ....
It is our firm conviction that mankind will live the
happier when it has learnt to live with music more
worthily. Whoever works to promote this end, in
one way or another, has not lived in vain. (p. 206,
1966)
Folksongs
 Listen to all folksongs attentively for they are the
treasure trove of the most beautiful melodies and
through them you can get to know the character of
peoples (p. 190).
 Folk traditions, first of all with their singing games
and children’s songs, are the best foundations for
subconscious national features (p. 131).
 Children should learn their musical mother
tongue, the folk music of their own country, before
the music of other cultures
Music Elements
 …the elements of music are precious
instruments in education. Rhythm develops
attention, concentration, determination and
the ability to condition oneself. Melody
opens up the world of emotions. Dynamics
variation and tone color sharpen our
hearing. Singing, finally, is such a manysided physical activity that its effect in
physical education is immeasurable… (p.
130)
Materials of the Kodály
Approach:
 Authentic children’s musical literature:
nursery rhymes and songs, singing games
 Authentic music of the child’s culture: folk
songs, chants, play parties and folk dance.
 Authentic folk music of other cultures Music
of the Masters, the music from country to
country.
Authenticity
 In our opinion those who get immature children to
sing our vigorous, beautiful folksongs with texts
changed with good intentions – but usually bad
results – commit not only reprehensible
tastelessness and an offence against literature but,
at the same time, pedagogical tactlessness (p. 137).
 Reading examples and exercises based on
music of oral/aural traditions
 Masterpieces of Western Art Music & World
Music
Methodological Tools
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Moveable-do tonic solfa
Curwen/Glover hand signs
Rhythmic duration syllables
Stick or solfa notation
Hand signs
Kodály Pedagogy
 from sound to sight, from the known to the
unknown, from the simple to the more
complex, and from the concrete to the
abstract.
 Learning occurs through problem-solving,
comparison, and guided question-andanswer.
 Musical elements and concepts are taught in
a sequence based on the most prominent
musical idioms of a culture’s song
repertoire.
Kodály Pedagogy
 Prepare phase: the activities are arranged to
provide the children with opportunities to
experience new concepts through listening,
singing, doing body movement, and playing
instruments prior to any conscious learning.
The songs and rhymes used in this phase of
teaching can be ones the children already
know or new ones they are taught. All new
songs and rhymes are taught by rote.
 Presentation (“make conscious” or labeling)
phase should be carefully prepared before
being presented to the students. The
teacher’s task is to be a facilitator who
provides the atmosphere, materials, and
questions, which will lead the students to
find the answers. New concepts must be
shown and named, so that they are
presented (labeled or made conscious). Staff
notation is introduced in this phase.
 Practice/reinforcement phase: is usually the
most enjoyable part of the teaching
sequence. Repetition, through practice, is an
effective way to help students retain
information in their long-term memory. The
teacher should be creative in making up
practice exercises that help reinforce the
newly-learned concepts both aurally using
old and new musical material and visually
using staff or written notation.
 Create phase: students apply their
knowledge by engaging in higher level
improvisation, composition, and
performance on instruments, thereby
demonstrating mastery of the musical
element or concept.
 The Organization of American Kodaly
Educators OAKE was founded in 1975 to
serve as a meeting place for music educators
who embrace the Kodaly Concept of Music
Education. It draws its membership from
educators of all levels, public and private,
students, administrators, and others who
share in its support and promotion.
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