Eastern OAKE Regional Conference
Micheál Houlahan and Philip Tacka
Session Title and Description
Realizing Kodály’s Legacy in the Music Classroom
Two quotes from Kodály’s Selected Writings have significant meaning for us.
Kodály’s ideas on the importance of developing musicianship were reflected in
a speech, “ Who is a Good Musician”, given at the end of the 1953-1954
academic year at the Liszt Academy. He summarized the characteristics of a
good musician as someone that had (1) a well-trained ear, (2) a well trained
intelligence, (3) a well trained heart and (4) a well trained hand.
“It is the fate of science that each successive age produces new results and
usually modifies or completely refutes the results obtained by the
preceding age.” (107) In his lecture Ancient Traditions—Today’s Musical
Life, Kodály said: “But this is part and parcel of the development of science.
Science keeps on changing and fluctuating...” (175).
This session deals with fulfilling Kodály’s legacy in the classroom through
performance, repertoire development, critical thinking, creativity, and active
listening.
Brief Biography
Dr. Micheál Houlahan is a Professor of music theory and aural skills and Chair
of the Department of Music and Dr. Philip Tacka is a Professor of Music at
Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Their collective educations bridge the
fields of music theory, music education and perception and cognition. Eight
books published by Oxford University Press and others published by Boosey &
Hawkes address the fields of elementary and secondary music classroom and
choral education as well as collegiate music education. A Guide to Research
(Garland Publishing Inc., London, New York) is their comprehensive reference
work on Zoltan Kodály. Articles appear in the Kodály Envoy, The Journal of
Music Theory Pedagogy, The International Journal of Musicology, The Indiana
Theory Review, and the International Kodály Society Bulletin. Dr. Tacka and Dr.
Houlahan are authors of the Kodály article, bibliography and catalogue of
compositions in Millennium Edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music &
Musicians as well as for Oxford Bibliographies Online.