The Kodaly Method

Last night I went to a Viola+Clarinet concerto (what a combination!) and was introduced to Kodaly's musical work 'Dances of Galanta'. Zoltan Kodaly is a renounced music pedagogue who introduced the Kodaly sign which most of us have learnt from school in how to denoting sol-fa names in hand signs. He has also created the Kodaly method for music educators and its key concepts are highly inspiring:

• Music enhances the quality of life

• Quality music demands quality teaching

• A carefully planned sequence will result in successful experiences for children and teacher. Success breeds success that fosters a love of music.

• Intuition should pave the way for music teaching, not by intellectual and rational system of symbols.

• Use of pentatone, folk songs and solfege (sol-fa names) to train the ears

• Learning through singing should precede instrumental training

"The pure soul of the child must be considered sacred; what we implant there must stand every test, and if we plant anything bad, we poison his soul for life." (Selected Writings, p. 141)

At Sound Space, we teach young toddlers not only the technical skills, but also how to appreciate music in order to cultivate a genuine love for music by adopting concepts like the Kodaly method.

Source: Organization of American Kodaly Educators (www.oake.org)