Anna Atkinson

Dr. Gault
F415
9 December 2016
Curriculum Review
Sequence of musical skills and concepts for selected grade levels (K, 1, 2)
Pg. 189-190
o First Grade
Rhythm: quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter note rest
Melody: pentatonic scale in C
Harmony: Drone bass, melodic ostinato
o Second Grade
Rhythm: Three meter/ pick-ups
Melody: Pentatonic modes in C (re; la)
Harmony: Moving drones
o Third Grade
Rhythm: 6/8 meter, triplets
Melody: transposed pentatonic in F and G; transposed modes
Harmony: transposed drones
o Fourth grade
 Rhythm: sixteenth notes
Melody: pentachordal, hexatonic, Ionian, transposed
Harmony: drones; I-II triads, I-VI triads
o Fifth grade
Rhythm: syncopation
Melody: Aeolian; Dorian; Mixolydian
Harmony: drones; I-VII, I-III, I-IV triads
o Sixth grade
Rhythm: mixed meter
Melody: Lydian; Phrygian; decoration of third
Harmony: Harmonic ostinati
o Seventh grade
Rhythm: polyrhythm
Melody: major/ minor scale
Harmony: I-IV-V
o Eighth grade
Rhythm: Swing rhythm, offbeat
Melody: blues scale, chromatic scale
Harmony: seventh chords; Inner voices; II-V-I
Contents (lesson plans, instructional ideas, songs, etc.)
Turning play into learning
 o Games are important, cover the 6 media, teach rules, form and structure
o Teachers should play with children while observing
o Play tends to diminish by middle school except in music
Orff collection Musica poetica
o Orff is described as the meeting point of music, movement and speech
o Pedagogy is built around the triangle system (a combination of music, poetry
and dance)
Process for reuniting speech and music
o Music for Children Volume I: Part 1
Rhymes with two note calls and body percussion (nursery rhymes)
Two note and three note rhymes accompanied by Orff instruments
Provide texts for student compositions
Full pentatonic melodies of rhymes with Orff instruments
Rhymes in time
Rhythmic speech set chorally without pitched accompaniment
o Volume 1: Part 2
Speech exercises
o Volume 2
Proverbs and sayings
o Volume 3
Riddles, more sophisticated nursery rhymes and folk song texts
o Volume 4
 Weather sayings, religious texts
o Volume 5
Poetry, Goethe, Hlderlin, Sprechstcke
Sprechstcke
Stcke fr Sprechchor (pieces for choir of speakers)
Stcke fr Sprecher, Sprech Chor, Shlagwerk (pieces
for speaker, choir of speakers and percussion)
Poems for children
o Older children - Allan Chinen Once upon a Midlife
o Certain fairy tales resonate with kids at specific ages
o 3rd and 4th graders respond to tongue twisters
Betty Botter, Peter Piper, Moses
o Middle school There was a man of double deed
o Gender issues and nature The Hart he Loves the High Wood, the Hare she
Loves the Hill
o Missing commas good for grammar lessons and could inspire an art project
o The move from rhyme to poem is important
Middle school Chrysalis Diary
Use as a composition exercise
o Medieval love poetry can be recited over improvised glockenspiel in Dorian
mode
o Shakespeare and Chaucer
Different poems ask for different instruments
Find content appropriate rap
 Singing in tune is important
o Singing every day out of tune means we sing lots of songs out of tune
o Use appropriate range for children
o Singing voice vs. speaking voice
o Pitch-matching games
Countering the monotone voice
o Have everyone sing when singing in class
o Listen to kids sing without commenting
o Try different strategies to get kids to sing
o If the process begins young enough, results are impressive
o Sing with children as often as possible
Songs can be grouped by scale, form, harmonic structure, music style
Folk Dancing
o One of the most effective ways to nurture beat, meter, rhythm, phrase, melody,
form and ability to listen and respond
o Folk dancing can be used to teach beat
Choose activities that require beat for success
Internalizing the beat with the whole body
o Folk dancing can be used to teach meter
waltzes, 6/8 Irish jigs
o Folk dancing can be used to teach rhythms
Use dances with rhythms sounded on the body
 o Folk dancing can be used to teach phrases
Dances change with phrase length
o Folk dancing can be used to teach form
Folk dances use simple form
Allows children to see how music builds and extends itself
through time
o Folk dancing can be used to teach melody
Singing along inside
Dancing while singing
o Indo Eu high and low phrases
o Seven Jumps cumulative sequence
o Fjaskern accelerating tempo
o Carnavalito contrasting tempo
o Can find at least one folk song for each topic desired to teach
How to teach folk dance
o Dont teach just steps, teach the full body experience
o Authenticity!
o Begin with a dance
o Gulp method
Create a routine, the students will know to watch and follow along,
taking in the dance in one gulp
o Do and say
Do the dance and ask guided questions
 o Do and sing
Sing melody while dancing
o Steps and style united
Bring in culture bearers to show how the dance would be done in
context
o Make sure teaching strategy matches dance
o Do dances often
o Create variations
Improvised movement, create new motions to follow form
How to teach dance without lots of training
o Basic movements to music
o Creating movement to music
Have students copy one child
o Movement with objects
Using objects as an extension of the childs movement
Body Percussion
o Clapping, stamping, patting, snapping
o Start with body percussion, then move to instruments played with hands, then
to instruments played with sticks
o Body percussion in the Orff room
Games
Folk dances
Exercises
 Body Music
o Kinesthetic learning mode 3, 5, 7, 9
Create body percussion patterns of 3, 5, 7, 9
o Using staff to write patterns
o Sequence for teaching 3, 5, 7, 9
Introduce 4 patterns 3, 5, 7, 9, each with a rest at the end. Call out
different numbers and have the groups immediately respond.
Do simple combinations 733/337/95/59
Divide the group into 4, each group with one of the above patterns.
Play simultaneously.
Each group plays their pattern 4 times; all end together on the first bet
of the next pattern. Rest for 3 more beats and resume play.
Add movement; facing counter clockwise, move forward on each step
in the patterns. Reverse direction/ Towards center/ Away from center
Vocalize the claps and steps each group chooses sound
Play claps and stamps on percussion instruments
Learn a longer sequence of combinations
Move while performing patterns
Two or more of the above patterns simultaneously
Canon: long sequence in canon
Swing rhythm
Combinations without rests
Percussion in the music class
o Improvisation using drums to accent words
o Drums inducing dance
 o Lots of percussion only arrangements
Orff instruments
o Studio 49, Peripole-Bergerault and Sonor are Orff instrument manufacturers
o Breadth of possibility in repertoire
o Xylophones can be used to study musical traditions
o Function as an accompaniment to vocals
o Easy for instrument improvisation
o Begin with bass xylophone, alto xylophone and soprano glockenspiel for a
variety of range, color and texture
o Many different ranges of bar instruments and recorders
Bass xylophone C3-A4
Alto xylophone C4-A5
Soprano xylophone C4-A6
o Great for ear training because music reading is difficult
o Simple technique
Use both hands
One mallet per note for drones
Cross technique
Sticking patterns are important for efficiency and smoothness
o Shortcomings of instruments
Reading doesnt lend itself to reading music
Pitch in-tune good quality sound requires little effort
 Singing overall sound doesnt support singing: too low
Authenticity not authentic for traditional band, orchestra
Instruments in the Orff classroom
o Balance in curriculum
Understand that instruments are a means to an end not the end result of
Orff
o Function in curriculum
Instruments are where rhythmic, harmonic and melodic sequence is
realized
Students understand how melodies are constructed, elemental
accompaniments created, musical texture and timbre manipulated to
achieve expressive coherence.
How to arrange instruments
o Circles with young children
o Open double semi circle
Basses in back middle
Woods on one side metal on other
o 3 rows
Basses in back
Altos in middle
Sopranos in front
Preparing a piece
o Start with body
Drones start with patting the pattern on their legs
o Melodies can be prepared with text, solfege or letter names
 o Playing with mallets without instruments
o Start with students in a line playing in the air
One child moves to an instrument, once they have played the song
through on that instrument they shift over and another child sits at the
first instrument and so on.
Choosing instruments
o Watch children carefully
Who can do hand pattern AND sing
Look for initial success
o If mastery isnt first priority
Alphabetical order, forwards and backwards
Changing instruments
o Change from piece to piece and within a piece
o Observe the bonds children make with instruments
Teaching parts
o Teach all parts to everyone eliminates downtime
Signal to stop
o Aural signal distinctly different from sound being made
o Mallets up and away from instruments
o X in the air with mallets
o Consequence for picking up mallets without invitation
Take mallets away and play part with fingers
Conducting the ensemble
 o Conduct from with in play with them
Pacing
o Teach at an average pace
o Faster learners help the slower learners
o Provide opportunities for improvisation
o Time for individual practice
Recorder in Schulwerk
o Why recorder?
Recorder is a melody instrument: can sustain long tones
Unique timbre: complementary to other instruments
Wind instrument: new coordination different from other instruments
Authentic historical instrument: opens a wealth of medieval and
renaissance pieces, provides different kinds of ensemble opportunities
Adaptable ethnic instrument: repertoires of diverse music
Portable: Allows children to take them places, movement while
playing
Music reading: can be fingered without looking and the repertoire
comes from the literate tradition
Important teacher tool: teacher can improvise while children play and
the teachers understand students frustration because they have to learn
it.
Drama in music education
o All children participate and have lines
o Kids are also the orchestra
Celebration Orff Schulwerk style
o Each music class is conceived of and taught as a piece of music
 Clear inviting beginning
Middle section with smooth transitions
Clear cadence and completion at the end
o Lots of celebrations throughout the year to give something to work for and
allow communal music
Rhythmic Vocalization
o Use patterns and rhymes extensively
o Ta is always on the beat
o Te is always off beat
This provides consistency in relationship of rhythm to beat
o Teaching sequence for Rhythmic vocalization
Starts basic Who can clap my one syllable name? Who can clap my
neighbors one syllable name?
What do you notice about my name and my neighbors name?
Theyre the same lets call this ta Can you clap and say ta eight
times?
Repeat with two syllable nameslets call this ta te
If I hold up one finger, you say ta, two fingers you say ta te
Show the rhythms on the board, have students echo a spoken rhythm
by clapping and visa versa
Have students write rhythms on the board
Solfege in Orff
o Combination of approaches
Big movements for young children (head and shoulders)
Ages 7-8 introduced to hand signs
Palm can serve as do, follow melodic line in the air with hand
 Sticks and cups
o Sequence for teaching solfege
Teacher sings short melodic pattern with syllables and hand signs,
students echo
Teacher sings melodic pattern with out hand signs and students show
hand signs
Teacher shows signs without singing, students echo sing with hand
signs
Teacher sings on loo, students echo pitch and figure out correct hand
signs and syllables. Repeat this with text from teacher. Repeat again
using instruments
Teacher shows hand signs and students sing without waiting to echo
Teacher leads one group with one hand and another group with the
other hand
Teacher has students sight read written notation
o Prepare recorder pieces with solfege
Pentatonic scale
o 5 tone scale using do re mi sol la
o Begins melodic exploration with 2 tones most familiar to children sol and
mi, then add la, then full pentatonic
o 1st-3rd grade good for pentatonic scale
o Volume I is do pentatonic
o Moving from pentatonic to diatonic adds fa and then ti
o List of pentatonic American folk songs
Amazing grace
Crawdad song
Cape cod chantey
Frog went a courtin'
 Cotton Eyed Joe
Old king glory
Draw me a bucket of water
Old Texas
Jennie Jenkins
Swing low sweet chariot
The riddle song
Wayfaring stranger
Little sally walker
Liza Jane
Old Man Mosie
Ring Around the Rosie
Sally go round the sun
Shortenin' Bread
What Ill do with the BabyO
Zudio
The drone
o Types
Single tone tonic or dominant
Double tone tonic and dominant
Bass drones lowest notes being sounded
 Treble drones highest notes being sounded
Sustained drones unbroken sound
Non metered drones played in unmetered fashion
Metered drones metered drone ostinati
Accented drones notes in company with melody
Rhythmic drones rhythm parallels melody
o Four basic drones
Chordal drone tonic and dominant played on strong beats
Broken drone alternate tonic and dominant with tonic on strong beat
Crossover or arpeggiated drone low tonic, dominant, high tonic,
dominant with tonic on strong beat
Level drone chordal drone divided between octaves
Ostinato
o Rhythmic ostinati
Repeated rhythmic pattern
o Melodic ostinati
Pitched rhythmic ostinati
o Harmonic ostinati
Melodic ostinati centered in bass
o Ostinati allows for composition and improve
Give a partner a 2 beat pattern and have them change it
Music for Children: The Volumes
 o How to determine quality of material
Children and adults equally enjoy it
Bears repeated experiences
Withstood the test of time
Invites something new
Created with good intentions
o 5 volumes
Core source of material in Schulwerk
American volumes follow a developmental age sequence
o How do I use the volumes?
Volume I prepares volume II, however individual pieces within arent
sequential
They offer a repertoire of pieces to choose; several pieces model a
concept, allows conceptual progression to stay the same but repertoire
to change
They offer a model for composition and improvisation
They offer an adaptable repertoire; can be adapted to fit children
They have developmentally appropriate repertoire; volumes follow the
maturing child
They offer conceptually sequential repertoire; pieces arent stepping
stones but can be used in a continuum to lead to the next level
They invite dance and drama
Compare this resource to what you know about the approach it is based upon (using
material discussed in class). In what ways does this resource match the tenets of the approach it
represents? In what ways is it different?
This resource goes into much detail about Orff Schulwerk, in the end the author,
Doug Goodkin, claims that there is a teaching sequence related to the 5 volumes of
Music for Children. However, in class we discussed how the five volumes do not
have a set course of study, but used as a model for what children can do. Similar to
the book, in class we discussed Orffs belief that rhythm precedes melody and melody
precedes harmony. Play, Sing & Dance follows this belief throughout all of the
sequences and process provided. The rhythmic sequence should move from speech
rhythms, to spoken ostinati, to body percussion and then to unpitched rhythmic
instruments. This sequence was outlined both in class and in the book. In class we
learned that the melodic sequence begins with speech patterns, to descending sol-mi
patterns, to pentatonic melodies and then to diatonic melodies. The book is similar up
until diatonic melodies where it then moves into pentatonic modes before proceeding
to diatonic melodies. The Orff instruments are a big part of Schulwerk, but the book
claims that improvisation over the instruments is not as structured as what we
discussed in class. According to Goodkin, the use of the pentatonic scale at first gives
children the opportunity to improvise freely because the notes sound consonant when
played simultaneously. Like in class, the book talks about reading not being
emphasized early on. However, once the recorder is introduced, musical literacy
becomes increasingly important.
What do you see as the primary strengths of this resource?
 This resource provides a lot of basic information to get started in the Orff pedagogy
style. There are a lot of classroom techniques for beginning teachers and descriptions
of the different aspects of the Orff classroom. This resource introduces the reader to
the Volumes and provides a lot of ideas for incorporating Orff practices into the
general music classroom.
What is missing from this resource that you feel would be important in a general music
setting?
There is a very basic curriculum set out by the resource. I feel, as a beginning teacher,
that I could use a more thorough curriculum. The resource provides the goals for each
grade level rhythmically, melodically and harmonically but it doesnt really go deeper
than that. This resource is a great introduction to the various parts of the Orff
classroom and how they are beneficial teaching resources but it doesnt necessarily
show how to relate them towards the end goals of the curriculum. I dont feel as
though Id be able to structure an entire year of material using strictly Orff practices
after reading this book.
In what way would you supplement the resource in order to complete your curriculum?
I would need to purchase the Volumes methods by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman.
This book relies a lot on the material and the readers knowledge of the Volumes that
it seems almost useless without them. I also think I would have to take aspects of
Dalcroze and Kodalys curriculum in order to have a sequential learning sequence for
my students. I think the foundations of Orff are a great resource to have and
incorporate in the classroom but they dont appear to have as much structure as an
elementary music classroom might require.

Goodkin, Doug. Play, Sing, & Dance: An Introduction to Orff Schulwerk. Mainz: Schott,

2002. Print.