What is the Orff Approach?

The Orff Schulwerk approach, which is sometimes referred to as the Orff approach, was developed by the German composer Carl Orff and educator Gunild Keetman during the 1920s. The approach was designed to celebrate and leverage the natural imaginative state of children as a way to develop musical skill and intellectual concepts. Play and imagination are often seen as obstacles instead of vital assets in education, but Orff Schulwerk is groundbreaking in how it uses a child’s creativity in instruction and experiential learning.

It should be noted here that this is an approach and not a teaching method with strict rules and procedures. The Orff approach offers models and fundamental ideas to help guide educators naturally and in ways the prioritize spontaneity and creativity.

Embracing imagination and play

The Orff approach is markedly different than conventional music education methods because it puts so much agency and creative freedom into the hands of kids. With a focus on developing musical literacy, Orff Schulwerk effectively teaches music by seeing it as an innate language that every child is born with. Rather than bringing a child out of their natural state of play to introduce new intellectual concepts, the Orff approach instructs children by celebrating imagination, playfulness and experimentation.

Gentleness and friendliness are crucial to this approach in order to help children feel supported and accepted. Children sometimes perform in front of their peers under this approach but without the stress and pressure that students often experience during conventional music recitals.

How it works

Orff Schulwerk is employed by using a mixture of improvisation and music education pedagogy. Instructors invite their classes to sing, play instruments and dance as a means for inspiring and educating students. Kids are sometimes asked to create music in groups or to perform and experience music individually. Adults including parents and caretakers are encouraged to take part in the process. By design, Orff leverages the unique talents and methods of each instructor, so no two educational approaches are the same.

At its heart, the Orff approach is a method of instruction that breaks down tasks and ideas down to their most basic elements. Concepts are learned and mastered by doing. The songs typically used with this approach are short, simple and built on memorable ostinato note patterns. Catchy melodies and predictable song forms such as ABA are used to help introduce children to music. To make things easy, the Orff approach invites instructors to borrow musical ideas from familiar music traditions found in the area of instruction. This can include anything from popular music found on the radio to regional folk music.

What makes Orff Schulwerk so impactful is the way it encourages children to explore music own their own terms. Rather than explain musical concepts first and encourage engagement and creativity later, the Orff approach builds a strong musical foundation and interest in kids by prioritizing supportive and creative musical experiences. The result awakens a child’s full awareness of space, time, form, line, color, design, and mood.

Benefits of the Orff Schulwerk approach include:

• Builds confidence in children

• Increases motor skills

• Improves social skills and group coordination

• Promotes creative thinking and problem-solving

• Improves memory, dexterity and agility

• Assists in various physical and cognitive therapies

• Promotes an open and nurturing educational environment

Music as a language and gateway to learning

Something music educators often forget is how primal the subject of their work is. The Orff approach believes that music is a natural part of every human being and therefore can be used as a universally recognized linguistic tool. Simple instruments as well as body percussion and vocal patterns are used to communicate through the musical language with the Orff approach. In this way, children learn by communicating and experiencing first hand rather than from a distance.

To aid in introducing the musical language, simple modes, major and minor pentatonic scales and tonal drones are used. When students become accustomed to basic foundational musical elements, more complex melodies and harmonies are introduced. Because the Orff approach isn’t a strict method, it’s open to children of all ages and experience levels. This means that older students will inevitably be able to master complex concepts that classrooms of younger students won’t be able to. All Orff materials and methods can be customized to the unique needs of each classroom.

Orff Schulwerk is considered to fall into the category of music education, but the benefits it delivers make it ideal for helping students feel supported and ready to take on other subjects. Recent studies show that students exposed to the Orff approach often enjoy gains in literacy, social skills and speech. Because Orff provides educational benefits extending far outside the realm of music, it doubles a primer ideal for preparing children to take on 21st century skills as well as STEM/STEAM lesson content.

In addition, the Orff approach excels at getting young students acclimated to new educational situations and environments such as the beginning of a new school year.

• Written by Music & Arts.com - https://www.musicarts.com/cms/white-papers/breaking-down-the-orff-schulwerk-approach/

What is the Kodály Method?

Kodály method focuses on the expressive and creative skills of musicianship (rather than the theory or instrument skills) the Kodály approach is very closely related to the world of musical ear training.

In fact, it could arguably be seen as an approach to ear training, since it is primarily your musical ear which Kodály develops.

The Central Principles of Kodály

1. Music should be taught from a young age. Kodály believed that music was among, if not the most important subject to teach in schools.

2. Music should be taught in a logical and sequential manner.

3. There should be a pleasure in learning music; learning should not be torturous.

4. The voice is the most accessible, universal instrument.

5. The musical material is taught in the context of the mother-tongue folk song.

Similarities and differences with the Orff Approach

You may be acquainted with Orff Schulwerk, another music education approach developed by composer Carl Orff in the mid-20th century. Some characteristics of Kodály may remind you of the Orff Approach, but the two methods are distinct.

Similar Philosophies…

Both Kodály and Orff believed that discovering the innate pleasure and beauty of music should be a central tenet of musical education, and that music education should be social, and ideally, rooted in students’ heritage and culture.

As a result, both approaches use an element of “play” in their pedagogy. Additionally, the two philosophies can be said to have a shared motto: “Experience first, intellectualize second”, meaning that students unconsciously absorb musical knowledge through the interactive exercises. Only then are they asked to put pen to paper and articulate the principles behind the music.

…Different Strategies

Where the Kodály method uses existing music as its basis, Orff is largely improvisational. Kodály is vocally-oriented with goals of sight-reading and sight-singing, whereas Orff uses body instrumentation and simple percussive instruments with an emphasis on rhythmic development and improvisation.

It can be said that Kodály is more grounded in theory and geared towards ear training than Orff; this is seen in the way that it teaches musical notation from the beginning, whereas Orff delays this until students make sufficient progress.

Generally speaking, the Kodály method is more structured and sequential, whereas the Orff Approach is less systematic and more free-form. Each have their advantages, but the Kodály method is arguably more useful in honing a musician’s inner ear. This further comparison discusses their shared ideology while contrasting the teaching styles of each one.

• From Musical U Team - https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-is-kodaly-and-how-does-it-relate-to-ear-training/