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Midwestern Division of OAKE
Midwestern Division of OAKE
MKMEA is one of four divisions of the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE). MKMEA consists of 17 local chapters in 13 states throughout the Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
MKMEA offers professional development opportunities, support, net-working, and fellowship with other music educators interested in the Kodály philosophy.
As part of OAKE (Organization of American Kodály Educators) MKMEA exists to support music education of the highest quality, promote universal music literacy and lifelong music making, and preserve the musical heritage of the people of the United States of America through education, artistic performance, advocacy and research.
The Kodály philosophy is an approach to teaching music literacy in a sequential way, through folk songs and musical play. The approach emphasizes music literacy, aural skills, and the development of musicianship through singing, movement, and rhythmic activities. The method uses a holistic, experience-based approach, often starting with the voice as the primary instrument and progressing to more complex musical concepts. It was developed in Hungary during the 20th-century by Zoltán Kodály and his associates.
For more information and to become a member of OAKE, MKMEA, and your local chapter (all included in one affordable membership fee), visit www.oake.org
For more information and to become a member of OAKE, MKMEA, and your local chapter (all included in one affordable membership fee), visit www.oake.org
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Who was Zoltán Kodály?
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967), prominent Hungarian composer and musician, directed a significant portion of his creative endeavors to the musical education of the Hungarian nation - an interest which developed over many years. Such efforts were initiated with the folk song collection beginning in 1905. As he became aware of the great need to improve the quality of singing and music training of teachers and children alike, he began composing for children’s choruses in the 1920′s and required his composition students to do the same. Folk music provided inspiration, as well as the musical basis, for many of the compositions. By 1929 he was determined to reform the teaching of music and to make it an integral part of the education of every child.
In a lecture on children’s choirs in 1929, he said,
“Teach music and singing at school in such a way that it is not a torture, but a joy for the pupil; instill a thirst for finer music in him, a thirst which will last for a lifetime If the child is not filled at least once by the life giving stream of music during the most susceptible period-between his sixth and sixteenth years-it will hardly be of any use to him later on. Often a single experience will open the young soul to music for a whole lifetime. This experience cannot be left to chance, it is the duty of the school to provide it.” (Selected Writings, p. 120)
Kodály believed that music is meant to develop one’s entire being - personality, intellect and emotions. He said, “music is a spiritual food for everybody. So I studied how to make more people accessible to good music.” (Kodály, 1966) Kodály realized this was part of everyone’s basic heritage and was necessary for human development and should be started at as early an age as possible. Jenö Ádám, an early and prominent colleague of Kodály, stated, “The most important thing is to actualize the instinctive love of the child for singing and playing, to realize the changing of his moods through the songs, his feelings, his experiences – in other words, to bring about the miracle of music."
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