For as long as music has been around there has been a need to teach it. From this need of teaching music comes different approaches to teaching it. Some of the most recent and notable approaches for teaching music are Kodi, Gordon, Dalcroze, Orff and Suzuki methodologies. Music educators will use these methodologies to help accomplish their goal of teaching the student about music.
Of these five methodologies some are easier to use over others. For this same reason some people might not use some or will choose one over the other. When it comes to the methodologies with my teaching the one I use depends on the setting I'm teaching in and the students. The most important of those factors of course being the students. I could have the most prepared lesson using the most popular methodology at the moment but if the students don't understand a thing in that lesson everything was for nothing.That is why I’ll want to think to myself before I teach the lesson will this methodology be able to explain this subject the way I want it to? The other factor of choosing a methodology I mentioned was the setting. Some methodologies work better in different settings so it is important to consider where you'll be teaching this lesson and what is available to you. Once I've considered those two points I’ll choose the methodology that I'll use for the lesson and almost always the lesson will consist of multiple methodologies.
Now of course here's another question that might get asked. “Who should get to learn about music?” and “who should?”. In my opinion education should be a right to everyone and it should be the same when it comes to learning about music. Everyone that wants an education in music should have the opportunity and here's why. Music is something that is usually very personal and because of this it allows the performer to express themselves and in a way gives them a voice. In addition, in my experience, me as well as other musicians I know use music as a way to relax and help them get through hard times.
In conclusion an education in music should be available to everyone. And the best methodologies to use are the ones the students get the most out of. For some that might be one or a few. In my opinion it is usually a mix of two or more methodologies that seem to work the best.