My earliest decades as a teacher of singing and musicianship to all ages leant heavily on my Kodály training. However, in my mid-forties I began to work in Steiner/Waldorf schools and communities, and found it necessary to shift my focus. Whereas it is usual for Kodály teachers of infants to teach the basics of pitch and rhythm consciously, leading to an early grasp of reading, Steiner advocates teaching pentatonic songs, with no teaching of musical concepts, until children are 8 or 9 years of age. He also advocates that harmony be not experienced until that age. One of the delights of the Steiner approach is the emphasis on daily singing and recorder playing in every class right through the primary years and into the high school years. So I have enjoyed bringing my Kodály-based skills into the Steiner world, where singing is a norm, but where many class teachers have little comprehension of the nuts and bolts of music, and some have difficulty singing in tune. Another interesting difference is the choice of materials. Many Kodály-trained teachers are so focussed on using materials which cover theoretical concepts being taught that scant attention is paid to the aesthetics of a piece – some songs used have trite words and banal melodies. Steiner classrooms are more likely to focus so acutely on aesthetic and content concerns that musical appropriateness is not considered. So I have spent many years writing, collecting and arranging songs for all ages which I hope bring these needs together. I have written pentatonic songs for kindergarten to year two, with words appropriate to that age. For the beginnings of notation reading I have written and collected rounds and part-songs, using the keys which are most playable on recorders and beginner strings, and using beautiful or zany words gleaned from traditional sources and elsewhere. These pieces can all be read to sol fa syllables and rhythm names. For upper primary/lower secondary I have written many pieces, including “Modal Magic,” a suite of songs for SSA choir in each of the seven modes, as well as “The Dancing Wombat”, for recorders and other instruments, once again in the seven modes. Participants are invited to bring recorders, tuned and unturned percussion and voices to the workshop, to sing and play as many examples from each age range as possible.
from lower primary to amateur adults