Two Articles by John Feierabend
Beyond the Music Class: Expanding the Musical Influence of the Elementary School
(describes a school program that seeks to extend music learning out of the classroom, to involve the wider school community, including students’ families.)
Developing Music Literacy: An Aural Approach for an Aural Art
(describes a Kodaly-based approach to teaching music literacy to younger students.)
Edwin Gordon & Music Learning Theory
Edwin E. Gordon is probably America’s leading theorist of music education and learning, particularly as it regards the young. He was a bassist for Gene Krupa in the 1950s before going into academic work. Gordon’s primary focus was on the phenomenon of “audiation” or inner-hearing: when a person knows a song or piece of music well enough to be able to actually hear it in his or her head. Developing children’s inner hearing is an important part of teaching music literacy.
Gordon’s field is known today as “Music Learning Theory.” Not everyone will want to spend time looking at all the research, but there are a lot of very useful ideas in Gordon’s work; The Gordon Institute for Music Learning is one place to explore music learning theory, on-line. Books, teaching tools, and song collections inspired or affirmed by Gordon’s work are available from GIA Publications.
They also publish the Conversational Solfege series written by John Feierabend, a Kodály specialist and professor at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music.
Summaries of Research Articles in Early Childhood Music Education
What real research looks at: following are some selected summaries of research that’s been published in the Journal of Research on Music Education or available as doctoral dissertations from University Microfilms. (more…)
Kodály, Orff, Dalcroze
Zoltan Kodály (1882-1967) and Carl Orff (1895-1988) are two 20th-century European composers who developed approaches in music education that are especially valuable for teachers working in early childhood and elementary settings.
Both concepts are also valid choices for urban schools, whose students might have fewer opportunities for private instrumental lessons.
Listed below are the addresses for the national professional organizations for Orff and Kodály methods in the US and overseas, as well as for NY-area chapters which host valuable professional development events several times each year. Essential texts on the Kodály method are among the Books for Music Teachers.
Training for certification in either of these approaches can be pursued at various schools in the area, or at summer programs around the country.
The Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) offers an on-line forum where teachers share ideas and material, raise questions and discuss problems.
The Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia (KMEIA) has a lot of useful material, including well-written introductions to Kodály’s life and work and the methodology. The Teacher Resources page includes big flashcards for melodic solfege practice.
Holy Names University, in Oakland, has one of the top US schools for Kodály certification. The program’s website includes short introductory videos and an extensive, searchable database of folk songs and traditional music, including notation and audio files.
Kodály Organization of New York (KONY) is New York City’s active OAKE chapter.
New York University offers an intensive Summer Kodály Institute the first three weeks in July of each year. (For new teachers, the NYU School of Education credits can count towards your 30-above.)
The American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA) has a New York City chapter (NYCCAOSA) and a Long Island chapter (LIAOSA), both of which schedule clinics and workshops for teachers on weekends.
Trevor Day School in Manhattan offers training for Orff certification in NYC.
Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ offer both weekend and summer workshops as well as certification courses (Orff and Kodály).
Dalcroze Eurythmics
Jacques-Emile Dalcroze (1865-1950) believed that the core of all musical art is human emotion. He taught that it is not enough to train just the mind or the ear or the voice. Instead, the entire human body must be trained since the body contains all of the essentials for the development of sensibility and analysis of sound, music and feeling. Through participation in simple games, exercises, and improvisations, children learn to combine music and movement in order to develop rhythmic unity between the eye, ear, mind, and body.
One of the top U.S. teachers of the method (Dalcroze Eurythmics) is Robert Abramson who teaches in NYC at the Dalcroze Institute, a good starting place for exploring this method.
In 2007-2008 season, The Diller Quaile School of Music in Manhattan is offering a program in Dalcroze methodology.
Music Technology
Music technology applications in elementary school can include notation software, software for learning, and the hardware and software used to record and reproduce children’s musical performances.
Notation Software
Various companies make software for music composition and notation, that allow users to print and share professional-looking charts or song sheets.
Finale is the most-used by professional composers and arrangers.
PrintMusic! is a simplified version of the Finale program.
Sibelius 5 is the name of another widely-used software with specific educational components.
Click for free Sibelius browser that displays music scores with an audio playback feature.
Recording
Recording children’s singing or musical performance can be a powerful teaching tool. There are basically three ways to do this:
- use a cassette recorder that has a mike input or built-in microphone.
- use a digital recorder such as a mini-disk or hard-drive audio recorder, with an external microphone or one that’s built in.
- use a classroom computer or laptop with appropriate software, such as an i-Mac with Garageband.
Garageband is Apple’s software that allows users to record and produce a song, using either live instruments and voices or by combining pre-recorded “loops” of various instrumental sounds in a layered composition. Quality is good, ease of use is not-so-good.
Garageband is part of the standard “i-Life” package of software on Mac computers found in many schools. Since these classroom desktops and laptops have built-in microphones, teachers willing to spend some time exploring and learning have the ability to record student performances and even burn a CD or post the performance on a school website. However, the basic functions require a little patient study. The Apple store in Manhattan offers free classes in using Garageband.
Software for Music Learning
The choices for software that supports music learning are extensive. There is some question whether time spent interacting with a computer is as valuable as time spent singing or playing music, or listening to recordings and live performances. One exception may be the Clearvue line of music appreciation DVDs, CDs and videos.
MusicAce by Harmonic Vision.
Juilliard Music Adventure (Rhythm & Melody) by Tom Snyder.
Essentials of Music Theory by Alfred Publishing.
Groovy Music is designed especially for 5-11 year olds, by Sibelius.
GNU Solfege is a free software program written to help people do ear training: it includes exercises to train chords, intervals, scales, rhythms and harmonic progressions.
File-sharing
Downloading audio files from the so-called “peer-to-peer” networks such as Limewire and similar sites is illegal and represents an infringement of the rights of the artist whose song is acquired. ASCAP, the professional body that protects the rights of composers and publishers, has a strong position on the issue.
With the Music Educators National Conference, ASCAP has developed a curriculum program (Creativity in the Classroom) to teach children about their own place in a creative community that includes creators, consumers and legal copyright. According to ASCAP’s definition of fair use, there is no allowance for a teacher to download a file of a copyrighted song or reproduce lyric sheets for use in a classroom setting.
Resources
Music Education Technology is a magazine that offers free resources and lesson plans.
Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME) has extensive web resources.
The NYC Department of Education does a lot of work to support instructional uses of technology. Contact your regional Office of Instructional Technology to learn about after-school technology training events and series (some with per-session).
Professional Organizations
Most of the activity of national and state groups for music education seems to be focused on middle and upper school music — where the performances, competitions and budgets are concentrated. Annual membership fees for these groups can add up. However, all the organizations listed here offer valuable resources; in some cases non-members can have access as well, through the group’s website. See also the local and national professional groups listed under Kodály, Orff, and Dalcroze.
- Music Educators National Conference (MENC) Memberships include subscription to several publications. A combination MENC/NYSSMA membership is $108 annually. The MENC website hosts a lively General Music discussion on-line.
New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA)
Music Educators Association of New York City (MEANYC) $30 annually, 1st-year teachers free.
Texas Music Educators Association TMEA is included here as an exemplary professional organization: see especially what’s available under the heading Resources.
The Children’s Music Network is organization of “teachers, performers, songwriters, radio hosts, and parents who care about the quality and content of children’s music.”
DOE Contracted Vendors
Contact information and a general list of brands for each of the following vendors can be found by searching in the FAMIS portal.
Sam Ash is the biggest and carries large numbers of guitars and band instruments. Contact them at their Hicksville, NY office for information about FAMIS purchases.
Peripole-Bergerault, based in Oregon, carries its own brand of percussion instruments, including Orff instruments. They also have a P-B 1-piece soprano recorder.
Frederic Weiner (L.I.) carries the venerable Rhythm Band line of percussion products.
Bronen’s Music (Bronx) provides band and string instruments and the higher-end Orff instruments made by Sonor.
Music Delight (Brooklyn) carries string instruments, Suzuki products (guitars, percussion & Orff instruments) and recorders. FAMIS Contract # B062806
Catalano Music (L.I.) carries band and strings instruments and the best-quality plastic recorders on Fastrack: the 3-piece Yamaha YRS24B soprano.
West Manor (Bronx) carries brass and woodwinds.
Jade Music (L.I.) brass, woodwinds, percussion, instruments and rentals.
For Keyboards and Pianos, you can choose among a whole host of vendors:
- Steinway & Sons (FAMIS Contract #1B78601) for a Steinway
- Noldes Pianos (FAMIS Contract #1B78603) for Kawai brand
- B&H Photo (FAMIS Contract #B058812) for Yamaha electric keyboards
- Music Delight (FAMIS Contract #B058812) for Suzuki electric keyboards
For Sheet Music there are four contracted vendors: Music Time, Inc., Sam Ash, Catalano, and Advantage Music. Of these, Catalano carries by far the largest list of publishers.
For music text books (but not sheet music), it’s best to start your FAMIS shopping with the titles and ISBN numbers for a specific textbook series.
Mail-order Suppliers
Mail-order companies have a much wider range of all of the above products than can be found in the FAMIS system (however, they are not DOE-contracted vendors):
West Music is one of the best for music education. 800-397-9378
Music in Motion 
carries many hard-to-find trade books and song collections. 800-445-0649
John’s Music, in Seattle is a great resource for books, and all kinds of percussion and a packed Education Catalog. 800-473-5194
Lyons Music has a huge catalog for all areas of music education. 800-292-4955
If you aren’t shopping for books, or instructional materials, Musicians Friend is one of the biggest general on-line stores for musical instruments and music-related gear. Their educational catalog is handled by Giardinelli.
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