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Music Philosophers
Emile Jacques-Dalcroze was a Swiss composer and music educator. Dalcroze’s
main idea was that many students had difficulty when synchronizing what they saw on
the printed page to what they actually performed. There needed to be more instruction in
order for students to have the proper coordination between their eyes, mind, ears, and
body. He believed that this would help students to efficiently learn music and perform it
with some degree of precision.
There are three parts to Dalcroze’s method;
The first is called Eurhythmics which is the basically the idea that music is
learned first through motion. Dalcroze believes that the body is the first
musical instrument to be trained. He feels that the body can produce a
gesture for every sound and concept studied in music. (Such as tempo,
pitch, loudness, and softness)
The second part of Dalcroze’s method is Solfege. Solfege encompasses
coaching the voice, ear, and eye in pitch, melody, and harmony.
Improvisation is the third part of Dalcroze’s method. Dalcroze feels this is
important way to musically, verbally, and physically express oneself.
Zoltan Kodaly is another music philosopher. Under his guidance a new system of
music education was introduced. This system paved the way for children to have access
to singing lessons while in school. Kodaly encouraged children to sing, dance from
memory, and take part in many chants and games that include the child’s cultural
background. He took this one step farther to include children later taking part in songs
and games of other cultural backgrounds. Kodaly was really interested in students
exploring great music from around the world. Through this unique type of learning
Kodaly felt that students can achieve mastery of important skills of music like musical
reading, writing, and singing. Kodaly also felt it important for students to improvise
within each developmental level.
The motto for Orff’s philosophy reads, “Tell me, I forgot….show me, I
remember….Involve me, I understand.” Orff is very concerned with students immersing
themselves in the concepts of music in order to fully understand music. He encourages
creativity through the student’s natural response to music. Orff has three key points to his
philosophy. These include rhythm, melody, and improvisation. Orff believes that
speaking, singing, music and movement are naturally connected for children. Because of
this he encourages rhythm patterns and movement to music. To encourage melody he
notices that simple intervals grow out of natural pitches in words; these intervals combine
to make a melody. Improvisation is almost the most significant point in Orff’s
philosophy. He feels that children learn the best through their own creative processes.
Mary Helen Richards produced the method of teaching called the ETM or
education through music. She feels that all aspects of education can be enhanced by
music. The basis for education through music is to provide an opportunity to let children
engage in song experience games and other opportunities to fully understand any subject
at hand. Mary Helen Richards believes that these song experienced games create real life
situations where children can learn effortlessly. She feels that through these games and
activities, enhanced by music, students can learn to be more literate, have a healthy selfconcept, and succeed in life as a whole.
The Suzuki Method developed by Shinichi Suzuki was primarily developed for
the violin. However, it has been successfully adapted to other instruments as well. Suzuki
believes that children should learn music just as they have learned to speak, by hearing a
sound and then mimicking it. Suzuki calls this the mother-tongue method. Students
imitate their peers and teachers to reach a common goal. If this goal is not reached they
cannot continue to the next developmental step. Suzuki recognizes that this provides the
children to find confidence in cooperating towards a common task. Suzuki also feels that
parents are a large part of a child’s development in music and stresses increased parental
involvement.