Curriculum

Classroom Music Instruction: grades K – 6

A classical education that does not include music instruction would be difficult to picture! At Odyssey, all grades (K-6) receive instruction by our music teacher, Ms. Perkins, in a dedicated music room.  

The Kodaly Method

We chose the Kodaly Method for music instruction at Odyssey because (1) its philosophy dovetails so well with our academic philosophy and (2) the healthy local community of Kodaly teachers and training.

Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian composer, educator, and ethnomusicologist. His philosophy of music education led to a highly sequential system of teaching music. The system was developed by those influenced by Kodaly’s vision of music education. Varied pedagogical tools are utilized to reach the central philosophical objective; “Music belongs to everyone and is necessary for health human development”.

Basic Philosophy

All people capable of lingual literacy are also capable of musical literacy.

Singing is the best foundation for musicianship.

Music education to be most effective must begin with the very young child. 

The folk songs of a child’s own linguistic heritage constitute a musical mother tongue and should therefore be the vehicle for all early instruction.

Only music of the highest artistic value, both folk and composed, should be used in teaching.

Music should be at the heart of the curriculum, a core subject used as a basis for education.

Sequential Approach (child-developmental base)

The Kodaly method is highly structured and sequenced, with well-defined skill and concept hierarchies in every element of music. These sequences are closely related to child development—the way in which young children progress naturally in music. The major body of teaching material must lie within children’s capabilities. However, at all times some musical materials must be included that are designed to expand those capabilities. As the child develops physically, socially, emotionally aesthetically, and intellectually, they are also led to develop musically in the acquisition of increasingly complex skills and more involved concepts. 

1. Melody— 3-note songs and chants (la-so-mi), tetra-tonic (so- mi-re-do), and pentatonic (la-so-mi-re-do) songs comprise most of the earliest melodic teaching materials. As voices mature and musical abilities increase, musical materials are extended to include more songs in diatonic major and minor keys, modes, and altered scales. 
2. Rhythm—the meter of young children’s movements (walking, running, skipping, swaying, bouncing) is duple, either simple or compound. 
3. Form, harmony, tempo, and dynamics are also sequenced into hierarchies so that the young children may experience all aspects of music at their own level. 
4. Aural learning and then attach labels. 
5. Spiral learning. Each level builds upon the previous. Mastery is important before moving on to the next level. 
6. It is important to introduce only one new concept at a time.

Objectives

1. Sing, play instruments and dance from memory, a large number of traditional singing games, chants, and folk songs, drawn first from the child’s own heritage of folk song material and later expanded to include music of other cultures and countries.
2. Perform, listen to, and analyze the great art music of the world.
3. Achieve mastery of musical skills, such as musical reading and writing, singing and part-singing.
4. Improvise and compose, using their known musical vocabulary at each developmental level.