Click here to load reader
Upload
tranthien
View
214
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The Philosophical Reasoning of the Kodály Concept
Kelly MeyerFoundations of Music Education I:
Philosophy and HistoryOctober 19, 2009
Kelly Meyer 2
During the twentieth century, Zoltán Kodály developed what would eventually
become known as the “Kodály Concept.” The concept, though, is not a method, as many
theorists and educators would believe, rather it is a pedagogical, historical, and
developmental philosophy. It is based on Kodály’s influences, socially, historically, and
personally. It is a combination of Kodály’s belief in past initiatives, passion for his home
country of Hungary, and his never-ending love for music that created the philosophical
groundwork. These pedagogical philosophies are what Jenö Ádám eventually turned into
a pedagogical approach.
“What is it about my work that really matters?”1 This quote by Bennett Reimer is
the underlying purpose of a philosophy of music education. A philosophy of music
education is a guideline for not only what should be included in a music curriculum, but a
philosophical position on the pedagogical aspects of music education. It is, then, a belief
in a skill set and a conviction for its transference. Phillip Alperson states that a
philosophy “helps us to comprehend and assess the presuppositions and content of our
understanding of the world.”2 A philosophy of music education, then, would “provide a
reasoned account of the goals, techniques, and values of music education in particular.”3
Through the twentieth century, there have been many philosophies of music education,
but few have equaled the temperament and unequivocal conviction of that of Zoltán
1 Bennett Reimer, A Philosophy of Music Education: Advancing the Vision, 3rd ed. (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003), 4.
2 Philip Alperson, “What Should One Expect From a Philosophy of Music Education?” Journal of Aesthetic Education Vol. 25 No. 3 (1991) 218.
3 Ibid.
Kelly Meyer 3
Kodály. Like all philosophies, Kodály’s is influenced by historical events, prior
educational reform, and personal growth.
Prior to Kodály, Hungary had already established a precedent in the importance of
music education within the public schools. The groundwork had already been laid by
1777 by Empress Maria Theresa who issued “Ratio Educationis,” a law establishing
public education in Hungary and listed music as an important aspect of the curriculum.
The music taught, though, was German in content and was taught with German
techniques. Philosophies of music education were found in textbooks in 1871. Sámuel
Kohányi's Gyermekdalok (Children's Songs) contained mathematics and geography in the
contents as well as a “presentation of Aristolian philosophy; all the subjects are
introduced by means of rhymes according to principles established by Friedrich
Froebel.”4 Froebel, though, was a German educator and founder of the kindergarten
system. All of the songs used were of German origin but contained Hungarian words.5
The historical initiatives affected Kodály in that his own students were void of
their own musical heritage. Choksy states that “Since they [students] had grown up in the
aftermath of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a time when only German and Viennese
music were considered ‘good’ music by the elite, the only exposure these students had
had to the vast wealth of Hungarian folk music was through the distorted and diluted
versions played by gypsies in cafes.”6 These popular songs were the only feeling of
nationalism Hungary experienced in the early part of the nineteenth century. The country
4 Lorna Zemke, The Kodály Concept: Its History Philosophy and Development (Delaware Water Gap, PA.: Shawnee Press, 1977), 3.
5 Ibid.
6 Lois Choksy, The Kodály Method (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988), 3.
Kelly Meyer 4
lacked a popular view of folk songs with the exception of folk melodies incorporated into
popular music.
The vast wealth of Hungarian folk music was relatively hidden until research
began with Béla Vikár in the 1890s and concentrated on text and poetry. Kodály was
then introduced to the recordings of Vikár and influenced by not only Hungarian folk
song, but by Hungarian nationalism as well. Kodály began collecting folk song in 1905
with the encouragement of Vikár, and ultimately, the assistance of Béla Bartók, with the
purpose of exposing the pure Hungarian folk song. Eösze stated that at the conclusion of
Bartók and Kodály’s research, thirty-two years later, Kodály had eluded to a key function
of a culture’s folk music, and ultimately a cornerstone of his philosophy:
Like our language, our music is laconic and lapidary: a series of masterpieces,
small in size but of great weight; themes consisting of few notes, which, as though
they had been carved in stone, have weathered the storms of centuries. . . Broadly
speaking, Hungarian music is active rather than passive, an expression of the will
rather than of the feelings.7
It was during this time of research that Kodály realized the importance of being
Hungarian and the role that folk song played in creating and solidifying that identity.
Kodály was careful not to let nationalism be construed by chauvinism. He stated that
every culture has the same piano, but the techniques and the sounds differ from one
culture to the next.8
7 László Eösze, Zoltán Kodály His Life and Work (London: Collet’s Holdings, 1962), 56-57.
8 Zoltán Kodály, The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1974), 152.
Kelly Meyer 5
Zoltán Kodály became a respected ethnomusicologist, composer, and educator,
having spent a greater portion of his life on each. Kodály was also a pioneer in the area of
music education, having developed a growing concern “that his harmony students at the
Liszt Academy, whilst technically proficient, could not hear the music in their heads”9
This concern was only exemplified during one of his walks in the Buda Hills. Kodály
happened upon a group of student teachers and noted that the songs being sung were not
worth singing. Kodály then “threw himself into the cause of education with characteristic
fervour and tenacity.”10
Kodály’s goal was to not produce professional musicians, but to create a
musically literate Hungarian people who would understand and appreciate fine music, as
well as develop an increased awareness and love for their home country. “Kodály felt
deeply that it must be his mission to give back to the people of Hungary their own
musical heritage and to raise the level of musical literacy, not only in academy students
but also in the population as a whole.”11
Kodály realized a need and developed an initial objective in the desire to create a
musically literate nation in the peoples of Hungary. He began the movement with his
own students, many of whom grasped Kodály's objective and worked towards its end.
Kodály soon realized the compromise of educating pre-service teachers. He believed that
for music education to be successful, teachers must be well-trained. Kodály also realized
that in order for the youth to appreciate good music, they should be trained to do so.
Kodály once stated in an open letter to the minister of finance that “it is no use organizing
9 Cyrilla Rowsell, “The Kodály Approach,” para. 3.
10 Percy Young, “Kodály as Educationist.” Tempo No. 63 (1963) 38.
11 Lois Choksy, The Kodály Method (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988), 3.
Kelly Meyer 6
youth concerts if the young people are not taught to listen.”12 In order for Kodály to
achieve such a goal as a musically literate nation, he held a firm belief that music should
belong to everyone. He ultimately held that responsibility to the schools; to not only
provide music education, as directed by the philosophies of Empress Maria Theresa and
Sámuel Kohányi, but to provide quality musical opportunities for the student. Kodály
wrote in the Civil Rights for Arts in Hungary:
Music education should become a subject that provides a key to music for
everybody. If the eternal treasury of music is to be opened with this key, it can be
done easily; however, if this opportunity is not desired-then it is lost. No one
should be deprived of music because their parents were too poor and thus unable
to provide music lessons.13
This belief in, or rather the responsibility of, the public educational system continued to
set the framework for the Kodály Concept.
Kodály posed two main objectives of his philosophy of music education: to
arouse a musical interest and to develop musical abilities.14 Based on these main
objectives, we are able to delineate Kodály’s philosophy into three general factors: Music
and Human Development, Folk Song and Music Education, and singing as the foundation
of the musical experience, each replete with ideologies and philosophies gathered through
his experiences.
12 Zoltán Kodály, Music Should Belong to Everyone: 120 Quotations From His Writings and Speeches (Budapest: International Kodály Society, 2002), 43.
13 Zoltán Kodály, Music Should Belong to Everyone: 120 Quotations From His Writings and Speeches (Budapest: International Kodály Society, 2002), 15.
14 Zoltán Kodály, “The University of Southern California Interviews”, Collection of Sister Lorna Zemke.
Kelly Meyer 7
The first factor, Music and Human development, is at the heart of Kodály’s
philosophy. After Kodály’s death, Mrs. Zoltán Kodály stated that it is “centered around
the realization that music plays a fundamental role in the development of man.”15 It was
Kodály’s belief that music was at the very core of the existence of man. Kodály held that
music, as an independent language, can not be accurately interpreted by another
language. Therefore, it is impossible to accurately write about music, just as it is
impossible for music to articulate logical notions which are expressed with language.
Kodály continually expressed his belief in the natural existence of music within the
human spirit. He writes:
The purpose of music is not that it should be judged, but that it should
become our substance. Music is a spiritual food for which there is no substitute;
he who does not feed on it will live in spiritual anaemia until death. There is no
complete spiritual life without music, for the human soul has regions which can
only be illuminated only by music.
The purpose of music is to understand better: to evolve and expand our
inner world. Legends of many peoples deem music to be of divine origin; thus,
when we have reached the boundaries of human understanding, music points
beyond, into a world that cannot be explored but merely guessed at.16
Kodály’s belief was that music must belong to everyone for it is a part of every person’s
natural existence.
15 Lorna Zemke, The Kodály Concept..Its History Philosophy and Development” (Delaware Water Gap, PA, Shawnee Press, 1977), 10.
16 Zoltán Kodály, Music Should Belong to Everyone: 120 Quotations From His Writings and Speeches (Budapest: International Kodály Society, 2002), 51.
Kelly Meyer 8
As the human develops, so does the musician. Kodály outlined four
characteristics of a good musician:
1. A well trained ear
2. A well trained intelligence
3. A well trained heart
4. a well trained hand.17
Kodály believed that all four characteristics must develop together. If a person
develops only their fingers, progress is slowed and the end result is less desirable.
It is interesting to note that only two of the four characteristics are outwardly associated
with music by the lay observer; a well trained ear, and a well trained hand. Kodály was
interested in developing the entire human just as music was intended to do and his
philosophy focused on child development learning, as opposed to subject discipline
learning. The subsequent methodology that followed Kodály’s philosophy was designed
to allow the student to develop an emotive response and an aesthetic appreciation for not
just music but for all things that encompass the child’s life. This comes from a
realization that it is not the notes on the page that make the sounds musical, rather it is the
emotional transference of the notes.
The second factor, folk song and music education, became key for Kodály's
thought processes during the time he spent researching Hungarian folk music. Not only
did Kodály realize the natural learning sequence on vocal predisposition of untrained
singers, he also became aware of the prideful disposition a society could incur from the
presence of music of its mother tongue.
17 Zoltán Kodály, Music Should Belong to Everyone: 120 Quotations From His Writings and Speeches (Budapest: International Kodály Society, 2002), 197.
Kelly Meyer 9
Folk song is based largely on a pentatonic framework, the same framework that is
natural for children. Kodály believed that, by observing the untrained singer, he could
distinguish the natural evolution of musical development. His observation, that singers
preferred certain intervals, led to the natural use of the pentatone. This is only after the
student had the prerequisite knowledge of sol, la, and mi. Joyce Jordan-Decarbo and Jo
Ann Nelson take into account Smithrim’s stance that the use of these three solfege
syllables are without tonal center.18 The use of the first three syllables does omit the tonic,
which is the next tone in the methodology, the fact that many folk songs are based on
these three syllables reinforces the philosophy of a natural learning sequence as well as
sustaining the belief of utilizing music of the student’s mother tongue.
Kodály concluded that “little children cannot accurately hear or reproduce half
steps; therefore, it was erroneous to begin music education with the diatonic or any
heptatonic scale.”19 The logical material, then, would be folk songs, although Kodály
specified that musical material must be from the child’s mother tongue; the student must
learn not only musical skills and appreciation, but also a history of the child’s homeland.
Dobszay contends that a fallacy occurs in the pedagogue’s perception of what
Kodály meant by using folk songs of the child’s mother tongue. Dobszay states that
Kodály “was not influenced merely by the fact that it was from ‘generally known’
melodies, from the naturally used ‘mother tongue’, thoroughly familiar to the child, that
we extract different kinds of musical knowledge.” Rather Kodály’s intention was to
18 Joyce Jordan-Decarbo and Jo Ann Nelson. (2002). Music and Early Childhood Education. In R. Colwell, C. Richardson, & M. McCarthy (Eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 232.
19 Lorna Zemke, The Kodály Concept..Its History Philosophy and Development” (Delaware Water Gap, PA, Shawnee Press, 1977), 24.
Kelly Meyer 10
imbed the folk song, itself, as the mother tongue.20 However, Kodály was quite deliberate
in stating the former: “In music we possess a means not only for a general development
of the human soul but also for an education towards becoming Hungarians, a means that
cannot be replaced by any other subject. The . . . lack of music in our curriculum . . . is
gravely detrimental to the education of the nation, too.”21 Kodály goes on to say:
The kindergarten is not the place for music with an alien rhythm or an
alien melodic line, just as it is no place for a foreign language either. There is
plenty of time left for demonstrating the mazurka rhythm after we have
introduced the child to the many forms of Hungarian rhythm. Do not let us steal
other peoples’ songs, we have plenty of our own.22
In the same writing, Kodály stated that music transcribed for kindergarten contains a
melody that is not fresh; it is dry-and difficult as well.
Kodály went further and insisted that foreign music is not as detrimental to the
young child as poorly transcribed, or imitated folk music of the child’s homeland.
Kodály believed that poor folk music was detrimental in four ways:
1. They exclude tradition and do not supply the only possible foundation for an
awareness of Hungarian music to be developed later on.
2. By their alien elements they disturb the creation of pure musical concepts and
lead to a foreign musicality.
20 L. Dobszay, “The Kodály Method and its Musical Basis.” Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae T. 14, Fasc. 1/4 (1972): 23-24.
21 Zoltán Kodály, The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1974), 130.
22 Zoltán Kodály, The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1974), 145.
Kelly Meyer 11
3. By their numerous rubbishy melodies they do not lead to good music but to
cheap trash.
4. They do not develop the power of musical comprehension to the highest
possible degree.23
Kodály believed that the earlier a child begins to learn, the more they will learn
and the more the will retain. Kodály initially stated that a child’s music education should
begin nine months before the birth of the child. He later said that a child’s music
education should begin nine months before the students mother is born,24 further
reinforcing the belief that music is spiritual food and a part of everyone’s natural
existence.
As the child grows, so does the natural processes of learning and retention.
Kodály noted that “recent psychology has set forth convincingly that the years between
three and seven are educationally more important than the later ones.”25 He goes on to
state that a person’s future is decided for their entire lifetime during this stage. The best
musical tool to use during the developmental process is the voice.
The final factor to Kodály’s philosophy is that the child should be trained to use
their natural instrument, the voice. Not only was the voice immediately available to any
student with the ability to speak and hear, but was the natural extension, the result of
music’s place within each human’s existence. Dobszay states that Kodály’s emphasis on
23 Zoltán Kodály, The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1974), 146.
24`? Zoltán Kodály, “The University of Southern California Interviews”, Collection of Sister Lorna Zemke.
25 Zoltán Kodály, The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1974), 129.
Kelly Meyer 12
singing is ground in his desire to train students to hear, internally, as well as externally.
Dobszay quoted Kodály as saying “The development of inner hearing is the final aim of
all musical professional study. Our every musical manifestation must be led by an inner
conception, hearing and imagination, and this is trained by singing: free singing without
any instrument is the true and profound school of musical abilities.”26
It was Kodály’s belief that a student should not be given an instrument until they
had been trained with complete control of the voice. Peter deVries states that this belief
is taken too literally. He believes that singing should not take the place of instrumental
learning, rather it should compliment the instrument. This was Kodály’s goal, that a
trained voice would compliment the learning of an instrument, but that the voice should
take precedence over the instrument:
It is evident from performance whether the person understands the music
he/she is playing. Most people play as though they had learned a foreign text of
which they do not understand a word. Those who have learned to sing first, and
only then to play an instrument, will catch the ‘melos’ of any music much more
quickly.27
Up to this point, Kodály’s philosophies were without any methodology. According to the
sequence that followed, instrumental instruction would occur at a time that had allowed
the child adequate training with his or her voice. The argument of singing having
replaced instrument technique is then a mute point.
26 L. Dobszay, “The Kodály Method and its Musical Basis,” Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae T. 14, Fasc. 1/4 (1972): 25.
27 Zoltán Kodály, Music Should Belong to Everyone: 120 Quotations From His Writings and Speeches (Budapest: International Kodály Society, 2002), 35.
Kelly Meyer 13
Jenö Ádám, a former student of Kodály’s attended a seminar in Saarbrüchen
where Ádám was introduced to the moveable do system and the Curwen hand signals.
These techniques were used in conjunction with rhythmic syllables adapted from Galin,
Paris, and Cheve. The result was a formulation of Kodály’s philosophical beliefs in the
form of a learning sequence and methodology by Ádám and Kodály. The Kodály
method, as it is erroneously labeled, is actually the brainchild of Ádám, who took the
philosophy, gave it praxis, and tested it within his own classrooms first. Kodály specified,
at the time of the sequence writing, that the sequence is a guideline. The philosophies
behind the sequence are not, they are absolute, but the sequence should be adapted to
various cultures, traditions, and contexts as would allow the greatest possible advantage
for the student.
Kodály’s belief that music should belong to everyone is abundantly clear in the
high level of detail he has given to his philosophical ideals. What has become known as
the “Kodály Method” is known and practiced worldwide, but to be completely successful
with the pedagogical sequence, one must be familiar with the philosophies behind the
method. One must also understand that the influences behind the philosophies are social,
historical, and personal to Zoltán Kodály, who wrote in his article, Music Education in
Hungary, “It is our firm conviction that mankind will live the happier when it has learnt
to live with music more worthily. Whoever works to promote this end, in one way or
another, has not lived in vain.”28
During the twentieth century, Zoltán Kodály developed what would eventually
become known as the “Kodály Concept.” The concept, though, is not a method, as many
28 Zoltán Kodály, Music Should Belong to Everyone: 120 Quotations From His Writings and Speeches (Budapest: International Kodály Society, 2002), 71.
Kelly Meyer 14
theorists and educators would believe, rather it is a pedagogical, historical, and
developmental philosophy. It is based on Kodály’s influences, socially, historically, and
personally. It is a combination of Kodály’s belief in past initiatives, passion for his home
country of Hungary, and his never-ending love for music that created the philosophical
groundwork. These pedagogical philosophies are what Jano Ádám eventually turned into
a pedagogical approach.
Bibliography
Kelly Meyer 15
Philip Alperson, “What Should One Expect From a Philosophy of Music Education?” Journal of Aesthetic Education Vol. 25 No. 3 (1991): 215-242.
Rowsell, Cyrilla, “The Kodály Approach,” British Kodály Academy, http://www.britishkodalyacademy.org/kodaly_approach_kodály-experience_cyrilla-rowsell.htm (accessed Oct. 10, 2009).
Choksy, Lois. The Kodály Context: Creating and Environment for Musical Learning. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1981.
_____. The Kodály Method. 2 ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1988.
deVries, Peter. “Reevaluating Common Kodály Practices.” Music Educator’s Journal Vol. 88 No. 3 (2001): 24-27.
Dobszay, L.. “The Kodály Method and its Musical Basis.” Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae T. 14, Fasc. 1/4 (1972): 15-33.
Eosze, Laszlo. Zoltán Kodály His Life and Work. Translated by Istvan Farkas and Gyula Gulyas. London: Collet’s Holdings, 1962.
Jordan-Decarbo, J., & Nelson, J. A. (2002). Music and early childhood education. In R. Colwell, C. Richardson, & M. McCarthy (Eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 584-603). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jorgensen, Estelle. “Philosophy and the Music Teacher: Challenging the Way We Think.” Music Educator’s Journal Vol. 76 No. 5 (1990): 17-23.
Kodály, Zoltán. Music Should Belong to Everyone: 120 Quotations From His Writings and Speeches (Budapest: International Kodaly Society, 2002).
Kodály, Zoltán. The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály. Edited by Ferenc Bonis, Zenemukiado Vallalat. London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1964.
_____. The University of Southern California Interviews. Collection of Lorna Zemke, Silver Lake College. Manitowoc, WI. 1966.
Noce, William. “Kodály in College.” Music Educator’s Journal Vol. 76 No. 4 (1989): 4.
Reimer, Bennett. A Philosophy of Music Education: Advancing the Vision. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.
Veblen, Kari, & Bengt Olsson. (2002). Community Music: Toward an International Overview. In R. Colwell, C. Richardson, & M. McCarthy (Eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 730-753). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kelly Meyer 16
Young, Percy. “Kodály as Educationist.” Tempo No. 63 (1963): 37-40.
Zemke, Lorna. The Kodály Concept: Its History, Philosophy, and Development. Delaware Water Gap, PA.: Shawnee Press, 1977.
Zoltán Kodály; The Educator. (2004). Frenec Liszt Academy of Music: Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music, Kecskemet, Hungary. Retrieved February 24, 2008 from http://www.kodaly-inst.hu/kodaly/balszoveg1.htm
Jordan-Decarbo, Joyce and Jo Ann Nelson. (2002). Music and Early Childhood Education. In R. Colwell, C. Richardson, & M. McCarthy (Eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 210-242). Oxford: Oxford University Press.