Tara Foley

Active Approaches: Carl Orff

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Biography of Carl Orff

Carl Orff was born on July 10, 1895 and lived until 1985. He was born to a military

father and pianist mother. At an early age, Orff began to play many instruments, including piano,

cello, and organ.. Orff began composing when he was young, being especially inspired by

theater. Before he officially enrolled at the Munich Academy of Music in 1912 at age 17, Orff

had already composed and published several songs and an opera and had begun classes at the

Academy in harmony.

After beginning at the Munich Academy of Music, Orff began to actively develop his

ideas towards music education. At the time, he began to feel too closed off within the institute

and sought compositional inspiration from contemporary avant-garde composers such as

Schonberg and Debussy. In 1917, Orff was drafted into the war for a short period, until he was

wounded and released from the service. During his time after serving in the military, he started to

study Monterverdi scores. He continued to compose and study music of his contemporaries. In

1924, along with Dorothee Günther, he founded an institute that involved music, dance,

gymnastics and rhythmic movement, which he called elementare Musik. At this time, gymnastics

and dance schools were open, but this was the first schools that incorporated music to these

physical activities. Around 1932 he published the first edition of Orff-Shulwerk: elementare

Musikubung. This institute was in response to his educational philosophy of the incorporation of

body and mind when creating music, and the idea that this should be taught when students are

young. His method included improvisatory techniques, custom-made instruments for a classroom

with young students, and a huge emphasis on creativity from the students. Orff taught simple

rudiments to teach amateur musicians, rather than teaching for future careers in music. With this

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teaching experience, his credibility of the unification of body movement and music helped to

start revolutionize music education.

The school was shut down by the Nazis in 1944, but radio broadcasts of the music and

instructions actually gave an increase to radio broadcasting centered for children. These

experimental broadcasts were played on Bavarian radio stations that were heavily influenced by

Orff’s collaborator, Dorothee Guenther. These broadcasts were tailored by Orff to benefit

children in both physical and musical education.

Orff’s educational techniques were included in his compositional techniques. During the

1930s, Orff would often use drones and ostinatos along with diatonic modes when experimenting

with choral pieces. His first major compositional success was a scenic cantata, Carmina Burana,

in early June of 1937. This piece can be recognized in many television shows and Hollywood

movies because of how well the style of the work lends to many different mediums. Due to his

studies on music of Monteverdi and other composers of centuries before his own, Carmina

Burana highlighted many compositional techniques from the past, most notably the Latin text

setting. Overall, this piece showed his maturity as a composer and it was clear that he was

attempting to break out of the box he had created with earlier published compositions. In the late

1930s and early 1940s, he wrote two fairy tale operas. The first, Der Mond, was heavily

influenced by Baroque theater, but in an expanded form with many more levels than

traditionally. Die Kluge: die Geschichte von dem König und der klugen Frau, his later fairy tale

opera, explores more Romantic harmonic colors and melodic development methods. This

collection of Orff compositions exemplifies the wide range of his ability as a composer.

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Orff was both a prolific composer and educator. His compositional techniques and

educational philosophies often merged. Even through a tumultuous time in the world, Orff was

able to create a huge impact on the music world both through how the world listens to music and

how it is taught and learned (Carder, 133-36, Gifford “Carl Orff – Biography”, Fassone “Orff,

Carl”, Rösch “Carl Orff Biography”).

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Pedagogical Characteristics of the Orff Approach

The idea of elemental music is what centers on the pedagogical approach to Orff’s

method. Orff believed that music, movement, and speech were “inseparable” and formed this

elemental music, which was created through situations that were natural to the child’s

environment (Carder, 109). Music is a naturally occurring act that happens in all cultures, and

most notably in children right from birth. Because of the primitive nature of children’s musical

abilities, according to what was understood of children’s capacities at Orff’s time, this method

begins with simple concepts that build upon each other as lessons progress (Campbell, 79).

A characteristic of the Orff-Schulwerk method is the use of pitched and non-pitched

percussive instruments. Non-pitched instruments include shakers, wood blocks, hanging

cymbals, maracas, cowbells, and much more (Wuytack, 128). These are common orchestral and

concert band percussive instruments that can be used to add more body motion to rhythmic

exercises. Along with these non-pitched, barred instruments are pitched instruments, known

often as Orff instruments. The barred instruments, which include xylophones, metallophones,

and glockenspiels, developed by Orff that are basic enough to allow any student to utilize them

(Campbell, 254-5). They are played with mallets and have detachable bars. These detachable

bars allow for teachers to limit the number of notes that a student may play. Possibilities for

these instruments could include only having tonic triad bars available so accompany a song that

is sung by another group of students or to add harmony to rhythmic imitation exercises.

Rhythm is a key element to the Orff-Schulwerk method. Orff believed that “rhythm is the

strongest of the elements in music” (Carder, 110). Rhythm is important in all facets of life, and

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extremely important when teaching music to children. Because rhythm is so innate, this is a

place to begin with young children that are familiar with music only informally.

In the Orff-Schulwerk method, rhythm is first introduced via speech. According the

Patricia Campbell and Carol Scott-Kasner in Music in Childhood, these are the ways that words

can become musical:

1. They are spoken over the foundation of a set pulse.

2. Their sounds are transformed into chants of longer and shorter durations.

3. Some words in a group are emphasized over others. (Campbell, 98)

This simple introduction of rhythm through speech is reinforces Orff’s idea that music is a

naturally occurring force. A teacher could use speech to teach rhythm by having students say

their own names and names of other students in a natural rhythm. Short sequences of names or

variations of how a name is emphasized would be several techniques to engage students and

have them actively think of how rhythm is present in everyday words. The speech element of this

method centers around the idea of chanting, which involves very few words at any given time.

However, students could expand upon this idea and start to create longer phrases or sentences

with unique rhythms (Campbell, 99). In this way, the Orff-Schulwerk method is incorporating

improvisation even in the early stages of musical learning (Carder, 115). Teachers could also

incorporate traditional nursery rhymes, such as “London Bridge is Falling Down,” “Ring Around

the Rosie,” and even Dr. Seuss books like “The Lorax.”

When starting to teach note value identification, the Orff-Schulwerk method uses the

fixed word-chant system. This system uses a category of words that help students associate

specific words to rhythmic durations. If the category of fruit was chosen, the word “pear” could

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represent a quarter note, and the word “pineapple” could represent a triplet figure (Campbell,

118). This method of teaching rhythmic value allows students to use familiar words to apply to

musical concepts.

Once rhythms are solidified, via rote, in the classroom, elements of body percussion can

be included to elaborate. Canons, various dynamic changes, and ostinato rhythms can be

included in “melodic” rhythm phrases. In an example from Orff-Schulwerk Music for Children

from Polly Carder and Beth Landis’ The Orff Approach, both a canon and an ostinato clapped

rhythm are employed (Carder, 116).

“Forbidden Fruits are Sweet,” from Orff-Schulwerk Music for Children, © B. Schott’s Soehne, Mains, 1956. © renewed. All Rights Reserved.

This type of activity would be approached by giving equal instructional time to all parts of the

exercise (Wuytack, 3). This type of rhythmic speaking in groups evolves into a speech choir.

This is an activity when specific poems are used to create complex musical phrases. This method

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is best taught section by section through dividing and conquering the pieces. At this stage, the

acting out of the words or rhythms is encouraged to employ the body with the music.

Another method of learning rhythms is through what is called rhythmic imitation.

Through this process, a teacher would clap a rhythm and have the class clap the rhythm in

response. This is used in conjunction with speaking rhythms so that students are able to have a

very solid foundation in pulse and rhythm.

For added musical benefits, clapping allows for the student to be active physically and

musically. Clapping is common in many cultures as a percussive instrument that can be loud,

soft, and in between. This can be achieved through different hand formations and use of fingers

and palms. At this point, students can experiment with what types of sounds their hands can

make on their own variants. Rhythmic canons are rhythmic pieces that are prepared in advanced,

in the method of dividing and conquering and call and response. Here are a few suggestions from

Professor Wuytack for beginning to teach rhythmic canons:

- Alternate a difficult rhythm with an easy rhythm

- Structure a musical phrase on four motives

- Remember the preceding motives…

- Execute the canon dynamically with a lively tempo (Wuytack, 28)

This method reinforces previous rhythmic motives learned while giving students confidence in

their ability to play their parts individually. These rounds could be sung, clapped, and played on

pitched and non-pitched Orff instruments.

Just as rhythm is taught through call and response, singing is taught by rote as well. The

students learn to sing just as they learned rhythm, which is through their natural speech. When

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the idea of pitches is introduced to children, they are able to discover that their own speech has

certain inflections that are pitched. This natural discovery allows for students to explore their

voices on their own with less instruction and formal direction.

Orff’s method constantly builds upon itself and always has a core in rhythm and body

awareness. When learning melodies, especially simple melodies in the early stages of learning

how to sing, the students use familiar rhythms to sing along to. These rhythms would originate

from previous lessons. The Orff-Schulwerk method has a fairly strict plan for introducing songs

to children. In Music for Children, the first songs all include accompaniment, unless they are

chants. The first pitches learned are so (scale degree 5) and mi (scale degree 3) due to their

common occurrence in school yard chants. The order following so and mi in volume 1 are la, re,

do, which completes the pentatonic scale. Volume 2 introduces fa and ti. After volume one,

various modes are introduced, such as Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian, and major and minor songs.

Unlike other methods of teaching singing that stay in the Western modes, the Orff-

Schulwerk method encourages chord progressions that are not traditionally Western and to move

from strictly diatonic melodies. Allowing for students to explore other styles of music helps

students become more comfortable with improvisation and appreciate non-tonal music.

These simple melodies would be elaborated in many ways. With the use of an ostinato,

either in another vocal part or with a percussive part, the melodic line would become more

complex, but a steady pulse gives stability to the students that are singing the melody. Orff

would also use these simple melodies and mold the motifs to add another layer of

accompaniment. The teacher then encourages the students to try to make their own

accompaniment with melodic motifs. Another accompaniment technique is called the bordun,

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which is open fifths, which creates a solid drone and creates a pentatonic foundation for simple,

diatonic melodies (Carder, 117-8).

As previously mentioned, improvisation is emphasized in all aspects of musical learning

through the Orff-Schulwerk method. This can be achieved through movement, percussion (of all

types), and singing. This improvisation is fostered through group improvisation (Saliba, 153).

Improvisation can be teacher-led in many different ways. In rhythmic improvisation, a limited

number of rhythmic sequences could be employed so that students could focus on only a few

rhythmic ideas. For pitched improvisation, barred instrument could have limited numbers of bars

that would allow for only certain modes to be improvised on. There could also be solo

improvisers while other students play chord tones in various rhythms. Movement can be

improvised through listening to a piece of music, either live or recorded, and reacting to the

music.

In a speech given by Orff at the opening of his elementary education course at the

University of Toronto, he says that “almost every child can comprehend and enjoy music” (Orff,

“The Schulwerk”). Orff believed that music is innate, and his method is very obviously heavy in

natural discovery of music. This method is based on elemental music, which Orff used to

describe the ability music has to be enjoyed by everyone. Overall, the Orff-Schulwerk method

focuses in self-discovery through body movement, percussion, and speech. This method lends

itself to improvisation, both controlled and uncontrolled.

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Frazee, Jane, and Arvida Steen. This Is the Day: Songs for Special Days. Melville, NY: Schmitt, 1975. 39. Print.

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Outline of Sequential Lesson Plan

“Whose hand has my gold ring?” is a piece that would be taught to primary level students

in kindergarten to 1st grade. In three lessons, the Orff-Schulwerk process will emphasize rhythm,

movement, and improvisation. This is by Bessic Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes and has been

adapted from Step it Down.

For the first lesson, the teacher would begin with the basic rhythms of the piece. This

includes half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes. Through call and response, the teacher will

make sure all the students understand the rhythms and can perform them accurately. At this

stage, rhythmic improvisation on these rhythmic patterns could be experimented with clapping

and percussive Orff instruments. As a segue to speaking with rhythm, the teacher would go

around the classroom having each student say their name in a rhythm. This can be elaborated on

by using different sentences and phrases. At this point, the teacher would teach the students the

poem, which is “Whose hand has my gold ring? My gold ring I bought on the train when I went

to London to marry.” There are some syncopated rhythms in this poem, so the teacher would be

repeat the poem multiple times.

The second lesson of this song would begin with the teacher playing with the rhythmic

patterns of the song again. Then the students would speak the poem in rhythm, with student-

teacher imitations. The students would then be given percussive instruments. Various barred

instruments would be provided, but only with the notes D, E, and F (in two octaves). The teacher

would then teach the students the ostinato (as shown in AX part of m. 1) through imitation.

Another group of students would use non-pitched percussive instruments to created the second

ostinato (as show in triangle part in m. 1). Again, this ostinato would be established through call

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and response. Once these rhythms are solid, the rhythms would be combined. At this point, the

teacher could sing above the accompaniment part multiple times. Once the teacher has sung the

piece several time, the students will start to pick up the melody. This song would be broken into

three phrases, each two to three measures long.

The third lesson would begin with singing the song in a circle. A student in the middle is

blindfolded and the students in the circle pass a percussive instrument, such as jingle bells, with a

steady pulse. At the last measure, the students stop using the jingle bells and the student in the

middle must guess where the jingle bells are being held. After this is played several times with

different blindfolded students, instruments would be taken out to play the piece with the

ostinatos and students singing. At this point, improvisation is encouraged through new vocal

melodies that can be sung with the ostinato pitched instruments, or with new rhythmic basses to

the song.

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Works Cited

Campbell, Patricia Shehan, and Carol Scott-Kassner. Music in Childhood: From Preschool

through the Elementary Grades. 2nd ed. Australia: Schirmer/Thomson Learning, 2002.

Print.

Carder, Polly and Beth Landis. "The Orff Approach." The Eclectic Curriculum in American

Music Education: Contributions of Dalcroze, Koday, and Orff. Reston, VA: Music

Educators National Conference, 1990. 109-36. Print.

Fassone, Alberto. "Orff, Carl." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 15 Feb. 2012

<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/42969>.

Gifford, Katya. "Carl Orff - Biography." Carl Orff - Biography. Humanities Web. Web. 14 Feb.

2012. <http://www.humanitiesweb.org/spa/rai/ID/757>.

Orff, Carl. “The Schulwerk – Its Origins and Aims.” The Eclectic Curriculum in American Music

Education: Contributions of Dalcroze, Koday, and Orff. Reston, VA: Music Educators

National Conference, 1990. 137-44. Print.

Rösch, Thomas. "Carl Orff Biography." Orff Zentrum Munich. Orff Zentrum, 2004. Web. 14

Feb. 2012. <http://www.orff-zentrum.de/carlorff_biographie_uk.asp>.

Saliba, Konnie. “What is the Orff-Schulwerk Approach to Teaching?” The Eclectic Curriculum

in American Music Education: Contributions of Dalcroze, Koday, and Orff. Reston, VA:

Music Educators National Conference, 1990. 145-55 Print.

Wuytack, Jos. Musica Activa: An Approach to Music Education : Rhythmic Expression. Trans.

Judy Sills. Mainz: Schott, 1994. Print.

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Annotated Bibliography

Frazee, Jane, and Arvida Steen. This Is the Day: Songs for Special Days. Melville, NY: Schmitt,

1975. Print.

This book includes 20 different folk songs that include both the score of the song as well

as the process of teaching the song to students. There are specific elements of music that

are highlighted in each lesson, which are color, form, melody, rhythm, texture,

improvisation, literacy, and movement. Suggested level, tonality, and suggested

instrumentation are included.

Frazee, Jane, and Kent Kreuter. Discovering Orff: A Curriculum for Music Teachers. Mainz:

London, 1987. Print.

This is a book that outlines curriculum for Orff teachers. There are many short musical

examples, which could be found in other Orff pedagogy music books. It is broken down at

one point by grade level, which would be very helpful for a general music teacher with

homogenous groups of students. The book is written in a way that lends itself to be

applied to any type of music that is taught in the classroom.

Fuchtman, Tim. "The Magic of Arrangement: Orff and Jazz." Orff Echo. 43.3 (2011): 19-23.

Print.In this volume of The Orff Echo, there is an emphasis on incorporating jazz into an Orff

classroom. As discussed in the article, this can be achieved through jazz harmonies that

might not be taught in the typical Orff classroom. The idea of swing is also touched upon.

There are many musical examples that can be utilized in the classroom, as well as jazz

standards that can be adapted to the classroom.

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McCreary, Peggy. "Learning Through Exploration and Play." American Orff-Schulwerk

Association - Music and Movement Education. American Orff-Schulwerk Association,

2007. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.aosa.org/article.html>.

This is a link to a series of articles by Peggy McCreary. They are pictures of various Orff

techniques in a classroom and the setting-up process of these activities. There are

various activities for each structure that was created.

Page, Sue Ellen. Four Psalm Settings. United States of America: Schott Music, 1977. Print.

This collection of four psalms is resource that could be used in a church Sunday School

or church sponsored Orff-Schulwerk classroom. This book has a large instrumentation,

including bar instruments (xylophones, glockenspiel, and metallophone), non-pitched

percussion (claves, windchimes, hand drum, triangle, and cymbals), and traditional

instruments (bassoon, cello, bass viol, and a treble melody) along with the singing part.

This allows for infinite possibilities of instrumentation.

Robinson, Kathy, Rosemary Eichenlaub, Rose Grelis, and Alice Pratt. "Teaching in the

Margins." Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.aosa.org/documents/professional/

teachinginthemargins.pdf>.

This is an article that is a quick overview of the importance of integrating cultures in

teaching with the Orff-Schulwerk method. This article is mostly a compilation of quotes

that emphasize the importance, but there are a few ways for teachers to engage in culture

in order to bring to the classroom.

“The Winning Way.” American Orff-Schulwerk Association - Music and Movement Education.

American Orff-Schulwerk Association. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.aosa.org/video3.html>.

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This video is a series of interviews with advocates of the Orff-Schulwerk method as well

as teachers that employ this method. The video could be used in a presentation to a

school board or principal to convince them to start using the Orff method or to help fund

for Orff instruments or training.