Kodaly's folk music, and our folk music

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Zoltan Kodaly's work and thought is incalculably influential on current music education theory and practice. See below for a more complete description of his approach. I have tremendous respect for this method, but I have one large gripe with the practice of his adherents in our day: it's their conception of the place - or even definition - of "folk music" in music education.



Kodaly and a few others developed an idea of taking the "mother tongue" concept of language studies and applying it to music education. (Broadly speaking, the idea that one's native folk music is the musical equivalent of one's mother tongue.) I don't think the idea sprang fully formed from his mind. In 1905 he had begun to visit remote Hungarian villages to collect folk songs, recording them on phonographic cylinders   The next year, he wrote a thesis ("Strophic Construction in Hungarian Folksong") and met fellow composer Bela Bartok. Their efforts, and the methods he and Bartok and a few others worked out resulted ultimately in a vast collection of eastern European folk songs - more than 10,000. I think initially they just thought of these songs as a treasure trove of cultural heritage and artistic inspiration. But this work gave him a profound insight, that developed for him into a rather revolutionary approach to formal music education - namely, the use of folk songs as a vehicle for the first stages of learning music. It became clearer and clearer to him over the course of the subsequent thirty years.



The best way to teach music is through actually playing good repertoire, in a carefully planned sequence of ascending difficulty to gradually bring students along to something approaching mastery. This may seem obvious, but let me put it another way. The best way to teach music is by having the students play a sequence of good pieces, and sing good songs. Because when the repertoire is good, the students will be motivated to listen over and over, to practice, to put in the repetition required to perfect the piece or song, to put in the repetition over the long haul to develop an ever strengthening technique which will enable the playing of ever more challenging pieces, etc.



But now we are forced to define "good." Well, there is no simple definition. Because it doesn't simply mean exalted, or noble, or astonishing, or clever. Really, good music is music that I like. And for you, good music is music that you like. One reason we like a piece of music is because we've heard it a lot, it's familiar, we "know" it. That's not the only reason, but it's one reason. So whether it's a song her mother sang to her every bedtime for many, many years, or a song she and her brothers sang on the way to school nearly every day, or a song sung at every birthday celebration she's ever attended... a child will know and love those songs, and want to play them.



While some music teachers were insisting that students begin with the easy pedagogical pieces by Bach, or Czerny, or Kuhlau, or any of an endless procession of lesser lights, Kodaly realized that folk music from childhood has all the basic characteristics needed to teach the foundations of music and to develop a love of music, and has the added benefit of being already familiar to the students. They already "know" it, and it can be used to teach all the fundamental musical concepts and techniques to musical beginners. However, many doctrinaire Kodaly followers are still using Hungarian folk music to teach American children, or perhaps the more forward-thinking are using American (most often Appalachian) folk songs from the 1800s and 1900s. But these are not the songs American children are currently growing up with. These are no longer the musical mother tongue. So they are no longer "folk" music in the sense that Kodaly used the term.



For better or worse, the music of childhood, the musical mother tongue is now the music of television, of Pixar and Disney movies, of iTunes and the SmartPhone. The littlest kids are listening to what their parents pop in the DVD player for them. Once they get to be about seven, they really do start to amass their own music collections. Once they get to be about eleven, they carry their own SmartPhones with them, and play their favorite songs over and over, all day long (to the consternation of their parents and teachers.) And they SING! They sing all the time. They imitate the good - and bad - habits and mannerisms of their favorite singers. They watch American Idol, and begin to develop an ability to discriminate between great vocal performances and merely good ones. And there's no reason this is a bad thing. It's a start, in any case, toward developing a critical faculty.



So in my own teaching I wanted to preserve the 99% of Kodaly's approach that is thorough, profound and brilliant, while amending the repertoire component just a bit.



I've often wondered why more music teachers didn't incorporate current popular music like rock, R&B, and jazz into their teaching - as far back as an article I wrote in 1979. I thought then, and still do, that it's mostly because to do so just seems like too much trouble. If you're a conservatory-trained musician yourself, if you've spent most of your life listening to and playing classical music exclusively, you don't have pop hits at your fingertips, or in your readily accessible memory, or on the tip of your tongue. You'd have to do what would almost amount to research! Sounds dreadful, especially after you've perhaps recently jumped through the hoops of writing papers and dissertations to get your music degree and education certification.



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Before I go on to talk about how to incorporate contemporary popular music into your lessons, here are some excerpts from the complete statement of the Kodaly approach, from the Organization of American Kodaly Educators  copied from their website: please visit it.
      http://oake.org/aboutus/kodalyphilosophy.aspx



The Kodály Concept
    Is a philosophy of education and a concept of teaching.
    Is a comprehensive program to train basic musical skills and teach the reading and writing of music.
    Is an integration of many of the best ideas, techniques, and approaches to music education.
    Is an experience-based approach to teaching.



Essential and Key Elements of the Concept



Singing
    We should first learn to love music as human sound and as an experience that enriches life.
    The voice is the most natural instrument and one which every person possesses.
    Kodály called singing "the essence" of this concept.
    Singing is a powerful means of musical expression.
    What we produce by ourselves is better learned; and there is a stronger feeling of success and accomplishment.
    Learning through singing should precede instrumental training.
    It is in the child's best interest to understand the basics of reading music before beginning the difficult task of learning the technique of an instrument.
    What do we sing?
        Folk songs and games of the American Culture
        Traditional children's songs and games
        Folk songs of other cultures
        Music of the masters from all ages
        Pedagogical exercises written by master composers
    Singing best develops the inner, musical ear.



"If we ourselves sing often, this provides a deep experience of happiness in music. Through our own musical activities, we learn to know the pulsation, rhythm, and shape of melody. The enjoyment given encourages the study of instruments and the listening to other pieces of music as well." (Kodály, 1964)



Folk Music
    Folk music is the music of the people. There can be no better material for singing than the songs and games used by children for centuries.
    Folk Music has all the basic characteristics needed to teach the foundations of music and to develop a love of music - a love that will last a life time.
    Folk music is the classical music of the people, and, as such, is a perfect bridge leading to and working hand-in-hand with-art music.



"The compositions of every country, if original, are based on the songs of its own people. That is why their folk songs must be constantly sung, observed, and studied." (Kodály, 1964)



Music and Quality
   We believe that music enhances the quality of life. So that it may have the impact it deserves, only the best music should be used for teaching:
        Folk music, which is the most representative of the culture
        The best music composed by the masters
    Quality music demands quality teaching:
        Teachers need to be as well-trained as possible
        Teachers' training must be well-rounded
        Teachers need to develop their musical and vocal skills to the highest degree possible

"The pure soul of the child must be considered sacred; what we implant there must stand every test, and if we plant anything bad, we poison his soul for life."
(Selected Writings, p. 141)



Sequencing
    Presentation of materials, concepts, and development of skills can be done in a meaningful way only if the curriculum is well sequenced.
    A carefully planned sequence, well taught, will result in successful experiences for children and teacher. Success breeds success - and fosters a love of music.
    A Kodály sequenced curriculum is an experience-based approach to learning rather than a cognitive developmental approach.

"Music must not be approached from its intellectual, rational side, nor should it be conveyed to the child as a system of algebraic symbols, or as a secret writing of a language with which he has no connection. The way should be paved for direct intuition."
(Selected Writings, Kodaly, p.120)


COMING NEXT:  popular music that works for pedagogy (songs you can use)

AND NOW, BACK TO OUR SUBJECT...

Getting back to "folk" music, or music the folks are actually listening to, here's a list of songs that students have requested in recent years, that have worked WELL for me, for teaching purposes. Teaching beginners, in fact.

Apologize - One Republic and Timbaland
Numb - Linkin Park and Jay-Z
So Sick of Love Songs - NeYo
Yeah! - Usher
Outta Control - 50 Cent
Forget You - Cee Lo Green
Forever Young - Alphaville (and Jay-Z)
Titanic (movie theme) - James Horner
Fallin' - Alicia Keys
We Belong Together - Mariah Carey
Lean On Me - Bill Withers
Stand by Me - Ben E. King; Lennon; others
Halo - Beyonce Knowles
World's Greatest - R Kelly
Friends Forever (Graduation Song) - Vitamin C, and Pachelbel
Hey Ya! - Outkast
Sail! - Awolnation

Seven Nation Army - White Stripes
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Imagine - Lennon
Hey Jude - Beatles
Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Come as You Are - Nirvana
Conga - Gloria Estefan
Because of You - Kelly Clarkson
Time After Time Cyndi Lauper
We Will Rock You - Queen
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan (and Guns'n'Roses)
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Easy Chair) - Bob Dylan
All Along the Watchtower - Bob Dylan (and Jimi Hendrix)
Hurt - NIN (and Johnny Cash)
Wild Thing - Jimi Hendrix (and Prince)
Love Song - The Cure
Creep - Radiohead
Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Every Breath You Take - Sting (and Tupac)
With or Without You - U2

C Jam Blues - Duke Ellington, 1942
In a Mellow Tone - Duke Ellington, recorded 1940 (also a hit for Basie, 1950s)
Satin Doll - Duke Ellington, 1953
Equinox - John Coltrane (recorded 1960; released 1964 on "Coltrane's Sound")
One Note Samba - Jobim, 1962

I'll add to this list in future posts, and please send me your discoveries. I would love to add them and acknowledge your contributions.   Write to  nycmusicteacher@gmail.com


One observation: many of the R&B, hip hop or rock songs listed above work with the "canon" approach I described in a previous post, which is great for beginning students. I've been surprised that the 4-bar repeating accompaniment (chaconne?) which is so popular with R&B folks lately was never much of a factor for, say, the Beatles. Lennon and McCartney stuck more to the verse-chorus-bridge format of Tin Pan Alley, and seldom worked in phrases of less than eight bars. So most of their 200 or so songs are "more difficult" than a lot of contemporary R&B, at least from the perspectives of either harmonic structure or formal structure.