1

Elementary Music Methods Overview

Alysa M. Hershman

Department of Music Education, Northern State University

MUS 785: General Music Pedagogy

Dr. Wendy van Gent

April 17, 2022

2

Elementary Music Methods Overview

I have learned about many different methods of teaching elementary music this semester

in General Music Pedagogy. Learning about MLT, Kodaly, Dalcroze, Orff, Teaching for Musical

Understanding, and Suzuki has impacted my teaching in a positive way. I have incorporated

elements of several methods and theories we have studied into my teaching this semester. I have

changed my ways of thinking about how and why I teach what I do. My students have made a lot

of progress with concepts we have learned about from minor changes I have made to my

teaching. Learning about these methods and theories was enlightening for me as I only remember

learning about a couple of them in college and did not student teach at the elementary level. I

have not only learned a lot about elementary music methods, but have reflected on my teaching

as well. In this paper, I will describe my understanding of each method we have learned about

this semester and tell it through the lens of MLT.

Music Learning Theory (MLT) is an explanation of how we learn music and is an all-

inclusive method for teaching audiation, which is thinking music in the mind with understanding

(Gordon, 2012). MLT is not a method, but instead, a theory about how we learn music. In short,

sound becomes music through audation when we translate sounds in our minds and give them

meaning. Audiation involves studying music patterns as a way to anticipate what will come next.

Students audiate when listening to, performing, interpreting, creating, improvising, reading,

and/or writing music. MLT also involves sequential learning. MLT was developed by Edwin

Gordon and its primary objective is to develop tonal and rhythmic audiation in students.

Developing tonal and rhythmic audiation helps students better understand the music they listen

to, improvise, and compose. MLT greatly stresses the importance of audiation and introducing

sound before sight. Learning begins with the ear and learning music is no different. Gordon
3

relates learning music to that of learning a language. Students should not only learn to read and

write music, but also understand what they are reading and writing. Students find joy in music

when they are able to understand and truly appreciate it.

Elements of MLT I have begun incorporating into my teaching are taking a breath before

asking students to echo or improvise rhythmic and tonal patterns and having them do the same.

The breath is important as it allows students time to process what they are hearing and what they

are going to sing or speak back to the teacher. I have also begun singing and speaking rhythmic

and tonal patterns on neutral syllables so that my students focus on the pattern rather than the

syllables attached to them. I have also been striving to intentionally include songs in various

tonalities and with various rhythm patterns in order to expose my students to them. One of my

long-term goals is to attend an MLT workshop, so I look forward to attending one and getting

more hands-on experience with this theory.

Zoltan Kodaly, his colleagues, and his students developed the Kodaly method in Hungary

in the 1940s and 1950s (Choksy, 2001). The goals, principles, and philosophy were his, but the

pedagogy was not. The Kodaly method involves singing, the use of folk music in instruction,

solfege (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do), hand signs, and rhythm duration syllables (ta, ti-ti, tika-

tika). Kodaly believed all students are capable of learning music, singing is the best foundation

for musicianship, music education must begin when the child is very young, folk songs should be

used in instruction, only music of the highest value should be used in teaching, and music should

be at the heart of the curriculum. The method is highly structured and sequenced, using three-

note, tetratonic, and pentatonic songs and chants. Along with the solfege and rhythm duration

syllables, tempo, dynamics, timbre, inner hearing, and musical memory are also a part of a

Kodaly lesson.
4

Kodaly and MLT focus on inner hearing or audiation and rely on sequencing. Both state

that musical elements do not exist in isolation, and must not be taught that way. The Kodaly

method relies on teaching theory, whereas MLT discourages this until students understand the

basics. MLT uses neutral syllables, whereas Kodaly uses solfege syllables. My teaching style

right now would align the most with the Kodaly method. I use folk music frequently in my

instruction, my students learn solfege and hand signs (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do), and I use

Kodaly rhythm duration syllables (ta, ti-ti, tika-tika) as well.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics is an approach to music education based on the idea that rhythm is

the primary element in music (Choksy, 2001). It consists of eurhythmics, solfege, and

improvisation. The method was named after Emile Jaques-Dalcroze. He discovered a sort of

disconnect musically, physically, and emotionally that led him to question philosophies and

teaching methods of his time. He realized the students themselves were instruments and felt that

the most important aspects of music were rhythm and movement. Along with rhythm and

movement, inner hearing, solfege, and improvisation are other essential characteristics in the

Dalcroze Eurhythmics method.

Looking at Dalcroze through the lens of MLT, I noticed that both rely on recognizing

patterns, stress the importance of improvisation, and believe the voice and body should be used

as a first instrument. MLT uses neutral syllables, while the Dalcroze method uses solfege

syllables. MLT stresses audiation, while the Dalcroze method stresses inner hearing. I have not

specifically and intentionally used the Dalcroze method in my teaching. However, I incorporate

rhythm and movement daily in instruction and I am working on incorporating more

improvisation. I love that Jaques-Dalcroze used natural instinctive movements and gestures with

his students and I would like to be more intentional about doing this with my own students.
5

Carl Orff developed the Orff-Schulwerk method of teaching (Choksy, 2001). His friend,

Dorothee Gunther started using his works in the training of dancers and gymnasts in her school,

Guntherschule, in 1924. Her courses of combining music and movement helped create the

process that is used in the Orff-Schulwerk method. Orff and Gunther wanted their students to

physically experience beat, meter, tempo, and rhythm. They wanted them to express these

elements in dance and through instruments. The goal of Orff-Schulwerk is to integrate music,

movement, speech, and drama. Main keys of the Orff process are exploration and experience.

The process involves exploration of space, exploration of sound, exploration of form, imitation

to creation, individual to ensemble, and musical literacy. In the Orff-Schulwerk approach,

children read music after plenty of experience with musical sounds. The aim of the process is to

get children to sing, play, and dance to music, as well as read and write music.

MLT stresses sound before sight and this is what the Orff-Schulwerk process suggests.

The Orff process also aligns with MLT in that music, movement, and speech are essential

elements in a lesson. Between attending Orff workshops when I first began teaching and reading

and watching the videos in class, I feel more prepared to incorporate more of the Orff process

into my teaching. I do some vocal and movement exploration with my students during class and

like to have them create when we learn new concepts. I would like to do more improvisation and

would also like to stress more the importance of experiencing and listening before reading and

writing music.

Teaching for Musical Understanding (TMU) is a social constructivist learning process in

which learners construct their own understanding of musical experiences (Wiggins, 2015). The

teacher’s role is to scaffold learners, establish a supportive learning environment, find out what

students already know, encourage the expression of musical ideas, focus student energy, monitor
6

for understanding and progress, and provide a model of musicianship. The student’s role is to

engage in learning experiences and construct his or her own understanding, interact with peers,

use what he or she has learned during whole-group instruction to solve similar problems without

teacher help, include comments, questions, suggestions, evaluations, corrections, and criticisms

in conversations, and provide scaffolding for one another while knowing when to pull it away.

Teachers should provide musical problems that require musical thought and that enable students

to act on musical ideas.

The social constructivist approach aligns with MLT in the sense that students engage in

thinking in sound, students learn through exploration, learning is scaffolded, the teacher is a

facilitator instead of a lecturer, and students should experience and understand concepts before

providing labels to them. I use the social constructivist approach quite a bit in my teaching

already. I scaffold learning for my students by building on concepts each year, establish a

supportive learning environment, find out what my students know, and monitor understanding

and progress. Giving my students more opportunities to express their understanding of musical

ideas and share their own is something I would like to be better at. Creating musical problems for

students to solve collaboratively and on their own is something I would like to improve on as

well.

According to the International Suzuki Association, the Suzuki method was developed by

the Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki more than fifty years ago. It is based on the theory that all

children are capable of making music and their abilities can be strengthened through a nurturing

and supportive learning environment. Suzuki believed that if all children can learn to speak a

language, the same process can be applied to learning music. He called this method the Mother

Tongue Method. Suzuki’s main goal was to guide the development of the child through music
7

education. Important aspects of the Suzuki approach include learning music at an early age, the

importance of listening, learning to play before learning to read, parent involvement, providing a

nurturing and positive learning environment, training for teachers, the importance of producing a

balanced sound, and social interaction with other children.

The Suzuki method connects to MLT in the fact that it relates the process of learning

music to that of learning a language. It also stresses the importance of learning music at an early

age, the importance of listening, the importance of experiencing music before learning to read it,

the importance of providing a nurturing and supportive learning environment, and the

importance of students having social interaction with other children. I am still somewhat unsure

how I would use the method in my own teaching, but I believe in teaching to the development of

the child. I understand the importance of learning music at an early age, listening, experiencing

music before reading it, providing a supportive environment, and having social interaction with

other children. They are all concepts I believe in and will continue to use with my students.

What I have learned this semester in General Music Pedagogy has caused me to

reflect on what I do as a teacher and has impacted my teaching in a positive way. Not only have I

reflected on my teaching, but I have also begun implementing some aspects of methods we have

read about and discussed this semester. I have started noticing the characteristics of my teaching

I do well and also what I can improve on. Stopping and thinking about my own teaching and

how I can revise it for the benefit of my students has been an important milestone this semester,

and I am glad for the opportunity to do so. In order to further my growth, I plan on attending

MLT workshops in the future and learning more about it and some of the other methods we have

learned about. It has been a wonderful experience researching these methods and learning about
8

all the options we have as elementary music teachers. I look forward to continuing my growth

and sharing what I have learned with other music teachers in my district.
9

References

Choksy, L. (2001). Teaching music in the twenty-first century (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle

River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Gordon, E. (2010). Essential preparation for beginning instrumental music instruction. GIA

Publications.

Gordon, E. (2012). Learning sequences in music: A contemporary music learning theory. Gia

Publications, Inc.

Wiggins, J. (2015). Teaching for musical understanding: Teaching music with a social

constructivist vision of learning. Oxford University Press.