Carl Orff Songwriter, Composer and Publisher - Literature review Example

? Carl Orff – Song Composer and Publisher Number and Number Number of Words: 1,027 Introduction Born on the 10th of July 1895, Carl Orff became a well-known German songwriter, composer and publisher (Keene, 2009, p. 376). At the age of five, Orff started learning how to play piano, organ and cello on his own. Eventually, he received a formal education at the Munich Academy of Music (ibid). Unlike in the case of other song writers and composers, Orff is one of the most gifted composer ever lived (Keene, 2009, p. 377). Without having anyone to teach him to write and compose songs, he managed to create his own music based on how he understands music. Using his talent in music, Orff composed a lot of songs for stage puppet shows which over the years has significantly influenced the music education for children. According to Jorgensen (2003, p. 6), the use of patriarchy in teaching music, oppression, violence, and exclusivity is dehumanizing since this type of teaching technique does not acknowledge the importance of freedom, equality, humanity, and inclusiveness necessary to prevent injustice and inhumanity. In line with this, Orff realized that the teaching and learning approach to music was ineffective (Keene, 2009, p. 376). Orff strongly supports the idea that each child should be given the opportunity to “experience music within their own level of understanding” (Classics for Kids, 2011). Since Orff strongly believe that children needs to experience music, Orff suggested that a more effective way of teaching children music is to make them master the use of musical instruments like piano or violin (Keene, 2009, p. 376). The way music teachers are currently teaching music inside a classroom is strongly influenced by some of the famous historical musicians such as in the case of Carl Orff (Jorgensen, 2003, p. 12; Keene, 2009, p. 376). Specifically the teaching technique of Orff is so much different with the teaching and learning style adopted and used by other musicians and composers who are teaching children the concept and theories related to music. In response to the ineffective way of teaching music during the early 19th century, Orff became very much interested in developing and implementing “a new way of teaching music” (Victorian Orff Schulwek Association, 2011; Orff, Murray, & Keetman, 1976, p. 13). Throughout his career as a musician, Orff spent some time teaching young students how to become creative by expressing how they feel in music (Warner, 1991, p. 3). To enable the students compose unique and more interesting music, Orff explained the need to teach and encourage the students to improvise and be more creative when playing musical instruments (Victorian Orff Schulwek Association, 2011). Using this kind of teaching technique, the students under the guidance of Orff were able to enjoy their freedom to improvise and explore the production of music without the need to stay focus on musical theories and concepts that already exists in the field of music education. As a composer and musician, Orff strongly supports the idea that each child should be given the opportunity to joy composing and creating their own music. In line with this, Orff spent time developing a teaching method which focuses on educating the students with music using alternative methods like group exercises (Maubach, 2006). Believing that the whole body should be involved when playing music, Orff’s movement in educating the students was multifaceted. Therefore, he decided to integrate music not only in singing but also the use of speech, body movements like folk dance, clapping, finger clicking, and stamping, and the use of tuned and percussion non-tuned percussion like tambourines, glockenspiels, recorders, and xylophones in encouraging the students to create their own music (Victorian Orff Schulwek Association, 2011; Keene, 2009, p. 377; Maubach, 2006). As explained by Maubach (2006), Orff strongly believes that each child who spends time learning music learns well when they “play, dance, create and improvise music” all at the same time. By integrating music with singing and dancing, music teachers are able to teach the students the importance of rhythm (Classics for Kids, 2011). As each child learns to create music, they would eventually become aware of what they can do with music. In line with this, the teaching technique as proposed by Orff enabled each child to experience a practical way of learning music. Since music, speech and dance are integrated domains, Orff strongly encouraged the students to learn singing combined with dancing. Even though rhythm serves as the main foundation of music, most of the music teachers back in early 19th century often disregard the importance of rhythm in the study of music (Keene, 2009, p. 376). Keene (2009, p. 377) explained that “melody should be developed step by step: only two tones are used at first, then a third is added, a forth, and finally a fifth”. Since the use of five-note-scale technique is more suitable for the mental and cognitive development of each child who is trying to learn the basics in music, Orff’s suggested music for children should be well-designed using pentatonic melodies throughout a children’s song (Classics for Kids, 2011; Keene, 2009, p. 377). As mentioned by Classics for Kids (2011), Orff’s music includes the following pitches: C, D, E, G, and A. Orff’s teaching method in music incorporates the use of speech, body movements, play and dance before giving them the opportunity to create and improvise their own music. In order to stimulate their imagination and creativeness, children would be requested to listen to a short story. Eventually, the students will be given the opportunity to choose their preferred musical instrument to allow them to freely express and interpret into sounds what they understood about the story (Classics for Kids, 2011). For example: Given that the story is sad, the children will be instructed to choose a musical instrument that could create a sad music. On the contrary, the students should choose a musical instrument that could create a happy music. Based on the musical instrument chosen by each student, the music teacher should clearly explain whether or not the students were able to choose the right musical instrument that could create sound suitable in creating the mood that was presented in the short story (Classics for Kids, 2011). *** End *** References Classics for Kids. (2011). Retrieved February 4, 2011, from Training. Orff 101: http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/training/orff101.asp Jorgensen, E. (2003). Transforming music education. Indiana University Press. Keene, J. (2009). A History of Music Education in the United States. Glenbridge Publishing Ltd. Maubach, C. (2006). Victorian Orff Schulwerk Association. Retrieved February 4, 2011, from Introduction to the Orff Schulwerk Approach: http://www.vosa.org/aboutorff/ Orff, C., Murray, M., & Keetman, G. (1976). Music for Children: Minor- Drone Bass-triads. Volume 4 of Music for Children. Schott Music Corporation. Victorian Orff Schulwek Association. (2011). Retrieved February 4, 2011, from About Orff. What is Orff Schulwerk? A Brief Outline: http://www.vosa.org/aboutorff/ Warner, B. (1991). Orff-Schulwerk: Applications for the Classroom. NJ: Prentice Hall. Read More