Music
Education
Guide

Approaches to learning

Methodologies and programs

While there are many approaches to learning and teaching music, there are some established methodologies and programs that are recognised as effective for music teaching. Each can be used exclusively or in an eclectic mix to meet the needs of a particular music learning program.

Singing

Singing is fundamental to music and music education. It must be part of the music learning program. Singing doesn’t just make people happy and calm, yet energised. It increases their confidence and allows them to internalise and express music ideas. Singing in music education can involve singing familiar and unfamiliar songs, rhymes and chants; it can be a way of exploring music styles and cultures; a student might sing an idea for an instrumental composition or sing a part that will be played on another instrument to work out ‘how it goes’ or to share ideas about how it could be shaped in a performance. There are many ‘methods’ of teaching singing for different purposes and with different styles and techniques.

The Singing Classroom

The Singing Classroom offers a range of easy, entry-level activities for teachers with little or no musical background to be able to incorporate singing and music into the everyday classroom.

The program was developed and launched in 2012 by the Australian organisation aMuse (the Association of Music Educators) in response to the National Review of School Music Education, which found that music must be continuous, sequential and developmental for students to benefit.

The Singing Classroom is intended to be accessible to generalist teachers to get them singing and teaching music relatively quickly. Professional learning for teachers ranges from short sessions (1½ to two hours) through to a full day and are provided to a group of teachers in their school. There is a flat rate per session rather than a cost per teacher.

The Singing Classroom approach to music teaching is to use simple songs and chants to introduce concepts of rhythm, pitch, melody, dynamics (loud and soft) and build toward students creating music using improvisation and composition. The ‘learning in and learning through’ approach to music explored in The Singing Classroom demonstrates how music can be integrated with other learning such as mathematics and literacy as well as being experienced in its own right.

Kodály method

The Kodály method is a sequenced music teaching system for students and children, from very young (kinder aged) through to older teenage (in high school) and adults. The method employs listening, singing, moving (walking, marching, dance movement), rhythm symbols and hand signs. The intention is to make music accessible to all young people (no instruments are required – only the voice) and to assist in deepening the experiential understanding of concepts such as pitch, rhythm and pattern.

This method was developed by Zoltan Kodály in Hungary in the early 20th century in response to what he saw as a poor quality and inadequate music education for young people, whom he believed each had a right to music in their education. The method was successful and quickly spread to over half the schools in Hungary and then to the international community by the 1950s.

The Kodály method is based on the following:

Everyone is capable of and has the right to music literacy and skills.
Singing is the foundation for musical learning.
A sequential approach is essential and should follow a child’s natural learning development.
Using good quality music is important (traditional folk music is frequently used).
Visual as well as kinetic (physical movement) cues and associations assist learning.
Play and games are part of the method and help children engage.

Teachers and school leaders interested in implementing the Kodály method at their school will need to undertake professional learning. The qualifications are the Australian Kodály Award, which qualifies teaching for early childhood, and the Australian Kodály Certificate, which qualifies the teacher in an area of specialisation (Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary or ‘Colourstrings’). The whole curriculum for professional learning, and a list of course providers and fee information, is available for download from the Kodály Music Education Institute website.

Orff method

The Orff method (sometimes referred to as the Orff Schulwerk method) uses play as a way of engaging students in their music learning. The primary instruments used, however, are percussive. Rhythm is viewed as the basis for musical learning, and is supported by dance, other physical movement, drama, chanting and singing.

Orff introduces musical concepts through already known and familiar starting points, such as nursery rhymes and stories. By exploring the subject matter of the story, chant or rhyme, and through a series of open-ended questions, a skilled Orff practitioner can lead students from a familiar narrative-based concept into a musical one. There are some good video examples of Orff teachers making this transition with students, from something easy and familiar, to learning new musical concepts and then eventually (in the same lesson) to composition and performance.

The Orff method is based on the following:

Just as every child can learn language through exposure, every child can learn music.
Music learning is ‘child centred’ and play based.
Students feel comfortable to play and explore. They do not feel judged.
Students enjoy the experience of group collaboration and cohesion.
All concepts are learned by ‘doing’. Experiential learning is paramount.
There is no set sequence for learning, rather some principles, models and processes that teachers can use to guide and advance the organisation of musical ideas.
Rhythm, melody and improvisation form the basis for musical exploration, experience and understanding.

For teachers and school leaders interested in implementing the Orff method in their music program, there are a series of professional development courses, which incur a fee.

Teachers can undertake training at Level 1 through to Level 4. Each level course is a minimum of 36 hours face-to-face instruction, preferably over six days. A Certificate of Accreditation will be issued to course participants who have attended the full training course and completed assessment tasks.

Musical Futures

Musical Futures is an approach to teaching and learning music developed in the United Kingdom by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, in association with Youth Music and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

It has been designed as a series of models and approaches for secondary students, but can be modified to suit a primary setting. The program aims to engage young people between the ages of 11 and 18 years in making music in groups informally, using the real-life learning practices of popular musicians. It involves students working in friendship groups, in a self-directed way, on a series of musical tasks with performance outcomes.

Musical Futures is based on the following:

Music learning works best for young people when they are involved in making the music themselves.
The practices of real-world musicians and the way that popular musicians learn offers a way to deeply engage young people in music making.
Music learning is student-driven. Music-making is most successful when the drive and motivation is coming from the music-makers themselves (students).
That music-making is a social activity involving collaboration with others.
The creation of music is purposeful in that it directly feeds into performance, recording and publishing.
Music technology is embedded in the learning. Contemporary practices and programs used for recording, mixing, mastering and notation are integral to the music making.

A 2010 study by the Australian Society for Music Education researched outcomes from a pilot of Musical Futures in seven Victorian Schools. The findings showed that teachers and students had very positive experiences of the program, with teachers reporting that the program had a powerful impact on confidence, pedagogy and professional satisfaction and students experiencing better engagement, social learning and development of musical knowledge and skills.

Teachers and school leaders interested in exploring Musical Futures can find out more by contacting Musical Futures Australia, which offers introductory one-day sessions for teachers, as well as more intensive training courses in regional areas of Victoria and Melbourne. Fees may be incurred.

Music Education Guide