According to National Curriculum Guidelines, scholars assert that “learning arts” is equally important to “fostering humanities,” but music teachers are busy in training children memorizing music theories and playing recorders so that involuntarily forget the ultimate goal as music literacy and lifelong interests. Kodaly defined music literacy as “the ability to read and write musical notation and to read notation at sight without the aid of an instrument,” furthermore, music literacy also meant “a person’s knowledge of and appreciation for a wide range of musical examples and styles” (International Kodaly Society, 2015). In addition to the version of Kodaly’s music literacy, literacy is given a broader definition as “lifelong learning, applying knowledge and ability to participate civil society” (Ministry of Education, 2014). As mentioned above, teachers need to help students acquire music literacy, and it is teachers’ social responsibility. Once teachers accomplish the social responsibility, students should obtain music literacy and utilize their music abilities to serve the society as accomplishing their social responsibility. 

        Music teachers have many hats. Music teachers are musicians, entertainers, therapists, nurses, travel agents, leaders, publicists, designers, librarians, agents, cheer leaders, and so on. As musicians, the core social responsibilities are a) presenting classic music, b) promoting domestic music, and c) popularizing and promoting art music (Dai, 2009/6/25). The item C “popularizing and promoting art music” is so-called music education.

 

Kodaly Inspired Education

 

        Education has three facets, teacher, student, and materials. An experienced teacher once mentioned, “My best teaching happens when I forget to teach curriculum and remember to teach children.” Students come from various home environments, cultural backgrounds and having diverse interests, learning styles, and intelligences. They bring their own stories to the same school and face the same teacher. Aren’t teachers responsible to fulfill children’s individual needs? As Nicholas A. Ferroni said, “Students who are loved at home, come to school to learn, and students who aren’t, come to school to be loved.” Children are the future, and Kodaly reminded us how to treat them well in music.

            I would advise my young colleagues, the composers of symphonies, to drop in 

                    sometimes at the kindergarten, too. It is there that it is decided whether 

                    there will be anybody to understand their works in twenty years’ time.

            Let us take our children seriously! Everything else follows from this…only the 

                    best is good enough for a child.

            To develop to the fullest extent possible the innate musicality present in all children. 

 

        Children should be in the center of learning. Schools provide facilities for children to learn, and teachers are helpers to make the learning happen. Every child is unique, thus teachers must differentiate teaching in order to meet their needs. We know that is the right way to do, because that’s teachers’ social responsibility. Differentiated teaching is based on brain research, learning styles, multiple intelligences, and authentic assessment (Wu, 2012/4/5). Teachers can differentiate content, process, and product in teaching according to individual differences in readiness, interests, and learning profiles, therefore students are able to increase their growth, motivation, and efficiency. Regarding content of music teaching, Kodaly asserted, 

The folk music of a child’s cultural heritage (the musical mother tongue) is the best material to teach the skills and concepts necessary to musical literacy.

Only music of the highest artistic quality is to be used in the education of children.

        “Music of the highest artistic quality” means “authentic” folk music and “good quality” composed music (Choksy, 1999). Folk music provides forms for beginning musical learning such as pentatonic style, simple structure and language, furthermore it leads to an understanding of and appreciation for music of all styles, genres, and cultures. Classical repertoire is built on students’ singing experiences. First introduced were major composers of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, and then Twentieth-century compositions can be brought in for secondary school students.

 

        According to Kodaly, the way to differentiate “process” is teaching method in addition to the best materials for children. Kodaly and his colleagues established principles for music teaching and later became “Kodaly Method.” He not only inspired a revolution in Hungary but also popularized to the world for music education. Kodaly suggested,

        We should read music in the same way that an educated adult will read a book: 

                in silence, but imagining the sound.

        To be internalized, musical learning must begin with the child’s own natural 

                instrument- the voice 

        To teach a child an instrument without first giving him preparatory training and 

                without developing singing, reading and dictating to the highest level along 

                with the playing is to build upon sand.

        Singing connected with movements and action is a much more ancient, and, at 

                the same time, more complex phenomenon than is a simple song.

        It is not worth singing for ourselves; it is nicer if two people sing together. Then 

                more people: hundreds, thousands, until the huge harmony can be heard, in 

                which we can all be just one, indeed. Then will we be able to say: “May the world be happy.”

 

        Kodaly method/approach guides children to sing in tune, to improvise, to sight-sing music through singing games from their own culture. Furthermore, children’s abilities of reading and understanding music are established and become musically independent. Research studies prove that “Kodaly method improves intonation, rhythm skills, music literacy, and the ability to sing in increasingly complex parts (DeVries, 2001, p. 24). For non-music effect, it shows to improve students’ academic performance such as reading and math as well as perceptual functioning, concept formation, motor skills, and so on. 

        Beyond differentiated teaching, music teachers have greater expectations in music education. There is one saying on the web that moves many music teachers, 

                ...not because I expect you to major in music,

                not because I expect you to play or sing all your life,

                not so you can relax,

                not so you can have fun,

                but so you will be human,

                so you will recognize beauty,

                so you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world,

                so you will have something to cling to,

                so you will have more love, more compassion,

                more gentleness, more good.

 

(Midnight Music, 2013/10/14）        

 

        School of Music at Kent State University, USA, creates an infographic to show that not only does music have educational merit, it can also be used to close the educational gap amongst students and schools (Infographic: http://musicedmasters.kent.edu/using-music-to-close-the-education-gap/). Although the data are American schools, situations of education gap and lack of music in schools are basically the same in Taiwan and somewhere else. In addition, benefits of music for children and how music can close the education gap are the truths that all the governments must learn. As Kodaly asserted,

Music is a prime necessity of life.

Real art is one of the most powerful forces in the rise of mankind, and be who renders it accessible to as many people as possible is a benefactor of humanity. 

Music instruction must be a part of general education for everyone.

 

        In Hungary, elementary schools offer music courses everyday as core curriculum as mathematics and language art. It is not a dream but a goal of Kodaly educators all over the world: Provide the best music education to children.

 

References

 

Choksy, L. (1999). The Kodaly method I: Comprehensive music education (3rd Ed.). 

        Englewood Cliff, NJ: Pearson.

Dai, D. C. (2009/6/25). Macao Orchestra: Social responsibility and mainstream 

        musical culture benchmark. Macao Daily, E3. 

DeVries, P. (2001). Reevaluating common Kodaly practices. Music Educators 

        Journal, 88 (3), p. 24-27.

International Kodaly Society. (2015). Music literacy. 2015/8/31 Retrieved from:         http://www.iks.hu/index.php/zoltan-kodalys-life-and-work/education/musical-literacy

Midnight Music. (2013/10/14). Quoteable quote Monday-Why I teach music. 

        Retrieved from: 

        http://www.midnightmusic.com.au/2013/10/quoteable-quote-monday-why-i-teach-music/ 

Ministry of Education. (2014/10). Plan 3-6: Higher citizens’ literacy. Retrieved from:         http://12basic.edu.tw/Detail.php?LevelNo=206 

Wu, C. S. (2012/4/5). Differentiated teaching and students learning. National 

        Academy for Educational Research e-Newsletter, 38. Retrieved from:         http://epaper.naer.edu.tw/index.php?edm_no=38&content_no=1011