Orff Level III — What is Orff Schulwerk?
July 20, 2024
Tell me a story. Maybe an adventure story, or a romance, or a tragedy. Who’s the main character? What’s the conflict? How does it end? You choose.
What a great story! Tell me another one. This time, make the main character an elderly dog, and set the story in Manhattan.
Awesome! One more. This time, keep the dog, but put it in the countryside instead. Oh, and make sure the dog gets back home by the end.
That was fun. You’re good at telling stories! Now, can you write me a song? Just four measures in 6/8, please. You can use F, G, A, C, and D. At least two of the measures should be exactly the same, but I don’t care which ones. Make sure it ends on F.
When we speak in our native language, we usually do it without overthinking. We know how to follow a conversation and stay on topic, how to speak professionally, how to use puns and humor, how to lie, how to compliment a friend, how to change a tired subject. Fluency in language means that we can speak it instinctually and purposefully. We don’t need to consult grammar textbooks to get our point across.
The goal of Orff Schulwerk is to make music feel as easy as talking: to make composition and improvisation — original music creation — as easy as telling a story. Just as language is more than reading a paragraph off a page, music is more than playing one song on one instrument the same way every time. Music has habits and and tendencies. It can surprise or reassure us. It has rules that can be broken and traditions that can be twisted and refreshed. Music, like language, can be used naturally and without overthinking. Orff educators seek to support their students in developing musical fluency — whatever that might look for each individual child.
Every child’s music education starts with the basics, using a unique approach called elemental music. Elemental music allows for musicians to break music down into its smallest functional pieces and patterns. This approach allows even the youngest learners to learn, play, and create music on their own terms. As children become more comfortable manipulating these techniques, they are offered more opportunities to challenge themselves. This approach is not something to be outgrown; instead, elemental music grows and changes alongside each learner, accommodating to their individual needs and learning goals. The limitations under which a student creates music can be adjusted and expanded as their musicality increases.
Within Orff Schulwerk, music is understood to be multidimensional, moldable, and adaptable to any situation. Orff classrooms are playful and welcoming, their students curious and imaginative. Learners engage with music in a wide variety of ways. Speech and singing are central, as are body percussion, folk dance, and creative movement. Orff educators also participate in a long tradition of using recorders, unpitched percussion, barred instruments with removable bars. One class might explore the same song for a two months: a week of body percussion, another week singing the melody, a week on xylophone accompaniment, a week putting all of that together, a week on recorder improvisation, a week creating a group movement piece to match the melody, a week playing a game related to the theme of the lyrics, and a week putting all of that together into something big and beautiful.
The kids will have a showcase in the spring. They’re going to use music to tell a story. They won’t play any songs you know, but they’ll have a ton of fun! I haven’t decided yet whether to end the show with a folk dance or their favorite xylophone piece… Maybe I’ll ask them what they think. They’ll probably come up with something new.