THE KODÁLY EFFECT

Director of Training Choirs Naomi Heyden recalls a rehearsal room epiphany where one of her youngest ABCI students exclaimed ‘I've always wanted to know that!’ Happily, his Kodály-inspired training provided the tools to answer his instinctive but unarticulated desire to understand music.

‘This moment highlighted why rote-learning of concepts isn't necessarily the best method for teaching children music,’ says Naomi. ‘The Choir aims to give children a more holistic understanding of song.’

The late Ian Harrison introduced the Kodály Method when he became Musical Director of the Australian Boys Choir in 1978. Following studies overseas, he saw its potential to advance the Choir’s overall level of musical skill.

Zoltan Kodály (1882-1967) was a Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist. He advocated that singing-based music education be included in all kindergartens and schools.

An important aspect of Kodály’s way “in” to music is the use of hand-signs, solfa (do, re, mi etc...) and time names. Naomi says these allow students to internalise the functions of music. ‘With hand-signs to reinforce pitch relationships, students begin to hear notes without vocalising them, and they develop the strong, independent music reading skills which are invaluable.’

Families are drawn to the Australian Boys Choir as much for its comprehensive music education as for performance opportunities. Naomi says, ‘Kodály methodology allows us to teach musical concepts in a sequential, but flexible, fashion. It supports our intention to provide a choral program with a high level of musicianship.’

While she holds tertiary qualifications in both music and education, Naomi recalls that it was a university friend and former ABCI tutor who introduced her to the method. ‘My university music education didn't cover this methodology, so I began attending the Kodály training schools and courses independently…I’d find it difficult to teach without a Kodály foundation.’

Naomi has witnessed the benefits of Kodály-inspired learning as they extend beyond the ABCI. ‘Children gain a love of music, a well-developed ear, an understanding of notation in preparation for learning instruments and, more broadly, focus and active listening skills which have a positive impact on their brain development.’

In 1962, Zoltán Kodály said ‘All the problems now confronting us can be addressed in a single word: education.’ He believed teaching people to read music would enable them to cultivate artistic taste and ultimately to enrich society. We seek to continue his legacy.

Author: Belinda Scerri