Zack Spivey

ENG 1510 Compare and Contrast Draft 3

Kodly and Orff: Methodologies

of Music Education
While many different methods of Music education exist, two are
most prevalent: the way of Zoltan Kodaly and Carl Orff. These two
figures share certain philosophies of education with one another, but
differ greatly when it comes to the ways in which music is taught to
children.
Kodly believed that starting students in music early was critical
to their success. He also believed that the musical literature should be
of the highest quality possible. For this reason, Kodly collaborated
with one of his contemporaries, Bla Bartk to transcribe and publish a
set of Hungarian folk tunes for students (Lierse, 2010). To this day,
Kodly and Bartks work is published in volumes and are used in
classrooms around the world. Primarily, students are taught by ear
prior to learning how to read notes and symbols. Students are taught
through a movable Do system using hand signs. The hand signs that
Kodly used while developing the method were developed by John
Curwen (1816-1880) in England (Lierse, 2010). Children are taught to
sing rather than play instruments at first because of Kodlys
philosophy that the voice was the most universal form of music and
that learning the mother tongue was one of the foundations of music

Zack Spivey
ENG 1510 Compare and Contrast Draft 3
education (Cary, 2012; Lierse, 2010). Another important tool of
Kodlys teaching is the use of rhythmic teaching syllables. Kodly
borrowed these syllables fromJacques Chev (Cary, 2012).
Once developed, Kodly began his new form of music education
in the Hungarian school curriculum starting in 1943. The program
quickly grew, and was widespread throughout the country within two
years time (Lierse, 2010). After this, Kodly presented his work to the
International Society of Music Education conference in Budapest.
Pleased by the results that they saw in students and by the
comprehensiveness of Kodlys methods, the conference worked hard
in order to promote this new way of teaching. Thanks to this, the
Kodly method was introduced in other regions of the world and was
soon widespread in many different countries. The method was adapted
to other countries by using different folk tunes native to the respective
country. This was to ensure that students were invested in what they
were learning, and because the vast majority of other countries were
not familiar with Hungarian folk songs (Lierse, 2010). Part of the reason
that the Kodly method spread throughout Europe so quickly was the
nearly utilitarian structure of teaching that it provided. Kodlys system
was robust and easy to follow, and this made it an optimal starting
point for schools that did not yet have any form of music education.
While Kodly believed in a more traditional method of music
education, Carl Orff did not. He believed firmly that combining music,

Zack Spivey
ENG 1510 Compare and Contrast Draft 3
drama and dance was the key to successful learning. In Orffs
approach, all concepts were learned by doing, rather than listening:
Experience first, then intellectualize. (Mayhew, 2013) Orff taught
primarily on mallet percussion instruments such as the xylophone and
metallophone because of their accessibility to younger students. He
believed that improvisation was essential because they would much
rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you ail let them
learn while they play; they will find that they have mastered child's
play. (Mayhew, 2013) A common misconception is that Carl Orffs
teaching style is a methodology. In reality, Orffs style does not have
any specific levels or stepwise procedures, even though there are
multiple levels of Orff-teaching certification. Students are encouraged
to explore their own music as opposed to the music of others,
reflecting a more creative approach to learning.
Both Kodly and Orff teach the same general information: the
names of the notes, how to read music, how to keep a steady pulse,
etc.. All of these concepts are key in the educational experience.
Where Kodly and Orff differ greatly is the medium in which they chose
to teach these concepts. Kodly focused primarily on the voice, using
solfeggio syllables to represent pitch, while Orff used percussion
instruments to teach these same pitches in a more visual manner.

Zack Spivey
ENG 1510 Compare and Contrast Draft 3

Works Cited
Cary, D. G. (2012). KODLY AND ORFF: A COMPARISON OF TWO
APPROACHES IN EARLY MUSIC
EDUCATION. Zonguldak Karaelmas University Journal of Social Sciences
, 16.Lierse, S. (2010). THE KODLY METHOD IN THE TWENTYFIRST CENTURY. Bulletin of the
Transilvania University of Brasov , 5.Mayhew, D. P. (2013, September
24). Music Teaching Methods. (I. t. Education, Interviewer)