NATURE AND SCOPE OF:

THE ORFF-SCHULWERK METHOD

Elements within the approach

The American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA) is a professional organization dedicated to the creative teaching approach developed by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. The AOSA mission is: to demonstrate and promote the value of Orff Schulwerk; to support professional development opportunities; and to align applications of the Orff Schulwerk approach with the changing needs of American society. Orff teachers are united by their belief that music and movement to speak, sing and play; to listen and understand; to move and create should be an active and joyful experience. (http://www.aosa.org/about.html)

The Orff approach as a model for learning involves a much broader spectrum of artistic activity than is traditionally included in music. It is never music alone but a unity with movement, dance and speech. The word Schulwerk means school work in German. School work in the Orff Method is designed to place focus on the process rather than performance; on participation by all, each at his or her own level; on the cultivation of skills for creating and developing ideas within music and dance rather than reproducing set forms. (AOSA, (1997). Guidelines for Orff Schulwerk Training Courses.)

 According to Schiro, The Orff Schulwerk Method subscribes to the Learner Centered Ideology.

Schiro described learner centered educators as those who naturally create meaning- and thus knowledge- for themselves as a result of interacting with their environment. They assume that children contain within themselves their own capabilities for growth and that they are the ones who activate those capabilities through their own efforts; trust in the innate abilities of children. (Schiro, Michael Stephen (2008). Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns.)

The AOSA describes the Orff Method and its approach as being active; students take an active part

in their education, also through improvisation, movement and drama. This allows for a larger impact on students conceptual and affective development to take place (www.aosa.org). Orff allows for the student to take part in every aspect of their music education, through improvisation, active engagement in music, speech, movement, and drama. The student is always participating in some way, whether it be through singing, dancing, or using active listening. The emphasis is on process rather than performance; on participation by all, each at his or her own level; on the cultivation of skills for creating and developing ideas within music and dance rather than reproducing set forms. (AOSA, (1997). Guidelines for Orff Schulwerk Training Courses.)

Both explanations share many characteristic's; students naturally create meaning for themselves at

their own time, the active interaction with the student and their environment helps them construct knowledge, and lastly the focus is one the process with the teacher taking a role as a facilitator of the process.

Some assumptions that the ASOA and educators implementing the Orff Method may make are that; The educator teaching the method can play all of the Orff instruments, can facilitate improvisation, and can interpret/apply the Orff Method through the classic or revised texts. Educators implementing the method are well trained/experienced in all aspects of the Orff Curriculum and approach; Music, Movement, Speech, and Singing. Educator's implementing the method are keeping up with professional development and striving to learn different ways to apply the method. Student's have access to Orff instruments, pitched and un-pitched. The Method is allowed to be implemented within all music programs (it may not be).

 Orff and his collegues felt strongly that the idea for integrated, active, creative music

making could be relevant for music education cross-culturally, according to each cultures own musical traditions and heritage. (AOSA, (1997). Guidelines for Orff Schulwerk Training Courses.)
One of the basic premises of the Schulwerk is that each culture begins by adapting their

own speech and heritage, rhymes and proverbs, childrens chants, games and songs. The seeds of Orff Schulwerk have been transplanted to areas of the world far broader than indicated by the listing of publications(AOSA, (1997). Guidelines for Orff Schulwerk Training Courses). In some instances the seeds have died out, in some they are surviving minimally and in some they are flourishing, creating new ideas for growth within the method.
The Orff Method is being implemented globally. Many countries have their own

associations devoted to the support and promotion of Orff Schulwerk. The American Orff Schulwerk Association alone had 5000 members as of 2010 and has grown even more over the past two years.

 Performance based programs might find the Orff Method to be a bad fit. Though Orff

educators still use performance as a piece of their curriculum, often used as a part of the students formative assessment, the main focus of Orff is to allow students time to discover the process of combining music, movement, speech and drama. The end product is not nearly as important as the process that got the student to the end result.
Teachers that have a hard time letting go of control in their classroom may have a hard

time implementing the Orff Method. A certain portion of the approach requires the teacher to let the students take the rains, especially when having students explore improvisation.
Educators may not be allowed to implement the Orff Method due to curriculum

restrictions/conflicts within their district or school. The district may want their teachers to implement specific methods within their music classrooms.

When the Guntherschule, the first Orff Schulwerk school opened by Carl Orff and Dorothee Gunther in 1920, experienced much strife due to the political climate in Germany and the war. The original school was bombed and destroyed in 1945. In 1948 Orff and his colleagues were invited to present a series of broadcasts of music for children on a Bavarian radio station. Gunild Keetman was integral in the preparation of the broadcasts, which was embraced as a great success. The continuation of the Orff Method via the broadcasts allowed teachers from all over Germany to hear Orff and his colleagues work. Teachers requested taped copies of the broadcasts to use as instructional guides to teach themselves. The continuation of this work with children and the efforts of Keetman, led to the publication of the 5 volumes known as Orff Schulwerk Music for Kids (Schott, Mainz, 1950-54). Though the political un-rest and social strife that Germany was facing during the time that the Orff Schulwerk Method was being designed initially hindered the success. The perseverance that Orff and Keetman demonstrated by using the radio broadcasts to continue teaching shows us that political upheaval and strife can bring success as well. By having to find another means to teach during a time of hardship the Orff Method was able to be heard by more people at one time then initially imagined. Now, due to the recession music budgets are being cut back even further. This could be seen as a hindrance to the success of the Orff Method due to the fact that materials and instruments are expensive. I think that we as music teachers can make the Method succeed by sharing resources and embracing the true nature of the method. When Orff, Gunther and Keetman first started out they did not have all of the fancy instruments and resources that we do now. They used rhythms, songs, movement and drama to teach. Sometimes coming back to the basics can help build a better future than was ever imagined before.

 I whole heartedly believe that the Orff method should be tried, sustained, and be allowed to grow as

teachers/students needs change. This philosophy has helped The Orff Schulwerk Method succeed for almost a century. I had a hard time trying to implement the mthod in my classroom at first, then one day I finally let go of sticking to my rigid lesson plans and experienced an aha moment. My students embraced the concept s that I had introduced and created an amazing dance and instrumental improvisation piece to accompany the book The Rain Forest Grew All Around. Implementing the Orff Method takes practice, especially for A types like myself who want to plan everything to the Nth degree. According to Carl Orff learning results from the mutually stimulating interaction of instructor and students, the freedom and opportunity to take risks and the accomplishment of creative tasks appropriate to each stage of development (Werner, T. (1978). Orffs Schulwerk, Past and Future). Learning to take the types of risks that Orff was referring to within the music classroom allows for students to take ownership of their music education. Once the teacher learns how to set this type of learning in motion, the students step up to the challenge because the Orff Method is enjoyable and fun, and allows them to do so.

A counter argument to my stand might be that the Orff classic texts are too complicated to

understand and are dis-organized. Though it is true on both accounts, due to the translation process from German to English, there is an option to turn to. Margaret Murray translated all of Orff and Keetmans texts from German to English. In recent years, Orff Master Teachers have re-worked these translations to help simplify the texts, making them more accessible to all levels of teachers and students. The focus is placed on adaptation of the texts , allowing for more room to try new things. They have also now been organized by grade and developmental level..

Primary Resources
1. AOSA, (1997). Guidelines for Orff Schulwerk Training Courses. American Orff-Schulwerk Association Supplement. Cleveland, OH: American Orff-Schulwerk Association 2. http://www.aosa.org 3. Shamrock, M. (1986). Orff Schulwerk: An Integrated Foundation. Music Educators Journal. February 1986, v72 n6 p51-55.

Supporting Resources
-http://www.last.fm/music/Gunild+Keetman

-http://www.vosa.org/aboutorff/?pageID=14
-Gray, E. (1995). ORFF-SCHULWERK: WHERE DID IT COME FROM? Supplement to The Orff Beat - Centenary Issue. Orff Schulwerk Society of Southern Africa, Vol XXIV. - Gnther, D. (1952). Der Tanz als Bewegungsphanomen. Rohwolts Duetsche Enzyklopdie. Nr. 1951/152, Hamburg: Rohwolt. -Keetman, G., Orff, C. (1958). Orff-Schulwerk: Music for Children, Pentatonic I. English version adapted by Margaret Murray. 5 Vols. London: Schott. - Keetman, G. (1978). Reminiscences of the Gntherschule. American Orff-Schulwerk Association Supplement Number 13. -Schiro, M. S. (2008). Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns. California: Sage Publications. -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6J6yiC1u6Q -Werner, T. (1978). Orffs Schulwerk, Past and Future. Supplement to The Orff Re-Echos I, p. 3. Cleveland, OH: American OrffSchulwerk Association.