Lauren Hirsch is a Wichita musician who is passionate about how children learn music. She leads an organization that trains music teachers in the Kodaly concept, which was developed in Hungary. For this month’s ArtWorks, Torin Andersen talked with Hirsch about the approach and her belief that music is for everyone.
For several summers as a USD 259 music teacher, Lauren Hirsch, was trained in the Kodaly Concept. Beginning in 1935, Hungarian composer and music educator Zoltan Kodaly sought to reform music teaching.
"If I never hear another person say 'I'm tone deaf or my music teacher told me not to sing at the concert' ... you know, then I will have accomplished my job as executive director of this organization," she says.
Hirsch applied for a support role in the Organization of American Kodaly Educators and became a staff member, eventually working her way to executive director. Her job is to get music teachers together to share and explore what this concept looks like in class.
"Music teacher conferences are definitely better than every other conference."
A good portion of conferences are teachers sharing how to make music or play a game.
"And with music teachers ... we're just out there ... playing, interacting, moving, singing, playing instruments — it's really active and so much more fun."
The students are exploring how you can make music a memorable game, much like Red Rover where everyone knows the rhyme and knows what to do next.
"Okay, so here's an example that I would use in my kindergarten classroom: There's an American folk song [called] 'Bluebird.' (singing) 'Bluebird bluebird through my window bluebird bluebird through my window bluebird bluebird through my window. Oh, Johnny, are you tired?'"
Some kids will like the music alone, but others she’ll need to hook with a game.
"So the way this game would work is that, I've got my whole class of five year olds in a circle holding hands and they all raise their hands up. So it creates this series of bridges, right? And then one person is 'it' — they're the Bluebird."
The class starts singing while the bluebird flies in and out through these imaginary windows of lifted arms.
"(Singing) Bluebird bluebird through my window.' And when you get to the part that goes, (singing) 'Oh, Johnny, are you tired?' — that high sound...(singing) 'oh,' is what that bluebird is listening for...."
That "sound" signals the bluebird to grab a second bluebird, they sing again, then grab a third bluebird, sing again, and so on.
"And the circle gets smaller. But the line of bluebirds gets bigger. It's really silly by the end."
After this repetition, comes the teaching moment.
"I'm going to extract this musical concept and it's in this case pitch."
The overall sense of fun and physicality is intended to provide deeper roots for a musical life.
"We've got to look at how to create meaning within our own day-to-day life. And then, you know, how can people be interacting in a way that really nourishes their soul? And I think this is the answer to creating all those things. It's more of a philosophy — music is for everyone and that everyone can learn it."
