Singing and Playing - A Kodály Approach to Cello Playing
(2023)
author(s): Alice Andreani
published in: KC Research Portal
Alice Andreani - Classical Cello
Research Supervisor: Daniel Salbert
Research Title: "Singing and Playing - A Kodály Approach to Cello Playing".
Research Question: “What are the effects that the practicing of exercises involving singing and playing has on cello playing?
The objective of my research is to draw attention to the importance of developing and training musicianship skills; in this paper I will argue on why musicianship training should receive as much importance as studying the technique of an instrument.
I will specifically focus on the effects that practicing exercises involving singing and playing on the cello, has on the development of a good inner hearing and musicianship skills over time, as well as how singing is proven to be an helpful tool in combination with playing, when approaching a piece from the cello chamber or orchestral repertoire.
This research is based on literature research and practice based research. It includes a series of 40 exercises for cello and voice written by me as well as guidelines on how to practice singing and playing.
Biography:
Alice Andreani is a cellist, now pursuing her master degree at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, in the class of Michel Strauss and Jan-Ype Nota.
In 2021 she was awarded the Andrea Elkenbracht prize. In the season 2021/2022 she was an intern in the Noord Nederlands Orkest. Alice has been playing with the Kamerorkest van het Noorden and has taken part in different chamber music festivals. Her interest for music goes beyond playing as she is very passionate about teaching; she is enrolled in the year 2022-2023 in the teaching training course Muziek als Vak.
The Kodály effect: Measuring musical literacy in Dutch primary school children
(2022)
author(s): Ingrid Roig
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Ingrid Roig
Main Subject: Music Education according to the Kodály Concept
Research Supervisor: Suzanne Konings
Title of Research:
The Kodály Effect: measuring musical literacy in Dutch primary school children.
Research Question:
What is the effect of Kodály inspired music education on musical literacy in Dutch primary school children and how can musical literacy be measured?
Summary of Results:
Recent years have shown a growing effort to increase the number of music lessons in Dutch primary schools. Nonetheless, an apt way to track children’s individual musical development is currently lacking, and no studies have been conducted to investigate the beneficial effects on musical literacy. The Kodály approach to music strongly emphasizes musical literacy, and prior research shows evidence of a positive impact on specific music skills.
This thesis presents a study investigating the effect of Kodály inspired music education on the musical literacy scores of one hundred and thirty-four Dutch primary school children, Mage = 8.72 years. Children were randomized into two groups: a Kodály music intervention group and a control group. Gordon’s IOWA Tests of Music Literacy provided data on musical literacy outcomes. A Musical Aptitude test assessed the learning potential for music.
Musical literacy increased significantly in the music intervention group compared to the control group. Children with a high musical aptitude showed greater improvement in musical literacy scores than children with a low musical aptitude. The present results indicate a beneficial influence of Kodály music education on musical literacy.
In the second part of the study, the focus lies on developing a Dutch instrument and materials to measure and track the individual musical literacy development of Dutch primary school children. A pilot version and materials that music teachers can use in their classrooms are presented.
Biography:
Ingrid Roig (Argentina, 1986) studied Psychology and Developmental & Educational Psychology at Leiden University with a special interest in learning potential. In 2020 she started her studies at the Royal Conservatoire. She is the founder of a choir school in Dordrecht where she currently conducts a children's choir and gives solfege lessons. She is also a music teacher in a Dutch primary school for gifted students.
From Aural Teaching to Musical Literacy in the Elementary Horn Class
(2017)
author(s): Klaske de Haan
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Klaske de Haan
Main Subject: Master Music Education According to the Kodály concept.
Research Supervisors: Suzanne Konings and Herman Jeurissen
Title of research:
From Aural Teaching to Musical Literacy in the Elementary Horn Class
First steps to a Kodály inspired horn method.
Research Question:
How to develop a methodology for the beginning horn player, from an aural approach to musical literacy?
Summary of Results:
The Netherlands and Germany are almost the only countries where children start playing the B flat horn instead of the F horn because of the rich culture of wind bans. There are almost no horn methods based on the harmonics of the B flat horn. The traditional instrumental music lesson is mainly based on reproducing: a certain image on paper matches a fitting fingering thus producing the matching sound. When the sound is not matching the image than the teacher corrects this sound. I noticed that the children could play well when playing by themselves, but when they played together with other instruments they could easily play the whole phrase on the wrong pitch (wrong harmonics) but with the right fingerings. The horn is an instrument based on harmonic overtone series. Finding the logical steps on the valves of the horn is very difficult. Woodwind players have a logical system on the instrument playing diatonic series like do re mi. For the horn, with 3 valves, there is not a logical sequence playing diatonic series. This made me realize that some changes in the methodology are necessary for the horn to make an aural approach more logical for the beginning horn player. It also did me realize how extremely important it is for the young horn player to develop the inner hearing very well and make the logical steps from sound to symbol. My research paper investigates the possibilities to develop musical literacy in the horn lesson but also in the instrumental group lesson with transposing instruments. My main conclusion is that it is very important to make singing and moving a part of the horn lesson in order to develop inner hearing in relation to the horn. In that way the music will be understand and musical literacy can be developed.
Biography:
Klaske de Haan studied horn at The Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and at the Fontys Conservatoire in Tilburg with Herman Jeurissen. She graduated in 2000 for her diploma Uitvoerend Musicus.
As a free lance horn player Klaske worked with several professional orchestras in the Netherlands for example The Residentie Orchestra. Klaske is a horn teacher at the Music school, Scholen in de Kunst, in Amersfoort and she works at the Royal Conservatoire at The Hague with BASIS. A new music program for young wind players.
From 2014 Klaske specializes in Music education and pedagogy by attending several course such as “muziek als vak”.
The Mental Effect of the (Temporary) Tonic: a study of tones in jazz tunes through John Curwen's Tonic Sol-fa
(2017)
author(s): Patricia Wisse
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Patricia Wisse
Main Subject: Music Education according to the Kodály Concept Research Supervisors: Suzanne Konings & Ab Schaap
Title of Research:
The Mental Effect of the (Temporary) Tonic: a study of tones in jazz tunes through John Curwen's Tonic Sol-fa
Research Supervisor: Suzanne Konings, Ab Schaap
Research Question:
How can Tonic Sol-fa be used in dealing with (temporary) tonics in short musical forms, such as the 32-bar jazz standard?
Summary of Results::
In general, the level of musicianship of (jazz) singers is considered to lag far behind that of their instrumentalist classmates. Are singers somehow not as musical? Or not as interested? Is something different in the approach? Or is the approach not different enough? Looking at what is really needed to be able to improvise in a jazz context, and approaching this through John Curwen¹s Tonic Sol-fa method, this research is an exploration of a vocal and mental alternative to the pianistic approach of vocal improvisation, that is true to our musical experience.
Biography:
Patricia Wisse studied Theology in Leiden, and then Jazz Voice at Codarts Rotterdam. In 2015 she started her studies at the Royal Conservatoire: Music Education according to the Kodály Concept.
Through studying the work of John Curwen, she has developed her own approach in studying and teaching jazz. She has also developed a new music learning tool, the Movable Do Disc, and is continuously developing ideas and methods around it.
Music education in the Teacher Training College
(2016)
author(s): Marielle Heidekamp
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Mariëlle Heidekamp
Main Subject: Music education in the Teacher Training College
Research Supervisor(s): Suzanne Konings, Renee Jonker
Title of Research: Music education in the Teacher Training College
Research Question: What content has to be included in the first-year module for the Gouda Teacher Training College (TTC) to give students the experience, knowledge, skills and confidence required to experience joy in making music with children and to enable them to teach good and joyful music lessons in primary schools?
Summary of the Results:
“There will be good music education in the schools only when we educate good teachers”
This quote from Kodály inspired me to start this research. In the Teacher Training College (TTC) there are quite a lot of students who, after completing the two year music module, do not feel confident enough to organise well-balanced music lessons in primary schools.
Apart from this, music education is underappreciated in primary schools.
By using the method of Practised-Based Research, I have examined how to change the music-modules in the TTC in order to profoundly motivate and equip students to provide well-balanced music lessons in primary schools. In this new music module the students will personally experience the joy and pleasure in music-making and they will be inspired to pass on this feeling of joy to the children.
I will show you in my Research Paper and in the Presentation that the content of the new module, inspired by the SFM-model and the concept of the three P's, will give students the knowledge and skills necessary to feel confident enough to organise their music lessons.
Biography:
I am 34 years old. I am class teacher in primary school for 13 years and music teacher in the Teacher Training College in Gouda for 5 years. I have studied on the Teacher Training College from 2000-2003, on the KC Bachelor Music Education from 2011-2013, on the course 'Muziek als Vak' in 2014. In my free time I am a conductor of a children's choir and a mixed choir. I play the flute and sing in choir as a soprano.
Collecting Repertoire for Kodály-inspired Music Lessons in Dutch Elementary Schools
(2015)
author(s): Daniel Salbert
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Daniel Salbert
Main subject: Theory of Music
Research coach: László Norbert Nemes
Title of research: Collecting Repertoire for a Kodály-inspired Music Curriculum
Research question: Is it possible to gather Relevant Repertoire for Dutch Elementary Schools to build a Kodály-inspired Music Curriculum?
Abstract
Six years ago, I visited a Kodály-course in Manchester, UK. This was the initial experience that changed my whole teaching and also my view on Music Education in general. After several study tours to Hungary I was convinced that it would be possible to develop a Kodály-inspired Music curriculum for Dutch elementary schools. Musical skills should and can be taught to anyone, beginning already in elementary school and not only at conservatoire level. As Kodály puts it: “Let music belong to everyone”.
Singing musical repertoire is the fundament of all Kodály-inspired music teaching. So I began collecting relevant repertoire for Kodály-inspired music lessons in Dutch elementary schools: songs, rhymes, singing games, (folk) dances, canons, quodlibets, etc.
To answer the research question I have collected many Dutch and International song books for elementary school from past to present and went through them for closer musical analysis. Besides, I researched song material at the Meertens Institute Amsterdam, organized a (folk) dancing workshop for elementary school teachers and went on study tours to Budapest and Glasgow. And of course I took notice of the repertoire that my fellow Kodály-colleagues at the Royal Conservatoire (KC) used. Searching and collecting repertoire became an attitude.
But searching repertoire is not a theoretical business. Therefore, in the last two years I was testing repertoire in some of my classes: 1) Jong-KC-junior-students of the Royal Conservatoire at the age of 7-9 years; these children were following a special talent education. 2) ‘Normal’ children of the age of 6-8 years at a local Dutch elementary school.
To gather the repertoire I built a database in File Maker Pro. I analysed the repertoire concerning musical parameters that are relevant to build a curriculum for Music education. The advantage of such a database is the fact that it is searchable. So when building a curriculum, repertoire can be grouped and sequenced according to the musical learning goals that are aimed at. Also staff notation, a game description and a demonstration video are provided. In the future I would like to transform this into an online database that could serve as a repertoire source for any Music teacher.
After two years of research I can positively answer the research question. The next step would be to sequence the repertoire for the benefit of a step-by-step curriculum for the full eight years of Dutch elementary school education. Then Music at Dutch elementary schools might again become a subject that matters.
Biography
Daniel Salbert (Nuremberg, Germany 1971), studied Music Teaching (BA 1999), Choral Conducting (BA 2001) and Music Theory (BA 2009) at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague (KC). He conducted different choirs such as children, chamber and oratorio choirs. At the moment he conducts the Young Talent Choirs and the First Year’s Choir of the KC and Concertkoor Rijswijk. He teaches Musicianship and Solfege for the Singing Department of the KC. He also teaches Solfege and Kodály-methodology for the Saturday-course “Music as a Subject” and the Master “Music Education according to the Kodály-concept”. He also teaches Musicianship and Music Theory at the School for Young Talent of the KC.