e. With Music In Mind (80)

'With Music In Mind' is a piano method, originally published by the British Kodály Academy. Its subtitle is: Kodály Principles of Music Education applied to Beginners at the Piano.

This is clearly a Kodály based method, even more than the others examined in this paper, explicitly naming Kodály and staying very close to the principles of the concept.

The foreword and another introductory writing by Kodály celebrities Tamás Vásáry (81) and Cecilia Vajda (82) also indicate a lot of credits for the Kodály heritage.

With Music In Mind consists of two volumes and a teacher’s guide. Book 1 starts with an introduction by the author where she explains the approach and gives her motivation.

“With Music In Mind provides a means of teaching music to the beginner at the piano which enables him to learn the language of music – to read it and hear it in his mind, at each stage – before he attempts to play it. Evidence of this ‘inner hearing’ is that he sings the music he plays first; he does not have to ‘spell’ it out on the piano to ‘see how it goes’. This approach results in musically intelligent playing and eliminates unnecessary difficulties.”

“The idea of With Music In Mind grew from the recognition that most children beginning piano lessons are musically inadequate prepared to do so.” (83)

Book 1 consists of eighteen chapters, listed in the index (included as an attachment in the appendix), along with the information of which musical element is presented in each chapter. This information limits itself to musicianship elements only, there are no piano technical elements listed. The songs are listed, shortly classified in columns for ‘song’, ‘range’, ‘melody’ and ‘words’, also giving specific information such as the toneset of each song.

Then the actual method starts off with a letter directed at the beginner pianist, explaining in plain text how the method should be used and what the student may achieve.

Book 2 has fourteen chapters. Here the teacher's notes are included. The songs are not categorised in solmisation, or rhythmic properties, as they were in book 1.

Interesting to read in the introduction of this second volume is, that the author experienced a change in her practice when her pupils had, at the time of the books release, up to four terms of musicianship before they actually started the piano lessons. “Compared with pupils who have not had this advantage, the difference is quite marked: they work through book 1 in relatively half the time, and are more musically assured.” (84)

The teacher's guide is a voluminous work. No effort is spared to explain the concept and to assist the teacher in preparing his lessons.

From a piano-technical point of view the method breaks with some conventions: for instance, by not starting with the two thumbs on the central c, but on the black keys. This gives of course easy access to the pentatonic scale, but it may hinder an easy transition to, or combination with, other starting material.

The following is written by an acquainted piano teacher, Pim Witvrouw, who uses this method in his teaching practice:

"First of all I experience problems in early education in The Netherlands. There is only the piano lesson, where all musical development should take place. In the Belgian system (where I've always been taught) there are from the outset alongside the piano lesson, one and a half hours per week ear training lessons (although in absolute do-re-mi), where the children sing the whole lesson.  The method With Music In Mind solves this problem partly, because there can be sung with a system (relative do-re-mi), and this makes a big difference to literacy. Students read a lot more ‘sound’ than with traditional piano methods, where they will often ‘calculate’. Big problem of With Music In Mind is that the method is constructed from the pentatonic scale (piano technically not always convenient), this does this does not correspond with the traditional piano methods (both thumbs on middle C, so ab-c’d’ e’ as initial position). With Music In Mind is not always practical.

But the approach is very valuable, students will really read sound, which is so important. Furthermore, the separate vocal exercises with do-re-mi are [...] very useful (even in two voices), and thus the ear training that traditional methods lack is nicely taken care of. How to fit all of  this into a 20 minutes’ piano lesson is a very difficult question.

[...] I believe that this lack of foundation in ear training is part of the explanation for the relatively low level of amateurs (relative to other countries). In countries where musicianship training is part of education (often public music schools still exist in those countries and there is funding for this extra tuition) instrumentalists do not have problems in musical reading after several years. In my teaching practice this is the biggest shortcoming in pupils: that they read symbols in stead of sound. The method With Music In Mind fills this vaccuum partly, but the connection with other repertoire is tricky. However, I do hope a Dutch translation will be published." (85)

Analysis from Kodály perspective

Skills and tools

With Music In Mind starts with presenting the handsigns and singing names ‘so’ and ‘mi’, followed by a diagram showing some songs with these handsigns. Then there is a dry solmisation exercise called “solmisation practice”. The order of the offered intervals in solmisation after so-mi: la-so-mi; so-mi-do; so-mi-re-do; mi-re-do; la-so-mi-re-do; la-so-mi-re-do-la,; mi-re-do-la,; mi-re-do-la,-so,; so-mi-re-do-la,-so,; do’-la-so-mi-re-do.

In the first volume there are only do- and la-pentatonic songs. This order follows the Kodály convention. Worth mentioning are the exercises for two-part singing, with the purpose of good intonation.

To introduce beat, the author repeats a known song and lets the pupil walk the beat. After experiencing this the explanation comes in, with reference to the heartbeat, the ticking of a clock or marching. The concept of rhythm is only explained in an abstract way: “The steady beats together with different sounds of different lengths give music its rhythm”. After the definitions of beat and rhythm the rhythm syllable ‘ta’ is presented, symbolised by the quarter note. Bars and bar lines, time signature and tempo indications are explained in one go immediately after beat and rhythm. A load of information, but all linked to the same song. To feel the metre, the method uses conducting patterns (2/4, 4/4, 3/4, one-in-a-bar: 3/8, 6/8 conducted in two). After presenting ‘ta’ there is a lot of rhythmic practice with this element, in combination with the quarter rest (which does not have a rhythm name, but is called a silent beat). The next rhythmic element is ‘tete’, symbolised by two eighth notes. The pupil is asked to sing a song while walking the beat, the two eighth notes are noticed and presented in syllables and symbol. All patterns are practiced extensively. The same procedure is chosen to present and practice the half note and the half-note rest, the whole note and the whole-note rest: first sing a song with the elements, present name and symbol, then practice. Sometimes the information precedes the experience, in case of the single eighth note, and eighth rest. The sixteenth notes are introduced in the pattern ‘te-tere’ (eight note, two sixteenth notes). After that the four sixteenth notes appear in the material, and other patterns with eighth and sixteenth notes. A last rhythmic element is the syncope, called ‘te-ta-te’ and symbolised with an eighth note, a quarter note and another eighth note.

Inner hearing is enhanced in several ways. In rhythm, by saying the rhythm syllables first and clap along, then leaving out the syllables, saying them ‘in your head’. Concerning melody there is work on inner hearing by singing and handsigning, by singing in two parts, were the voices alternate (the pupil sings the other line 'in his head' as he is ‘resting’), and by alternately playing and singing.

Polyphonic work is first done by combining pulse and rhythm with singing: walking the beat, clapping the rhythm, while singing the song. There is plenty of two-part work, rhythmical or melodic, helping to develop polyphonic skills. Canon singing is offered, preferable first in groups, and pupils play-and-sing in canon with themselves. Songs are also accompanied by ostinatos.

Phrasing and form are developed by the numerous question-and-answer assignments, and the responsorial duets. Sense of harmony is developed by experiencing the harmonies in the part playing and the canons. Some songs are to be accompanied by simple ‘chords’ (do-so for instance). The intervals are also practiced in the two-part intonation exercises. The ‘do-chord’ and ‘la-chord’ are presented, and practiced, as well as the ‘do-pentatonic scale’ and the ‘la-pentatonic scale’.

Concerning musical literacy, this method goes from the experience to the awareness, and only after ‘getting the concept’, the new element is presented in written form. This is not very clear when you just look at the pupil’s book, but the teacher’s guide reveals more clearly the intended method or procedure for the lessons. Noteworthy is that the author informs the teacher when to open the book in each lesson. In the teacher’s guide all lessons are chapters are worked out: aims, material, etcetera are ordered and listed, and a “Working through chapter X with the pupil” paragraph leads the teacher through the process. In this descriptions it is very clear that the approach is from the experience, from music to music and from sound to symbol. By just looking into the pupil’s book, that might be misunderstood.

Relative solmisation is used throughout the whole book in a very responsible and comprehensive way. It is always supported by handsigns as a preparation to the visual contour on the stave.

Rhythm syllables are used in the British adaptation of the Kodály-Chevé way. The author mentions in the teacher’s guide that the duration, or length-names, are only used in the early stages of learning, as is the case in Hungary, too. The syllables represent length, and are to be used only spoken.

Regarding physical movement, the teacher’s guide suggests it, but in the pupil’s book it is not very clear. The games involving movement, like singing games or circle games, should be played additionally, and preferably in an extra group lesson.

Principles

The pedagogical Kodály principles like experience-based learning and the from sound-to symbol-approach are clearly communicated in the teacher’s guide. For the teacher, it seems really necessary to use this guide throughout, because it would also possible to use the pupil’s book in a rather traditional, symbol-to-sound-approach.

Repertoire is adapted to British culture, as is in fact one of the Kodály-method’s principles: culture-bound repertoire, relevant for the region the child comes from, his musical ‘mother tongue’. Children’s songs, lullaby’s, etcetera. The author has chosen some of Kodály’s pedagogical work (such as the 333 exercises) and has added a text to the original melodies. This is due to the fact that not enough material is available for beginners in the English language. The British song tradition contains a lot of compound metre, and anacrusical entries.

Prepare-present-practice-principles are evident in the teacher’s guide, and also the sequencing in the pupil’s book is very structured. The ‘walk-through’ instructions give suggestions how to ensure that the pupil is prepared for every new element.