About the Kodály Philosophy
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer and educator who believed strongly in teaching music to children from a young age to set them up for a life of music. This approach is all about instilling a solid foundation of musicianship in children through enjoyable singing and play.
Learning music early on like this will give them musical skills which will stay with them for life. Music is also known to support communication skills, speech and language development, vocabulary and self-expression. And there are huge benefits when it comes to social interaction, turn-taking, focused attention and critical thinking.
In our classes, the children learn musical skills such as:
- Pitch
- Steady Beat
- Rhythm
- Higher and lower, faster and slower, louder and quieter
- Structure of music
- Singing together in a group
We play a lot of singing games and there is a healthy amount of movement in the class. This keeps the children’s attention and ensures that they’re learning with multiple senses.
Most children find their singing voice at around 3 years of age. We want to help them to find that voice and nurture the skill of using it. The singing voice can really help in the development of confidence and self-esteem in children. Kodály celebrated the singing voice as the most universal, accessible instrument.
We teach songs that lend themselves best to teaching concepts such as pitch-matching and rhythm. However, we also use songs from the folk tradition. Folk songs are often ideal for teaching young children as they’re simple, memorable and also very beautiful.