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What is Orff?

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 The “Orff Program” is named for a German composer, Carl Orff, who invented a unique system of teaching music to children. Carl Orff was a composer who was unhappy with the musical abilities of his orchestra. He developed his “Kindermusic” or Music for Children to teach quality musicianship to young children.

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 The primary focus of Carl Orff’s system for teaching was the active involvement of children in their musical activities. He did not see music teaching as children sitting in chairs reading from a textbook. He saw children up and moving around the room. He saw children actively singing and playing instruments. He gathered instruments from around the world for the best quality sounds: xylophones from Africa, metallophones from the Indonesian Gamelan, and glockenspiels from Germany. He selected high quality equipment even for the youngest children. It was typical for him to have drums, recorders, unpitched equipment such as claves, maracas, tambourines, and other small instruments from many cultures in the classroom. He saw children creating and improvising their own music and learning what sounded best by active participation.

Carl Orff also included reading and writing of music in his teaching. He borrowed ideas from Zoltan Kodály, a Hungarian composer, from hand signals for pitch differences to solfége (Sol-Mi-La syllables) for learning how to read music.

Lesson plans were active and interactive. Many ideas were presented in each lesson. Children started by learning folk songs from their own culture and then expanded their knowledge to include cultures from around the world.

Special Orff education coursework was offered in Germany, Canada, and the United States. Level I, Level II, Level III, and Orff Master Classes were taught at many locations and by specially qualified master teachers around the world. It is worth noting that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has one of the best attended Orff Courses in the United States. Also, the State of Nevada offers music certification, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education.

“Since the beginning of time, children have not liked to study. They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you will let them learn while they play; they find that what they have mastered is child’s play.” Carl Orff

The Transition Years 

1975 Through Today

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