Posted by Doug Whitten on September 02, 2002 at 22:49:02:
In Reply to: "branded" elementary music posted by js on September 02, 2002 at 02:33:20:
Suzuki and Orff are surely the heavy hitters out there. For general music in the elementary schools I had a fair amount of success at getting kids into music using a hybrid of "Orff type" instruments (there are many brands that sell that type of stuff)and
home made instruments. There may well be more effective methods for teaching music to the little ones (Kodaly, perhaps), but, in my experience, the various "tinker" toys in the Orff collection are really fun for the kids.
I don't teach elementary anymore, but I have been reading about another approach to elemtary music that is very movement and expression oriented. It is called Dalcroze. It has been shown to be effective in aiding "whole child " growth. Especially in At-Risk populations. For more information on constructivist music teaching check out the High/Scope foundation www.highscope.org
-Doug