Master’s thesis proposal
Janell Bjorklund
DePaul University
July, 2013

 Oboe
 “Classroom instruments” course at UNT
 Student taught in a Kodaly-inspired classroom during a recorder unit
 Kodaly-certified, teaching is Kodalyinspired
 Inspiration from a colleague
 Took Level I Orff course with a really strong recorder techniques and pedagogy segment


"To teach a child an instrument without first giving him preparatory training and without developing singing, reading and dictating to the highest level along with the playing is to build upon sand.
”
--
Zoltán Kodály

Second standard:
“ performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
”
(National Association for Music Educators
[NAfME], 1994, National Standards for Music
Education, para 1).
 “
Kod
á ly training is a complete and comprehensive approach to music education which meets the National Standards for Arts
Education as published by MENC,
©
1994.
”
(OAKE, 2012, The Kodaly Concept , para 6).

 Therefore, the use of a classroom instrument is required in order to address the national standard regarding performing on instruments.
 Soprano recorder is of similar timbre and range to the child’s most natural instrument: their voice.
 Recorder and other classroom instruments don’t replace the voice as the musical foundation.

 OAKE guidelines do not require recorder techniques and pedagogy:
 “Special Topics includes subjects that relate to Kodály’s vision and philosophy, such as folk dance, folk instruments, applied music, chamber music, and children’s choir literature” (Organization of
American Kodály Educators [OAKE], 2010, p. 4).
 Only 74% of undergraduate institutions surveyed by Schmidt offered recorder and only 44% required it of all teachers.

 I suspect that many Kodályinspired educators are using recorder as a teaching tool in their classrooms.
 The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of the soprano recorder as a teaching tool in
Kodály-inspired classrooms

 1) Are Kodály-inspired teachers using the soprano recorder in their instruction?
 2) At what grade level (or skill level) and how often are they using soprano recorder?
 3) What method or pedagogy is driving their instruction?
 4) Is the soprano recorder used to reinforce specific musical concepts identified in the Kodály sequence?

 OAKE strongly promotes educators who are life long learners and researchers.
 Some commonalities among participants may arise.
 This study could be an impetus for the creation of future professional development sessions and the production and distribution of materials.

 Attendees of the Midwest Kodaly Music
Educators conference in October 2013 may complete the survey on paper.
Randomly selected members of OAKE will receive an e-mail invitation to participate.
 Participants will self-report on class room activities involving the soprano recorder and the methods/pedagogy that drives their instruction.
 The online survey will be administered through Google Forms.

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/
1OeLRYNoxyzW_9ccColJLnjHns9_Z
YJlYryA7f1hyzkk/viewform

 Descriptive statistics: response rate and demographic proportions.
 Frequency counts (n=__) : use recorders vs. do not use recorders.
 Look for correlations: recorder use and grade levels taught, recorder use and levels of training of Kodály and/or Orff-Schulwerk.
 Look for patterns in open-response questions.
 Demographic and open-ended questions may reveal where respondents likely learned to teach recorder.