A Music Revolution!!: The Zoltan Kodaly Way
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- ThomasR
- Deborah_Jeter
- Deborah_Jeter
- ThomasR
- Deborah_Jeter
- ThomasR
- DianeK_2
- DianeK_2
- Deborah_Jeter
- Deborah_Jeter
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» ThomasR - RESEARCH ON THE PENTATONIC APPROACH So far, there don't seem
RESEARCH ON THE PENTATONIC APPROACHSo far, there don't seem to be any well-controlled experiments comparing the pentatonic approach with the diatonic approach. Note that the Zemke (1973) and Friedley (1993) studies, cited below, had control groups with greater previous musical experience. Fridley found no significant differences between the two groups, so perhaps we can claim a moral victory for the experimental group.
In the Jarjisian (1982) study, we can question that the groups received distinctly different treatments, since all groups were taught both pentatonic and diatonic songs.
It would be difficult to design a study which both camps would agree is fair. It is to be expected that a student with less exposure or later exposure to fa and ti might show less familiarity to fa and ti in a test of listening or music-reading. But a Kodaly proponent could question the short-run importance of recognizing all seven notes or all seven tones.
If pentatonic-trained children could score better on a pentatonic post-test than diatonic-trained children could score on a diatonic-trained post-test, would that prove that the pentatonic mode is more appropriate for children? Perhaps, but many people would contend that a comparison of scores on two different tests would be tantamount to comparing apples with oranges. Moreover, one could argue that the pentatonic-trained children had less material to cover, being responsible for only 5 notes of the scale as opposed to 7.
What if we post-tested both groups on a pentatonic test? Then the diatonic camp would complain that the design is unfair, just as the pentatonic camp could complain that the present studies, which post-tested both groups on a diatonic test, are unfair.
REFERENCES
Boekelheide, V. E. 1961. Some techniques of assessing certain basic music listening skills of eight and nine-year-olds. Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, No. 60-6699.
Revealed that the most difficult intervals for the children to distinguish were the half-steps and whole-steps. The study did not pertain directly to pentatonicism vs. diatonicism, but it has implications thereto, since the half-step is eliminated in the Kodaly approach.
Fridley, M. D. 1993. A comparison of the effects of two learning sequences on the acquisition of music reading skills for the guitar: Traditional versus Kodaly-based. Doctoral dissertation, University of the Pacific. Dissertation Abstracts International, vol. 54, no. 4, p. 1277-A.
The subjects were fifth- and sixth-grade guitar students. After treating the experimental group to pentatonic instruction and treating the control group to diatonic instruction, the experimenter administered the listening tests from The Colwell Music Achievement Tests plus an experimenter-designed reading test. No significant diffferences were found. However, the control group had 14% more students with previous musical experience.
Jarjisian, C. S. 1982. The effects of pentatonic and/or diatonic pitch pattern instruction on the rote-singing achievement of young children. Masters thesis, Temple University.
The subject sample consisted of three first-grade classes. One group received diatonic pitch pattern instruction, the second received pentatonic pitch pattern instruction, and the third group received a combinatyion of the two. All groups learned one diatonic and one pentatonic song each week. At the end of the treatment period, all groups were given two diatonic songs and two pentatonic songs and were tested on those songs. The combination group performed the best.
Zemke, Sr. L. 1973. The Kodaly method and a comparison of the effects of a Kodaly-adapted music instruction sequence and a more typical sequence on auditory musical achievement in fourth-grade students. Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California.
In a sample of fourth graders, the experimental and control groups received pentatonic and diatonic instruction, respectively. Both groups were post-tested using The Colwell Musical Achievement Tests. The experimental group post-tested better on Interval Discrimination, Major-Minor Mode Discrimination, and Feeling for Tonal Center. The control group post-tested better on Pitch Discrimination, Meter Discrimination, and Auditory-Visual Discrimination. The control group had received 2 years of formal instruction from a music specialist whereas the experimental group had not.
To learn more about the author of this dissertation, see http://www.suite101.com/articles/article...
-- posted by ThomasR
» Deborah_Jeter - My Goodness, Thomas! Now, when someone clicks on The Zoltan Koda
My Goodness, Thomas! Now, when someone clicks on The Zoltan Kodaly article, they'll get an article within an article!:-D
Regarding using the pentatonic scale, it was my understanding that children sing a descending minor 3rd (sol-mi) most easily and at a very early age. And the reason for teaching the pentatonic scale first was because their voices are not developed enough to be able to safely sing in octaves, which would of course be the diatonic scale. I will look at the dissertation that you mentioned when I have more time and perhaps make more comments about this topic.
Excellent information! I'm saving it on my hard drive!
Thanks. ;-)
-- posted by Deborah_Jeter
» Deborah_Jeter - DOH!!! and I don't mean a deer OR solfege! I didn't realize t
DOH!!! and I don't mean a deer OR solfege!I didn't realize the dissertation that you were referring to was the Lorna Zemke article!!! Geez, my face is red.
-- posted by Deborah_Jeter
» ThomasR - ON PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT Kodaly tells us that piano accompani
ON PIANO ACCOMPANIMENTKodaly tells us that piano accompaniment should be withheld for a few years, during which time children should instead sing a cappella. He argued on the grounds that the piano is well-tempered, and that the children should be free to develop just-tempered pitch.
But Atterbury & Silcox (1993) ran a study on kindergartners singing with and without accompaniment, and found not significant difference.
Is just-tempered pitch an ideal which is reached by topnotch musicians? It is often said that a good violinist plays in just-temper when playing alone, but unconsciously compromises when accompanied by a piano. But I read somewhere--I believe it was in Seashore ([1900] 1983)--of a study in which concertmasters of metropolitan symphony orchestras were asked to send tape recordings of themselves playing unaccompanied. When the experimenters analyzed those tape recordings, they found a mishmash of just-temper, well-temper, and everything in between.
Is just-tempered pitch a blissful naturalistic state which is enjoyed by those who are unstained and unsullied by Western culture? Again, not so. I read somewhere--I think it was also in Seashore ([1900] 1983)--that a research team analyzed recordings of folk musicians and found the same thing--a mishmash of just-temper, well-temper, and everything in between.
This is probably one of the very few cases in which Kodaly has been proven wrong.
REFERENCES
Atterbury, B. E. & Silcox, L. 1993. The effect of piano accompaniment on kindergartners' developmental singing ability. Journal of Research in Music Education 41, 1 (Spring): 40-47.
Seashore, C. E. [1900] 1983. Psychology of music. New York: McGraw-Hill.
-- posted by ThomasR
» Deborah_Jeter - My question to you, Thomas, is did the article you read about th
My question to you, Thomas, is did the article you read about the kindergarteners being tested, (one group with accompaniment and the other group without), say anything about how long the study was conducted? It is a fact that the development of the inner ear is not even completely developed until around the age of nine. If this study were to have lasted for four or five years, until, say the age of nine, then I would venture to say that MOST likely, the difference in the group that learned to sing in tune using only their ears (without accompaniment) would be FAR stronger in-tune singers than the group that learned to sing with accompaniment. That has been my experience, but I have not conducted any scientific experiments. The way to teach a child to sing in tune is to have them singing as early as possible and have them singing accapella. The overtones of the piano and many other instruments can distort what a child hears. I have experimented with this many times when I am having children echo sing. Some students will sing out of tune when they are singing with an instrument. The same student will sing in tune if they are allowed to sing accapella. It is an interesting position that you cite, though and perhaps I would be inclined to agree if I knew that the study was done for a lengthy period rather than say, one year.In any case, I do not believe that this study proves that Kodaly was wrong on any account.
-- posted by Deborah_Jeter
» ThomasR - Someone recently posted a message in music-for-children, citing
Someone recently posted a message in music-for-children, citing a conference workshop which convinced him that the pentatonic sequence here in the United States should be different from the one in Hungary. In the United States, goes the argument, we have more do-re-mi songs than mi-so-la songs, so do-re-mi should precede mi-so-la.This is off the subject of my message, but someone wrote to me that the so-mi--la--do--re sequence is not the Kodaly's invention, but that of the followers of Kodaly. I think this person is right, because I have been able to find that sequence only in the writings of Choksy, and have noticed that Kodaly's own instructional compositions don't follow that sequence.
However, I think that Choksy is right. At first, the message on music-for children made me feel guilty for not teaching recorder according to the B-A-G sequence. But then I recalled that the so-mi calling contour is universal. I once put out a message asking people from other parts of the world whether or not children tease each other by singing so-so-mi-la-so-mi. Some people answered yes, some answered no.
I agree that a teacher of American children should adapt insofar as spending more time on do-re-mi songs, but the evidence from spoken intonation clearly indicates that Choksy's sequence is applicable in the United States.
For further examples of pentatonic spoken intonation, check this URL address:
-- posted by ThomasR
» DianeK_2 - Diane Knight I have been reading with interest all the hoopla a
Diane KnightI have been reading with interest all the hoopla about Conversational Solfege versus "traditional" sequence. John F. does use do re mi sequence but Sr Lorna and John I think will agree that nothing is written in concrete. In the end each teacher must write a sequence that works for them. I got my Koday certification from SilverLake but John of course teaches there too and I have used some of his ideas. What ever works is what is right. Remember that whatever sequence we use is better than no sequence at all. Kodaly never said he had all the answers.
-- posted by DianeK_2
» Deborah_Jeter - Thomas, I guess that I have only been taught, the "choksy" way.
Thomas, I guess that I have only been taught, the "choksy" way. Just because she studied atthe Kodaly institute, I guess everyone thought she would know what she
was talking about when she suggests that we teach the "easiest" intervals
first, which of course, in her findings, is the falling minor third. As I
understand it, Kodaly begins all sequencing in every concept at the level
that meets the learner's level of knowledge then progresses from there.
Teaching intervals according to the falling minor third first then
followed by the addition of La, helps to create a firmer foundation
melodically and musically in accordance with what is most familiar to the
learner's ears.
Your western versus eastern musical foundation and realizing that we grow
up with our own mother tongue folk songs, plus, knowing that these other
countries have songs built around different melodic intervals and
different scales than our diatonic one, would lead me to believe that you
are correct, even though I have never been told what you state is true or
not.
Thanks again for the contribution. You come up with some very thought
provoking comments.
I really appreciate that.
Diane, I certainly appreciate your contribution as well. I have been a Lorna Zemke "disciple" since 1976 when I first met her. I have always learned something invaluable from her at each of her 5 workshops that I have attended. She is a lovely person and a very inspirational educator.
One of the things that I love about her is her enthusiasm. What a wonderful thing to have a certification in Kodaly from Silver Lake. KUDOS to you! Please feel free to share with us your knowledge anytime. :-)
Deborah Jeter
Suite 101 - Music Education
-- posted by Deborah_Jeter
» Deborah_Jeter - The web site that is mentioned at the beginning of this particul
The web site that is mentioned at the beginning of this particular discussion thread, Music, The Universal Language has been relocated to:http://home.earthlink.net/~bluesman1/
Thanks.
Deborah Jeter
-- posted by Deborah_Jeter
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