While Carl Orff is a very seminal composer of the 20th century, his greatest success and influence has been in the field of Music Education. Born on July
10th in Munich, Germany in 1895, Orff refused to speak about his past almost as if he were ashamed of it. What we do know, however, is that Orff came from a Bavarian family who was very active in the German military. His father's regiment band would often play through some of the young Orff's first attempts at composing. Although Orff was adamant about the secrecy of his past, Moser's Musik Lexicon says that he studied in the Munich Academy of
Music until 1914. Orff then served in the military in the first world war.
After the war, he held various positions in the Mannheim and Darmstadt opera houses then returned home to Munich to further study music. In 1925, and for the rest of his life, Orff was the head of a department and co-founder of the
Guenther School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich where he worked with musical beginners. This is where he developed his Music Education theories. In 1937, Orff's Carmina Burana premiered in Frankfurt, Germany.
Needless to say, it was a great success. With the success of Carmina Burana,
Orff orphaned all of his previous works except for Catulli Carmina and the En trata which were rewritten to be acceptable by Orff.
One of Orff's most admired composers was Monteverdi. In fact, much of
Orff's work was based on ancient material. Orff said:
I am often asked why I nearly always select old material, fairy tales and legends for my stage works. I do not look upon them as old, but rather as valid material. The time element disappears, and only the spiritual power remains. My entire interest is in the expression of spiritual realities. I write for the theater in order to convey a spiritual attitude.1
What Orff is trying to say here is that he does not use "old" material, but material that is good enough to be used again. If one eliminates the fact that this material was written many years ago, then there is nothing to stop that material from being any less legitimate in recent times.
Orff's work in Music Education has been astounding. In the early 1920's,
Orff worked with Mary Wigman. Wigman was a pupil of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, another very influential name in Music Education. In fact, Orff's approach to music is very similar to Dalcroze's, but Orff focuses on education through percussion instruments. In 1924, Orff joined Dorthee Guenther and together
First dealing with Ostap. Did they find out that he had been the one to pull the
answers no. He once again is too much of a coward to confess out in the open.
emerged in many of the stories. The younger generations believe they have something to owe to
of the past, but he remembers them only vaguely and they are just beyond his grasp. Equality is
Ever heard of a story that sings of the “Angel of Music” and the “Phantom of the Opera”? A tale that once you have listened to the sweet melody that you will realized that you've pasted the “Point of No Return”? This love triangle has captivated multitudes ever since the 1910 original Phantom of the Opera was published in France by Monsieur Leroux, although most story lovers recall the musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber or the motion picture adaption. Although this story has been entertaining people for over a century, in this new era have prerecorded voices and movements begun to overshadow the talented performers of live theater? Although “The lavish screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2005) only deepened the damage” of the dislike of musicals made into film “with non-stars in the leads and an unimaginative production,”(Musical),which version, the live performance or the film, makes the story more attractive? To answer these questions, permit this essay to analyze two methods of storytelling: 2011 live performance Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall and the 2005 film, and decide if music and story lovers everywhere have too “turned from true beauty”.
characters are in engaged in a dialogue which is common for a mother and a daughter to
Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.
Many schools around the country are cutting their music program because of budget cuts in their counties. The arts for some reason are always the first to be cut; apparently the school doesn’t think they are essential to their students learning. Schools try to focus on the more important academic classes because of the high testing standards they must now meet. (Nesoff 2003) This is not just happening in poor school districts it is happening in large districts across the country including magnet schools for the arts: “When Albert Margolis and his wife attended the final music program for their son's kindergarten class in May, they were shocked when a teacher stood up after the performance and announced that the music program was cut indefinitely…Bathgate Elementary School in Mission Viejo in California's affluent Orange County, is a magnet school for the arts…” (Nesoff 2003) When magnet schools for the arts start cutting music you know there is a problem. The problem is the schools do not know the importance of music and the arts and how necessary they are for children to grow and become cultured in our society.
Ageism is all too common in films. While there are still so many movies packed with stereotypes that view aging as negative, there is a recent movie, which portrayed aging positively in some aspects, the movie ‘The Second Best Marigold Hotel’. While this movie does contain stereotypes and humor about aging, it also shows the visitors leading active, happy, free and independent lives. They are not portrayed as being sick or frail, but instead they are embracing life and their experiences regardless of their age.
Brown, L. L. (2012, May 25). The Benefits of Music Education. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
Working Thesis: Music education improves children’s performance in school by increasing their intellectual capabilities therefore, all schools should offer music classes.
Music is a basic part of everyday life. What makes music unique is its ability to create an emotional response in a person. A music education program should develop the aesthetic experience of every student to its highest potential. Aesthetics is the study of the relationship of art to the human senses. Intelligence exists in several areas, which includes music. The concept of aesthetics allows us to see into ourselves, which in turn helps the development of the intelligences. Not only are these intelligences brought up greatly in music education, but they can be transferred to other areas as well, allowing students to grow more through their other subjects.
Children love music and recognize it very early in life. Mothers singing lullabies to her newborn baby, toddlers banging on a pot in the kitchen, preschoolers singing their favorite nursery rhyme, music is an important part of a child’s life. Music does many things, it can bring back a memory or a feeling, it can sooth and relax, and it teaches. Music also teaches children; Language, listening skills, and communication to name a few of the concepts children learn through music. "Scientists are confirming what teachers have long suspected: Music not only touches people's souls, it also shapes growing minds. When children sing or play music they become better readers, thinkers and learners. The more we discover about how the brain works, the more we recognize how crucial music is to children's learning." Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer, Ph.D., a psychoanalyst at the University of California, Berkeley.
In the beginning of senior grade, my IB Music teacher told us that he tries to compose orchestral music pieces which everyone can understand or at least interpret in a certain way even to those who has minimal musical knowledge. (Dr.Schmidt) Evidently, it is an intricate process my IB teacher has to struggle through to compose such pieces. He stated that the process of composing a piece involves the mixture of ways of knowing and also requires high musical intellect. People may gain knowledge by obtaining facts, information, and skills through experience or education. (Oxford) Does math only use reason to gain knowledge? Does history only use memory? Does religion only use faith? In some areas of knowledge, they may only use one or possibly
Music is one of the specials in school that can be implemented in the classroom. In kindergarten through fifth grade, music can be used in the classroom to teach students the daily classroom curriculum. There are several ways that a teacher can implement music into their classroom lessons. Some of those ways are creating songs, or finding creative songs on YouTube or other music websites. As a future educator it is my job to use a variety of teaching methods, and one of those methods should be applying music in my lessons.