What is it, and what can it do for you?
Recorder in the Kodály Classroom is, perhaps, the first book designed to do two very important things: apply Kodály concepts directly to the process of teaching recorder, and integrate recorder into the ongoing activities of a Kodály classroom in a way that enhances those activities rather than disrupting them.
Is this book only for Kodály-trained teachers? Not at all. The non-Kodály teacher will find this method easy to work with because the introduction of new notes, technical skills, and songs have been carefully sequenced. The Kodály methology is built in. The Song Book contains a much wider variety of material than is usual, and it is all good musical literature. There are no newly-written "children's songs"!
Then what is the advantage for the Kodály teacher? This book is designed to introduce recorder seamlessly into an ongoing Kodály program, treating it as "just another way to sing," used interchangeably with the voice in games, challenges, improvisations, dictations, and other music activities. The Kodály teacher will also find great flexibility in the ways the materials can be integrated into classroom activities.
Is it only for class use? No. The same approach and the same materials can be used for a single private student or a whole class. In either case, it is the teacher who can best judge when to introduce something new, when to skip something and come back to it later, or when to use additional practice materials.
How are Kodály educational principles integrated into this approach? The author was first a recorder player and teacher, later a teacher of children, and only later a Kodály teacher. She found that Kodály concepts are just as effective with instruments as with voices, but that the way those concepts are applied must be rethought because the mechanics of playing an instrument are different from the mechanics of singing, and because students should not be introduced to any instrument until they are well beyond the "sol-mi" stage.
Is the book for soprano recorder only? it is specifically designed for soprano recorder, the usual introductory instrument in elementary schools. However, when students have developed solid technique and good reading skills, and when their hands are big enough, they can move on to alto and even to tenor and bass sizes. Suggestions for helping them do this are included in the Postlude to the Teaching Units. A transposition of the Songbook for alto may be available in the future.
What does the book include? There is a comprehensive Teacher's Manual and a separate Student Songbook, which are sold as a set. Both were designed to be very useful for a teacher. Additional copies of the Songbook are available separately. Please follow these links for additional information or ordering information.
