How and where is Orff Schulwerk realized around the world today?
Volume II of Texts on Theory and Practice of Orff Schulwerk
Pentatonic Press, 2021. Edited by Barbara Haselbach and Carolee Stewart
Article by Carolee Stewart
Answers to this question are explored by multiple authors who describe circumstances around the adaptation and application of Orff Schulwerk in their country/cultures.
The book has two parts:
· Part I contains five articles that explore the concepts of dissemination and adaptation.
· Part II includes 24 reports by authors and author teams from the continents of Africa, North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania that provide rich and varied descriptions of Schulwerk worldwide.
Our strategy was to look beyond those countries where Orff’s and Keetman’s pedagogical ideas were initially used and collect information on their implementation in cultures or countries that have adapted the Schulwerk. We provided general guidelines to the authors and asked them to consider aspects about their culture, published adaptations, and educational applications.
Among the responses, we learned about the use of traditional instruments and non-Western scales; about published adaptations that focus on materials specific to cultures; about target groups such as kindergartens, music schools, senior groups; about special projects; about teacher training; and much more. The book includes photos of children and adults engaged in the Schulwerk.
Thinking about your country/culture, how would you answer some of the questions that were posed to the authors?
- What role do improvisation and creativity play in your educational system?
- What role does integration of music and dance play in your educational system?
- What resources from your culture are used in Orff Schulwerk settings?
- How are minorities, immigrants, Indigenous groups taken into consideration?
- What was the process for the adaptation? Did a single person introduce the Schulwerk? A team of specialists?
- What is characteristic for the adaptation in your country as compared with the original Musik für Kinder?
- In what settings does Orff Schulwerk occur? What are the target groups?
- Is there a conflict between the educational style of your country and the idea of eye-to-eye contact between teacher and student?
- Is there some type of organized teacher training such as Levels Courses?
- Is Orff Schulwerk required in undergraduate teacher training? Graduate? Postgraduate?
- Are Orff Schulwerk principles written into a national curriculum?
- How was your country’s association established?
After considering your responses to these prompts, read Orff Schulwerk in Diverse Cultures to compare and learn about the Schulwerk around the globe.
Carolee Stewart, PhD, is retired Dean of the Peabody Preparatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She has taught middle and high school as well as at the university level and in Orff Schulwerk teacher training courses. A graduate of the Orff Institute Special Course, she served the American Orff-Schulwerk Association as editorial board member, national conference chair, vice-president, and president. She was a board member of the IOSFS 2010-2021.
Orff Schulwerk in Diverse Cultures: An Idea That Went Round the World
Volume II of Texts on Theory and Practice of Orff Schulwerk
Pentatonic Press, 2021
Edited by Barbara Haselbach and Carolee Stewart
