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Hi!

I read your post and did a little research about it. I live in Hungary, and after looking into the method I realised that this is how i learned music.

Here is what I found:

The Kodály Method
Folk songs, which were collected in villages by Zoltán Kodály appeared in 1906. His oratorio ’Psalmus Hungaricus’ (Hungarian Psalm) was performed in 1923, that made ’s why ed in 1923’s in 1906. him turn to children’s choirs. After this he composed more and more beautiful children’s choir songs.

One of the main features of Kodály’s method is that he composed for everybody who learns music – no matter where they live, whether they are rich or poor, or if they are musically talented or not.

The other feature is unity - the teachers who teach the children were also brought up on Kodály method.

Kodály wrote ’333 olvasógyakorlat’ (333 Reading Exercises in Music), the 4 booklets of ’Ötfokú zene’ (Pentatonic Music), the 4 booklets of ’Bicinia Hungarica’ (Hungarian Songs for Two Voices) which served one single purpose: to bring back the almost forgotten folk songs to common knowledge. Kodály spent some time in Paris and England, too. In England he observed the English musical education, the musicians’ qualifications and the nationwide choral culture. In Hungary the Kodály method became generally used only after World War II., after 1945 .

’Everybody is able to sing’, said Kodály. However, if you want to write and read musicverybody can sing only after 1945 was generally in Hungary.
ystem died.e watched the educations of music and the musician'the c, you have to be familiar with the most universal and for everyone accessible musical instrument: human voice. Choir singing is the basis of our musical education. In 1929 in his study ’Gyermekkarok’ (Children’s Choirs) he wrote about how teaching of music could be made more interesting, more valuable. In all his works about music pedagogy he stressed the importance of a higher standard of teaching music at schools.

These points of importance are:

music should play a central part in education

musical illiteracy keeps people back from musical education development and visiting concerts

the teaching of music should be improved in teacher training schools

musical education has to start in childhood and they should get only top-quality music on their own level

singing every day is as improtant as doing daily gym exercises

a child’s musical mother-tongue should be Hungarian folk music

we should find musical talents with the help of human voice, singing

singing in choirs is very important, foreign masterpieces should be sung and Hungarian composers should create Hungarian choral literature from Hungarian folk music

government has to give money because the teaching of music is governmental work

The first booklet of ’Bicinia Hungarica’ appeared in 1937, they were written for Hungarian children. The idea was that children should get to great musical masterpieces starting from folksong-roots, first singing then choir-singing. This can be done so by other nations as well. In these booklets he put down very clearly that tonic (relative) solmization should be introduced and the basis of Hungarian musical mother-tongue should be the pentatonic scale. He also stressed the importance of polyphonic singing. The first, second and third booklets contained mainly Hungarian folksongs, the fourth includes Cheremiss folk music. A little later he wrote the ’Énekeljünk tisztán’ (Let’s Sing Clearly) series.
Kodály thought: People have to get acquainted with related nations’ songs, and only if they already know them, they can start singing foreign peoples’ songs, and if possible they should sing these foreign songs in the original language.

’333 olvasógyakorlat’ (333 Reading Exercises in Music) appeared in 1943, which is the most important book even today for children who learn music. In it Kodály showed children global reading of notes.

The four booklets of ’Ötfokú zene’ (Pentatonic Music) appeared soon after this. The first booklet includes 100 Hungarian folk songs, the second one includes 100 small marches for kindergarten children, the third one 100 Cheremiss folk songs, the fourth one 140 Chuvash folk songs.

In 1943 appeared the ’333 olvasógyakorlat’ (333 Musical Reading Exercises) which is the most important book for children’s, who learn music. After this appeared the 4 booklets of ’Ötfokú zene’ (Pentatonic Music). The first booklet includes 100 Hungarian folk songs, the second one includes 100 small marches, the third one 100 Cheremissian folk songs, the 3rd one 140 Chuvash folk songs. The second booklet was written for kindergarten children.
In 1937 in an article he wrote that the piano is not the best to teach singing. The conductor should sing for children. In the same year he was in a small town where he said:

the mixed choirs are better than just a men’s choir

people should sing more

we should teach music in schools

music is everybody’s

In 1951 appeared ’Zene az óvodában’ (Music in Kindergarten), in that he wrote when children play they should sing. In the other article he wrote children should begin playing a musical instrument, if they can already read music. Since 1945 there has been a ’preparation’ year before learning on any musical instrument.
In 1953 he wrote about ’Ki a jó zenész?’ (The Good Musician) It’s very important for a good musician to train hearing, singing of music, sing in choirs, and know musical literature. The good musician’s characteristic features are:

good hearing

intellectual qualities

educated heart

educated hands
These have to be in balance.

Nowadays Kodály method is world famous. In several countries children study with this method.

I hope it was informal!!

Beatrix