When you are teaching Kodaly, the practical musicianship comes first, whatever the National Curriculum says.  When following the basic principles, your teaching will always start with experiencing the pulse, and songs with simple rhythm and pitch ingredients.  When the children have lots of experience of these songs and games, certain ones will be chosen as ‘teaching songs’ and will be used to teach specific rhythm and pitch elements.

The Kodaly concept follows a step-by-step logical and progressive sequence to teaching music. It begins with the use of the voice and is based almost entirely on practical musicianship skills.  About 80% of the Music National Curriculum requires practical musicianship skills. Brilliant!

The National Curriculum basically says:

Learn to sing!

Use voices!

Create and compose music on their own and with others

Use the ‘inter-related dimensions of music’ – pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and ‘appropriate’ musical notations.

Improvise music

Recall sounds with increasing aural memory

Use and understand staff and other musical notations

All this and so much more is all found, brilliantly put together, in the Kodaly concept of Music Education.  I highly recommend visiting the British Kodaly Academy website (BKA) and checking out their amazing courses and resources.