Kodály inspired a revolution in the teaching of music in Hungary. He, together with colleagues — among them Jenõ Ádám — established new principles for music education. These principles have come to be known as the “Kodály Method” of music education:
The Kodály approach to music teaching is based on the “musical mother tongue” of the students, that is, on their own folk music. This forms the starting point for musical learning which eventually leads to an understanding of and appreciation for music of all styles, genres, and cultures.
According to Kodály, because young children’s natural means of musical expression is the voice, music instruction should be vocally based. Children are taught through their own singing games to sing in tune, to improvise, and to sight sing music.
Musical Literacy (see from menu). The ability to read and understand the notation of music is central to Kodály’s goal of making children musically independent. His approach to teaching children to read music draws heavily on the English practice of tonic solfa developed by Sarah Glover and John Curwen. In 1950 music primary schools (see from menu) were established. These are elementary schools in which music is taught everyday on an equal footing in the curriculum as mathematics or language.
Music literacy refers to the ability to read and write musical notation and to read notation at sight without the aid of an instrument. It also refers to a person’s knowledge of and appreciation for a wide range of musical examples and styles.
Kodály and his associates adapted techniques from a variety of sources in the development of their approach to developing musical literacy in children.
Rhythm names were adapted from the French time-names system developed by Paris-Chevé and Galin. In the Hungarian adaptation some of these are:
| Note Value | Rhythm Syllable |
|---|---|
| quarter note | ta |
| paired eighth notes | ti-ti |
| half note | ta-a |
| four sixteenth notes | tiri-tiri |
| dotted quarter note | tai |
| dotted eighth note | teem |
The use of syllables to represent the sounds of the notes of the scale has its roots in the 11th century when the monk, Guido d’Arezzo, used the initial tones of a “Hymn to St. John” (ut, re, mi, fa, so, la) as a mnemonic device to train singers.
Solfa (solfège-Fr., solfeggio-It.) can be applied in absolute (fixed-do) form or in relative (moveable-do) form. In England, through the work of Sarah Glover and John Curwen, moveable-do solfa became the favored pedagogical tool to teach singers to read music.
Kodály and his associates adapted the Tonic Solfa system of Glover-Curwen in Hungary. Each of the tones of the scale is represented by a syllable. For the sharp an ‘i‘ is added, for the flat an ‘a’ is added (except for la that will become lo). The absolute (ABC) names of these depend on the key of a piece:
do….re….mi..fa….so….la……ti..do’
Do is the first note in any major scale. La is the first note in any minor scale. Thus, in the key of C Major, C is do, in the key of F Major, F is do, etc. In the key of A Minor, A is la.
In addition to these syllables, John Curwen applied a different hand-sign to each of the tones of the scale. These were incorporated in the Hungarian system as well.
The most intensive realization of Zoltán Kodály’s pedagogical concept began in 1950 when the first music primary school was founded in Kecskemét, the (at that time) little town where he was born, soon followed by others in Budapest and country towns. The music curriculum and textbooks for the music primary school were developed by Márta Nemesszeghy, the principal of the first music primary school, and an associate of Kodály’s. In these schools, music instruction was provided to every child every day and was afforded the same importance in the curriculum as any other subject.
Today a great number of schools in Hungary have a special music program.