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By David Gadberry, MM
Graduate Teaching Assistant, The University of Kansas
Like many other general music educators, I felt frustrated and lost during my first year of teaching. I knew there were an infinite number of resources available to me, but I didn’t know where to begin. I did know that I was about to run out of songs and activities by the third month of school, which terrified me. I knew I should be teaching musical concepts, but I was confused as to how to find materials that were both good pedagogically and aesthetically, for the students and me. I knew that I wanted resources that contained substance and that could also teach the concepts I knew were crucial to the musical development of my students.
Pondering my study of Kodály and Orff during my undergraduate coursework and taking the first levels of each, I realized that I should continue in my exploration of these two. During my further study, I learned pedagogical techniques that helped me be a success. Additionally, I was exposed to a vast library of pedagogical and musical resources that became the core of my musical materials. I was finally teaching songs that I loved, and I felt that I was always finding new ways to use this material pedagogically.
Two particular published musicians/pedagogues were especially influential to my teaching. The first was Mike Seeger. Sadly, Seeger passed away this summer (August 7, 2009), but he left us with a treasure-trove of excellent folk materials. Among the most important for music education are American Folk Songs for Children and Animal Folk Songs for Children. Between them, there are over 180 songs played with traditional accompaniment, such as guitar, jaw harp, banjo, etc. They are truly an excellent way to learn the true life of these traditional tunes or to give students a taste of their past. In addition to these two recordings, Mike Seeger has many other recordings chronicling folk songs and traditional tunes.
The second collector, performer and pedagogue that has been pivotal in my song collection was Dr. Jill Trinka. Dr. Trinka re-released her published collection in four volumes during the 1990s through Folk Music Works. Each volume includes a book of notation and an accompanying recording performed by Dr. Trinka. As a male music teacher, it is very helpful to have lovely, quality vocal examples for the children that are in their singing range. These four volumes contain more than 100 folk songs that have been very successful with children throughout the U.S. Lately, Dr. Trinka has produced various new recordings of children’s songs in conjunction with Dr. John Feierabend specifically geared to the pre-K and elementary, general music classroom. Dr. Trinka’s performances create a variety of materials that captivate and educate at the same time.
Finding songs that I wanted to teach, rather than songs I should teach, was a key point in my growth as a music teacher. Through my study of Orff and Kodály, I was able to find materials that I felt were appropriate and important for my students to learn and perform. Additionally, I was inspired by and loved the music that surrounded me throughout the day.
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