Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1973 (1. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
1973 / 2. szám
THE KODÁLY METHOD IN AMERICA A unique institution of specialized learning, the KODÁLY MUSICAL TRAINING INSTITUTE, INC. 5 25 Worcester Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02181, was established under a Ford Foundation grant in 1969 to develop the Kodály concept of music education for use in American schools. Over the past twenty-five years a step by step way of learning to read and write music while singing and playing has been developed in Hungary. The inspiration came from Zoltán Kodály. He spent many years of his early life with Béla Bartók collecting folk songs and developing a refined understanding of the history and character ofthis national treasury. A respect for folk music became the cornerstone of a project for making a musical education designed somewhat like language learning. With the collaboration of musicians and teachers from the Franz Liszt National Music Academy, a teaching sequence was conceived to last from infancy through school years. Central to the concept is singing. Music reading is learned through singable syllables originating in the vocal tradition of the medieval church. It is practiced in a system known as relative sol-fa. Sounds are pictured first in hand signs, realized in sol-fa syllables, then written on the five-line staff from familiar, memorized songs. The Kodály concept won acceptance and was made the basis of a national music curriculum for the public schools of Hungary. Hundreds of choruses sprang up. As music-loving citizens, concert goers, chorus members, amateur performers, and professional musicians, the new generation demonstrates the success of the program. It has enriched the quality of public education and the public life of the country, and is forming a bridge for better communication with other societies and cultures. The success of this experiment has attracted international acclaim. Many American music educators, seeking an equal opportunity for our children, have gone to Hungary to study, have attended workshops, and begun adaptations for U.S. schools. One of these educators Miss Denise Bacon, former director of the Dana School of Music in Wellesley, Massachusetts, became prime mover in the formation of the Kodály Musical Training Institute. A translation into the U.S. educational situation requires through knowledge both of the original model and the U.S. medium. The Kodály Institute has a working relationship with the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education, and the active cooperation of the U.S. State Department. This has enabled Hungarian teachers to accept temporary positions in the United States. They form the core of the Kodály faculty, while U.S. students are allowed to study the Kodály method in Hungarian. The 1973-74 faculty includes, Denise Bacon, Mary Jo Barron, Dr. Barrie Bortnick, Judith Fülöp, Dr. Klára Kokas, Keith Knighton, Mady Kraus, Katalin Komiás, Klára Nemes, Janet f / Sanders, Helga Szabó, and Éva Vendrei. The objectives of the Institute are: (1) to develop a graded, sequential curriculum for use in American schools; (2) to train teachers in the method; (3) to undertake research on the method’s effect on American children; (4) to disseminate information. Applicants must possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree and a “good ear.” Tuition is $2,000 per year. The Institute holds an intensive month-long summer course either in the U.S. or in Hungary, alternating summers, even years in Hungary, odd years in the U.S. Last summer’s course was held in Kecskemet. The course for the summer of 1973 was held at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. The Institute is not prepared to respond to requests for workshops at the present time. However, material on the Kodály method is available, and includes: Let’s Sing Together-a 16 mm film made in Hungary in the Spring of 1970, showing the Institute’s Pilot Class in the Koda’ly method studying and performing with Hungarian children. Price: $300; rental: $50. The Children Are Singing-a 16mm Hungarian film with English narration showing the beginnings of the method. It may be of interest to schools, citizens groups, music educators’ associations, and schools of higher education. Price: $125; rental: $25. Information Packets-containing OTHER NEWSLETTERS THE IMMIGRATION HISTORY NEWSLETTER is published about twice a year by the Immigration History Group, History Department, State University College, Fredonia, NY 14063. Editor is Dr. Roger Daniels. The newsletter’s stated purpose is quite similar to that of the HSN, i.e., dissemination of information from and to the field. It reports on past and future meetings on ethnicity, developments among the many nationality historical societies here and overseas, particular research being done, and recent publications likely to be overlooked by standard bibliographies. The Association for the Study of the Nationalities (USSR and East Europe) publishes a NEWSBOX periodically reporting on activities of the association. In addition, the association issues the NATIONALITIES PAPERS, a semiannual publication. Editor is Dr. Stephan M. Horak, Department of History, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920. It plans to concentrate on scholarly papers delivered at professional meetings in the United States and Canada. The first issue (Fall 1972) contains an article of specific interest to Hungarian studies: “Ethnic Stratification and Social Unrest in Contemporary Eastern Europe and America, ” by Robert F. Hill and Howard F. Stein. The article makes reference to Lorant G. Czigany’s paper on "The Concept of Hungarianess and Its Implications in the Intellectual Life of the 19th Century Hungary," delivered at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, at Dallas, Texas, March 1972. Kodály Musical Training Institute’s NEWSLETTER. For details see article on the Institute elsewhere in this issue. mimeographed articles, lectures, and an up-to-date selected bibliography on Kodály method material available upon receipt of $4.00 Add $1.50 for first class mail in U.S. and Canada. Videotapes of Kodály classes taught by Peter Erdei, Eva Rozgonyi, and Denise Bacon are available for rental of $15 or purchase at $70 (Ví-" Sony CV or El JA) and $110 (1” Sony EV or Ampex). Nursery Song Text-“Let’s Sing Together!”, collection of songs for 3,4, and 5 year olds from Mother Goose and others set to music according to the (Continued on page 8, col. 3) HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 7
