Ever since I stumbled across the Kodály approach, as a young class teacher who believed firmly that she was not musical, I have been drawn to these words by Zoltán Kodály: ‘A good musician may be summarised as follows: A well-trained ear, a well-trained intelligence, a well-trained heart and a well-trained hand. All four must develop together in constant equilibrium. As soon as one lags behind or rushes ahead, there is something wrong.’
I think many, upon reading this, will consider that their initial training was quite heavily weighted towards the last of these, the hand. I was certainly one of these students.
Light-bulb moments
My whole Kodály journey has been a series of light-bulb moments – when something that had been a mystery to me before, or impenetrable, or just downright impossible, suddenly made sense for the first time. I found I could learn to do things that I thought only people with a ‘gift’ or a ‘talent’ for music could do.
There were so many things that attracted me to this wonderful way to learn and to teach music:
- its systematic, step-by-step progression
- its multi-sensory nature
- the built-in repetition (which can mean repeating something – or repeating it but adding a new layer – or meeting the same element in a variety of contexts)
- the fact that I didn’t have to play the piano in order to teach music
- the deep connection with the children through eye-contact and singing
- the fact that, when taught well, the process is both natural and organic, and therefore joyful
- the creativity that was possible on the part of both teacher and students
- the sense of deep satisfaction that comes from achievement
Growing confidence
As a lifelong educator, I have a passionate belief that the main purpose of ‘education’ should be to help others find their true selves and their true path in life. There is much talk these days of diversity and inclusion – yet every human on this planet is unique, and each finds their ‘element’ in myriad ways. And confidence is the greatest gift that a teacher can give – because, without it, we can do nothing.
Kodály gave me a passion and that confidence. I grew into someone I never ever thought I would be. I have taught in a huge range of primary schools (state and independent) and also at a junior conservatoire for 34 years. I was the first Advisory Teacher for the Voices Foundation and have trained both specialist and class teachers in the UK and overseas; I have co-written five books in the Jolly Music series and have taught musicianship, methodology and conducting for many organisations.
The Collective
In November 2018 The Phoenix Collective was born: a group of cheerfully-eccentric, passionate, like-minded music educators, committed to putting on a wide variety of courses for both professional and amateur musicians. Our first two courses, in 2019, were in-person – but then Covid happened and we migrated into the world of Zoom. Of course this has disadvantages, but one of the great benefits has been the joy of working with people from all over the UK and internationally. Current students hail from Jordan, Brunei, Australia and the Solomon Islands(!), as well as all of Europe.
Courtesy Nedy Muna
Muna putting his training to good use with the Mosaica choir, Jordan
Phoenix now offers a full certificate: the Accredited Certificate in Kodály Music Education (ACKME). Students achieve this by attending core and optional modules, and successfully passing the associated assignments. The core modules are Kodály Philosophy, Methodology Overview, Methodology, and Vocal Studies. The list of optional modules is growing all the time and includes such diverse topics as The History of English Folk Song (led by editors of the New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, the inimitable Steve Roud and Julia Bishop); Movement (Dalcroze, Alexander Technique and yoga); and Creativity in the Kodály Classroom. Non-certificate students are also welcomed to all of our courses.
The first three Phoenix courses organised for 2023 are:
- International Song Repertoire – taught by six native speakers from Jordan, Spain, Nigeria, Poland, Holland and Argentina
- Improvising in the Modes
- Harmony (three levels)
Many more goodies are in the pipeline, including methodology for primary and instrumental teachers, children’s games and getting your singing moving (incorporating Dalcroze Eurhythmics).
We have welcomed input from renowned educators such as Paul Harris, Karen Marshall and Sally Cathcart.
At Phoenix, we are committed to the philosophy of ‘letting people be’ – of recognising that everyone needs to choose their own path and do what is right for them at any one time. The Certificate has no time limit for completion, so students can study whenever is right for them – and we all know that the best learning occurs gradually, over time! Non-certificate students are very welcome, too, to take any course that appeals to them. All courses are on Zoom and recorded.
Probably the most crucial aspect of Kodály training is musicianship. I know from my own experience that the higher level one’s own musicianship is, the better teacher one becomes. Teachers are often exhausted and are ‘giving out’ all the time – it’s so important to put petrol back in the tank. Many students just love their hour of ‘me time’ a week, and one said recently, ‘This is better than therapy!’. Phoenix offers several weekly classes at a variety of levels.
A testimonial
In 2019 I had the pleasure of meeting Nedy Muna from Jordan – a choral conductor who wanted to investigate ways of improving music education in his country. He signed up for Phoenix courses and in July 2022 was the first student to be awarded the ACKME certificate. Nedy has certainly kept me on my toes with his voracious appetite for courses and assignment completion!
‘The Phoenix courses were very comprehensive, well-structured and taught by professionals who aided my learning process in areas such as building a curriculum for children, finding the right repertoire, moving away from the fixed solfa, and using hand signs,’ says Muna. ‘As part of my assignments, much research and work went into collecting Arabic folk songs (tunes and melodies that are familiar to children) and simple songs from the playground. These could easily be taught and had games incorporated – perfect material to help achieve the necessary baby steps in the unconscious to conscious learning process.
‘I can confirm the positive change in the way my choir rehearsals are [now] run. With my musicianship training, I can sing with one voice whilst playing the piano to accompany another voice. I can conduct the choir, sing with one of the voices, and evaluate the phrasing of another voice. This is making rehearsals way more enjoyable and efficient! With the hand signs and relative solfa, I am already feeling the change in mindset to music reading and pitch accuracy within the children’s choir. Reading stick notation from flashcards is becoming essential and something choir members look forward to, because they know how beneficial it is.
‘I stand in awe of such an organisation led by the wonderful Cyrilla Rowsell, who taught me, guided me and took me by the hand to explore this beautiful world of music through the Kodály Approach and Musicianship.’
I probably should have retired to the country by now in order to grow vegetable marrows, like Poirot – but I am as passionate as ever about helping people discover new things – to grow and develop and discover their true path in life.
The ‘well-trained heart’ of which Kodály spoke is at the core of all that I and my wonderful team do.
