Orffsite.com

Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Friday, February 11, 2011

Didn't get to go to TMEA (Texas Music Educators Conference) meeting this year. Here are some selected Twitter Tweets to give me the feeling of being there:

TroyPetersMusic: This is only my second year at the @TMEA Convention, but I don't think I'll ever get used to how gigantic it is! Whoa...

zserrato: Lunch with some of my district colleagues. I really enjoy TMEA and the learning opportunities that are available. 

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Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Sunday, January 30, 2011

Books and stories are an integral part of Orff-Schulwerk. They engage students, stir their imaginations and can teach moral behavior. Care, however, must be taken in choosing these stories. The subject matter and stories surrounding the works of Orff and Keetman are not normally the stories you might expect to be children's fare-stories of life, love, work and even death. The stories and poems they chose could be humorou...

Originally Posted by The OrffSite Webmaster on Thursday, December 23, 2010

My elementary choir students finished up the semester with a mini choir tour and skating trip. Even though our venue was local, it was like my old secondary days. I hope they enjoyed the road trip as much as I and their audiences seemed to enjoy their performances. The live audience always seems to bring out the best in young singers. The live performance makes singing a real life experience and not just an empty exer...

Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Sunday, November 7, 2010

It helps to have a map, but as long as you keep in mind your destination, musical understanding, it's ok to take detours and meander. If you just need a decent map to get you started, here's mine. Remember to always begin with speech and/or movement.

Generic Orff Sequence

Hear it (audiation)
Say it
Feel it (movement/body percussion)
Sing it
Play it
Accompany it (drones and ostinati)
Expand/Improvise it (add to the form...

Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Friday, October 15, 2010

Halloween, whether or not you care to emphasis it, is a great time for listening and moving to some of the "spooky" classics. It's time to bring out "The Hall of the Mountain King", "Danse Macabre", "Funeral for a Marionette", and of course, Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor".  Listening at the elementary level doesn't mean sitting passively and staring at the music room walls. There are free teacher made visuals in Po...

Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Sunday, October 10, 2010

I assess my students constantly, but I believe grades are unnecessary, despite the fact that I'm required to give them. 
I don’t trust District and State assessments. I haven’t seen one that measures how well a student has learned to play/sing their own part in an ensemble. I’ve never seen a test question that measures a student’s ability to improvise vocally, instrumentally or in movement. Where is the question ...

Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Monday, September 6, 2010

Talking about approaches to teaching elementary music can sometimes resemble a discussion about religion! My purpose here is to share a way that's worked for me and not to bash another approach. In fairness, here's an email I recently received. Elementary music teaching is a big world. Orff-Schulwerk is the area I'm exploring, but it's not the only part of the universe. Dive in. The water's fine. Here's an email comment...

Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Monday, August 2, 2010

Some new teachers get concerned when they hear that a principal wants teachers to concentrate on rules and procedures the first week of school. Chill. Rules shouldn’t take long.No more than 4 or 5  classroom “rules” , and they could be along the line of: 1. Keep hands and objects to yourself (Head and shoulders knees and toes song) 2.Raise your hand to speak and wait for permission(Chicken on the fencepost can’t da...

Originally Posted by The Orffsite Webmaster on Monday, July 19, 2010

Curwen hand signs and Kodaly's rhythm syllables are not part of Orff-Schulwerk, though I've seen some Orff instructors use both. In theory I'm opposed to using both, especially at the K-1 level. K-1 children are concrete thinkers. Give them something real and not something abstract such as a TA. They wouldn't recognize a TA if it walked up and tapped them on the arm. They would recognize a peach or a bee. If the goal is tea...