AN APPROACH TO MUSIC EDUCATION BASED ON THE INDICATIONS OF RUDOLF STEINER: IMPLICATIONS FOR GRADES 1-3 By Linda Ann Ledbetter Eterman A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department, of Visual and Performing Arts Education We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April 1990 Copyright Linda Ann Ledbetter Eterman In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of f.^+J a*.*/ The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT This study provides an introduction to Rudolf Steiner's ideas on music and music education and describes how these ideas have been adapted and applied in Grades One through Three in North American Waldorf Schools. Included in the study are: Steiner's basic philosophical concepts relating to music and music education; Steiner's rationale for aesthetic and music education; a description of the Waldorf approach to music teaching; results of a questionnaire sent to twenty-three Waldorf Schools in North America; a comparison of Steiner's key ideas on music education with those of Orff, Kodaly, and Dalcroze. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii LIST OF GRAPHS AND TABLES vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix PREFACE X Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Background 1 B. Purpose of Study 3 C. Methodology 14 D. Significance of Study 15 E. Limitations 16 F. Glossary 17 II. BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS RELATING TO MUSIC EDUCATION 19 A. Child as Spiritual Being 19 B. Child as Four-Fold Being 20 C. Thinking, Feeling, and Willing 21 D. Child Development 21 E. Recapitulation 33 III. RATIONALE FOR AESTHETIC EDUCATION 35 A. Unity of Science, Art, Religion 19 B. Importance of Plastic and Performing Arts 42 IV. RATIONALE FOR MUSIC EDUCATION 47 A. Spiritual Nature of Music 47 B. Musical Nature of Child 49 V. MUSIC TEACHING IN WALDORF SCHOOLS 55 A. Curriculum 55 B. Elements of Music 68 1. Melody 68 2. Rhythm 81 3. Harmony 87 iii C. Activities of Music 88 1. Singing 88 2. Movement 92 3. Playing of Instruments 95 a. Overview of Steiner's Ideas 95 b. Gartner Instruments 99 i Philosophy and Development 99 ii Lyres 105 c. Choroi Instruments 105 i Philosophy and Development 105 ii Flutes 109 iii Lyres 114 iv Klangspiels 119 d. Other Instruments 119 e. String Program 119 4. Improvisation 123 5. Reading Music Notation 124 a. The Use of Images and Metaphor to Teach Musical Notation 124 b. Solfege 129 6. Importance of "Live" Music 130 7. Integration of Music with Other Subject Matter 131 D. Role of Teacher 135 1. Natural Authority 136 2. Artist 139 VI. RESULTS OF QUESTIONNAIRE 143 VII. COMPARISON OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL APPROACH TO MUSIC EDUCATION TO THE ORFF, KODALY, AND DALCROZE APPROACHES 232 A. Primary Purpose of Music Education 232 B. Curriculum 234 C. Musical Development of the Child 236 D. The Teaching of Melody 239 E. Teaching of Rhythm 243 F. The Teaching of Harmony 244 G. Singing 246 H. Movement 247 I. Playing of Instruments 249 J. Improvisation 252 K. Integration of Media 253 L. Importance of "Live" Music 2 54 M. Role of Teacher 256 N. Reading Musical Notation 257 O. Integration of Subject Matter 260 P. Conclusions 260 iv VI11. CONCLUSIONS 264 BIBLIOGRAPHY 271 APPENDIXES 281 A. ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE WALDORF SCHOOLS 281 B. UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE WALDORF SCHOOLS 286 C. MUSIC CURRICULA FROM FIVE WALDORF SCHOOLS 288 D. SOME CHOROI IMPROVISATION EXERCISES 308 E. STORIES 314 F. LIST OF CHOROI AND GARTNER WORKSHOPS 333 G. SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE 334 H. COMPARISON CHART 340 v LIST OF GRAPHS AND TABLES Graphs/Tables Page 1. Stages of Child Development 32 2. Educational Background of Music Teachers 149 3. Educational Background of Class Teachers 149 4. Number of Male and Female Teachers 150 5. Number of Certified Teachers 151 6. Number of Instruments Teachers Play 152 7. Instruments Played By Respondents 153 8. Self-Evaluation: Level of Musical Accomplishment 154 9. Number of Teachers Teaching Music to Specific Grades 155 10. Music Teaching Experience of Respondents 156 11. Familiarity with Steiner's Ideas on Music and Music Education . 157 12. Influence of Steiner's Ideas on Teaching of Music 158 13. Number of Teachers Who Indicated that Music Was Taught by Specialist and/or Class Teacher 159 14. Number of Teachers Who Indicated that Music Should be Taught by Music Teacher and/or Class Teacher 160 15. Time Devoted to Music Instruction 166 16. Perceived Importance of Music Education to Community 167 17. Perceived Quality of Music Program 168 18. Perceived Quality of Music Education Compared with Perceived Importance of Music Education to Community.... 169 19. Perceived Quality of Instruction in Music Education in Waldorf Teacher Training Institutes 170 20. Perceived Strengths and Weaknesses of Program 171 Graphs/Tables Page 21. Familiarity with Choroi Impulse 173 22. Familiarity with Werbeck Method 174 23. Instruments Used—Winds 176 24. Instruments Used—Strings 177 25. Instruments Used—Percussion 178 26. Reasons for not using Choroi or Gartner Instruments 179 27. Commencement of String Program 182 28. Number of Teachers Who Would Use Orff Instruments 183 29. Number of Teachers Who Would Use Kodaly Hand Signals 186 30. Number of Teachers Who Would Recommend Piano as an Instrument of Study in Grades One Through Three 188 31. Number of Teachers Using "Mood of the Fifth" Music 191 32. Number of Teachers Who Believe that Beat Should Be De-emphasized in Grades One Through Three 196 33. Use of Recorded Music in Grades One Through Three 198 34. Use of Storytelling 199 35. Grades in which Theory and Musical Notation Are Introduced 201 36. Teachers Who Experience Difficulty/No Difficulty in Finding Appropriate Song Material 203 37. Sources of Song Material 205 38. Anticipation of Difficulty in Integrating Waldorf Approach to Music Education into the Public School System 216 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Descent of Melody 63 2. Centrality of Tone "A" 77 3. Gartner Alto Lyre 102 4. Gartner Flugel-Kantele or "Wing" Kantele 103 5. Gartner Childrens' Harp 104 6. Choroi Interval Flutes Ill 7. Choroi Pentatonic and Diatonic Flutes 112 8. Choroi Kinderharp 116 9. Choroi Bordun Lyre 117 10. Choroi Solo Lyre 118 11. Choroi Klangspiel 121 12. Bamboo Flute 122 viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the help, guidance, and support of many individuals, this thesis could not have been completed. I extend my thanks to the teachers and par• ents of the Vancouver Waldorf School for the unique opportunity to work at the school from 1980-1988, first as a class teacher and later as a music specialist; the students of the school who taught me so very much; Allen Clingman, coordinator of the Music Education Program at the University of British Columbia, who helped me design the project and lent me needed en• couragement; musicians and teachers who gave of their time to be interviewed; Waldorf School teachers throughout North America and Canada who responded to the questionnaire to investigate music teaching in Waldorf Schools, Grades One to Three; the Rudolf Steiner Centre for allowing me generous access to its library and materials; Steven Roboz and Charles McWilliam who answered my numerous questions and helped me to locate hard- to-find books and lectures; Hugh Ellis who read several drafts of the manuscript and made valuable suggestions; Jean Higgins who provided the illustrations; Norbert Visser, Geert Mulder, Andrea Pronto, Christoph- Andreas Lindenberg, Julian Pook and Margaret Preston for their ideas and inspiration; my husband, Marijn Eterman who not only demonstrated infinite patience and understanding, but also assisted me with German translation, word processing, and presentation graphics. ix PREFACE The intent of this thesis is to present, not to defend, an approach to music education based on Steiner's world-view. The author was a teacher in the Vancouver Waldorf School for eight years from 1980-88, both as a class teacher and as a music specialist. Thus, the author has worked within the philosophy of the school and is sympathetic with many of its objectives. However, views stated by Steiner and Waldorf music educators in this document are not necessarily the views of the author. The author has, in many cases quoted Steiner directly, instead of paraphrasing him, in order that the reader may form his/her own interpretations. The author believes that because this approach to music is practiced today, its philosophy and application deserves to be explored. It is hoped that one day, the approach will be evaluated for its effectiveness. x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background In Europe, in the early 1900s, three main approaches to music education began to emerge. In 1914, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950), a Swiss educator, published an essay outlining sixty-six exercises for movement, solfege, and improvisation. "Eurythmics," the name Dalcroze gave to his approach, was introduced to the United States in 1915. In 1924, in Germany, Carl Orff (1865-1982) founded his "Guentherschule." The first edition of Orff's Schulwerk was published in 1930. Although the Hungarian Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967) did not develop his methods of teaching music until 1950, he was renowned as a composer in the early 1900s.