Teaching Music Takes on a Different Approach As the Kodaly Method Is
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16 | Wednesday, September 30, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY YOUTH Edit Lanczky, a music teacher with the Beijing Hungarian Cultural Institute, trains local teachers in a workshop in Chenzhou, Hunan province, in September 2019. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Together in harmony Teaching music takes on a different approach as the Kodaly method is utilized, hitting the right note with children in poverty-stricken regions who give it a chorus of approval, Wang Kaihao reports. hildren. Circle. Warmup I didn’t have a good way to correct exercises. This is not physi- them. cal education, nor the prel- “However, with the hand signs and ude to a demanding The children are Kodaly method’s other approaches, Cworkout. This is a music class. it works more easily,” she says, while Though not as you know it, children very disciplined and recalling with excitement her first shake their bodies and clap looking passionate, but I want tentative classes using the method for the right rhythm. Unconvention- with third grade students. al? Perhaps. Successful? Yes. to prove to them that “The students who mastered the Specifically, this is the Kodaly chorus is not only method can also practice vocalizing method. It stems from Hungarian the standard tune at home without composer Zoltan Kodaly (1882- about good discipline. mimicking me,” Huang says. 1967). In August, a group of children It can be full of fun.” “We are also encouraged to take in Anren county, Chenzhou, Hunan into account the individual needs province, gave it a try. Edit Lanczky, music teacher and abilities of each student, rather with the Beijing Hungarian Edit Lanczky, a music teacher Cultural Institute who instructs than applying a single format to all.” with the Beijing Hungarian Cultural teachers and students in the Huang now regularly sends the Institute, came to China last year. Kodaly method video clips of her music classes back She and her colleagues, including to the teachers at the Beijing Hunga- Nora Guncz, have a romantic nick- rian Culture Institute for follow-up name to introduce that methodolo- companied by music. evaluation. gy around China: “Backpackers of “For children, the vocalized “I also make time to impart some music”. sound is natural, but using musi- basic principles of the Kodaly meth- In Anren she rehearsed daily with cal instruments isn’t,” she od to other teachers I know,” Huang a chorus of primary school students. explains. “That’s why the Kodaly continues. “I hope that one day all “I’m excited to join the mission of method isn’t restricted by spaces students in Jianghua can learn taking part in the education of chil- and conditions.” music in such a happy way.” dren from poverty-hit regions,” Wang Qiong, a primary school Lanczky recalls in an exclusive student from Anren, recalls: “I am Cultural resonance interview with China Daily. really relaxed when I join in during Promotion of the Kodaly method “The children are very disciplined Mrs Lanczky’s class because I’m in China is not “oneway”, as Buslig and passionate, but I want to prove playing and learning. Sometimes, points out. “Cultural communica- to them that chorus is not only we have a role-playing game to get a tion is a process of mutual learning,” about good discipline. It can be full better understanding of sound. It is she says. “We can also gain new of fun.” interesting to set my imagination inspiration from the program.” The Kodaly method is known for free. I once played the part of a This emotional resonance has a its inspirational approach to devel- ‘mountain’.” historical foundation. Magyars, the oping children’s musical talent and main ethnic group of Hungary, are getting them to express it through Handing down the skills widely believed to have come from games and body movements, rather Hand signs are important in the the East. than spoon-feeding them compli- Kodaly method. They function not Ancient Hungarian folk songs, cated theories. only as a visual aid to accurately those from before the 18th century, It became the dominating music vocalize each tone, but also as a way were composed using the pentatonic methodology in Hungary after to communicate between teachers scale (five notes per octave), accord- World War II. The method was and students. ing to Lanczky, and the scale is the inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible “It’s amazing to see that the (Hun- one primarily used in the Kodaly Cultural Heritage list in 2016. garian) teachers never yell at stu- method to educate children. Anren county, where the economy dents,” Chen Chenxi, a local music Ancient Chinese music also tra- relies on agriculture, got rid of the teacher from Anren, says. “They ditionally adopts a pentatonic title of “national-level impoverished don’t need to. If there is any problem structure. county” just last year. Like many in rehearsals, students can also give In the past year, Lanczky has trav- other such regions, where people feedback through their hand signs, eled around China collecting many are still struggling to improve their so the method, with less talking, will Chinese ballads from Inner Mongo- livelihood, music education seems preserve our vocal chords in the lia, Sichuan, Guizhou and other prov- like an unaffordable luxury. future.” From top: Nora Guncz, a music teacher from the Beijing Hungarian Cultural Institute, instructs a local inces and autonomous regions. Thanks to Beijing Deqing Foun- Meanwhile, the emotional attach- student in music by applying the Kodaly method in the Jianghua Yao autonomous county of Yongzhou, “The Kodaly method has been a dation, a charity group devoted to ment formed between teachers and Hunan province, in September 2018. Lanczky rehearses with a chorus of primary school students in good way to preserve traditional improving education in poverty- students in the warm, cozy environ- Anren county, Chenzhou of Hunan, last month. Hungarian folk songs, which are stricken areas, 14 counties in Hubei ment during the rehearsal has usually duets,” she says. “And Chi- and Hunan provinces have benefit- proved to have strength and influ- nese folk songs, which have a more ed from a music program since 2015. ence beyond the music room. For In places like Anren, where many or math, but in fine art,” she says. 19 outbreak in China earlier this complicated structure, can enrich its Chorus groups have mushroomed one thing, it seems conducive to parents work in big cities, the chil- “And chorus can also develop an year, the program continued contents.” in these places under the sponsor- improving students’ communica- dren are often left behind to live esprit de corps and harmony among through live online broadcasts. She and her colleagues are now ship of the foundation. tion skills. with their grandparents. They different members, which will be Huang Wenjuan, a math teacher drafting the first textbook of the Nevertheless, some facilities and “I used to be very timid,” Pan Pei- sometimes retreat into themselves beneficial throughout their lives.” from the rural area of Jianghua Yao Kodaly method specifically for musical instruments, like the piano, ru, a student in the chorus, says. and become unsociable. autonomous county in Hunan, took China. Whenever she delivers still seem out of reach for every “But the teachers have helped me to “In Hungary, joining a chorus is Fine-tuning the process part in the online program from classes, she asks local teachers like school. However, after the Beijing have more confidence on stage, and one of the few things children will Buslig also realizes that individu- March to June. The primary school Huang to collect as many tradi- Hungarian Cultural Institute joined with a common interest in singing, I feel most proud of,” Buslig says. “I al effort is, of itself, not enough. The she works at does not have a full- tional local songs as possible for the program in 2017, the Kodaly have a lot more to share with my believe that it can also create more project ushering the Kodaly method time music teacher. She underwent future textbooks. method offered alternatives. classmates.” joyful moments for Chinese chil- into the campaign against poverty training and took responsibility to On the final day of class in Anren, According to Lanczky, in Koda- “A choral group is like a minia- dren, who will be proud of them- needs more local seeders. As well as teach her students to sing in chorus, a chorus of local children presented ly’s time, pianos were not common- ture society, and the project can selves.” Hungarian “music backpackers” because singing is also her hobby. Bodzavirag, a Hungarian house- ly available to Hungarian families. improve children’s social compe- It echoes how Li Kemei, director enlightening children, it seems an “I’m not that professional a sing- hold folk song. Like their angelic Consequently, a cappella — singing tence,” says Szonja Buslig, head of of Beijing Deqing Foundation, once even more important task to nur- er,” Huang tells China Daily. “And voices, the faculty’s passion for the without instrumental accompani- the Beijing Hungarian Cultural explained her motive for launching ture local teachers. the music class used to be a case of art also seems to be soaring. ment — was utilized. Many ancient Institute, of her observation. the program. “The biggest gap in Since 2017, 850 teachers around me singing a line first and then hav- Hungarian ballads were passed “Inspired students can also do bet- education between big cities and China have been trained in the Koda- ing the students sing it back. I found Contact the writer at down through generations, unac- ter in other classes.” rural areas does not exist in English ly method.