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Kodaly-Inspired Teaching
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Folk and Traditional Music
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Choral Pedagogy
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FIRST, WE SING! Songs and Rhymes for Little Kids
FWS! 100 Little Songs and Rhymes contains songs and rhymes that are just right for singing, playing, reading and writing in grades K-2, selected and annotated by Dr. Susan Brumfield. In this session, we’ll explore games, activities, and new ideas for your K-2 classes. 100 Little Songs and Rhymes includes game directions, activities and digital access to demonstration recordings.
FIRST, WE SING! Songs and Games for Kids
Looking for new songs to add to your repertoire, and new ways to teach familiar favorites? First, We Sing! Songbooks 1, 2 & 3 are packed with children’s songs, rhymes and games from around the world, selected, transcribed and annotated by Dr. Susan Brumfield. In this session, we explore teaching activities, singing games and new ways to incorporate a fresh batch of songs into your curriculum. First, We Sing Songbooks come with an enhanced CD featuring Inner Voices, a group of 8 – 12 year- old singers from The West Texas Children’s Chorus.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Skill Building Activities for Growing Musicians
You've carefully prepared and "presented" each new element, but what's next? Practice, and lots of it! Fast-paced and fun, these 5-7 minute "practice cards" are designed to reinforce new concepts and support literacy skills through sequential, easy to assess activities. Student-tested and approved, these activities fit easily into your rehearsal and lesson plans, with minimum planning and maximum results. Discover creative ways to reinforce musical skill development in singing, playing, reading, writing, composition, improvisation and part-work in both general music and choral settings. Explore 5-7-minute practice activities designed to save planning time and to provide efficient and fun ways to deliver instruction and assess mastery.
IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD: From Musical Literacy to Improvisation
From the moment children begin to utter sounds, they create their own musical worlds through babbling, speaking and ultimately singing in their own ways. These creative instincts can and should be nurtured in a relaxed and playful way. In this session, we explore improvisation as a skill (not a magic trick!) that can be developed over time through small, incremental steps and fun activities.
SING IT IN YOUR HEAD: From Listening to Inner Hearing
“Inner Hearing” is the ability to hear sounds when they’re not actually present. In a Kodaly-inspired approach, development of this skill begins early, through listening and singing. Inner hearing provides a solid foundation for music literacy and other musical skill areas. In this session, we explore ways to build and strengthen the ear through small, incremental steps and fun activities.
FWS! 100 Little Songs and Rhymes contains songs and rhymes that are just right for singing, playing, reading and writing in grades K-2, selected and annotated by Dr. Susan Brumfield. In this session, we’ll explore games, activities, and new ideas for your K-2 classes. 100 Little Songs and Rhymes includes game directions, activities and digital access to demonstration recordings.
FIRST, WE SING! Songs and Games for Kids
Looking for new songs to add to your repertoire, and new ways to teach familiar favorites? First, We Sing! Songbooks 1, 2 & 3 are packed with children’s songs, rhymes and games from around the world, selected, transcribed and annotated by Dr. Susan Brumfield. In this session, we explore teaching activities, singing games and new ways to incorporate a fresh batch of songs into your curriculum. First, We Sing Songbooks come with an enhanced CD featuring Inner Voices, a group of 8 – 12 year- old singers from The West Texas Children’s Chorus.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Skill Building Activities for Growing Musicians
You've carefully prepared and "presented" each new element, but what's next? Practice, and lots of it! Fast-paced and fun, these 5-7 minute "practice cards" are designed to reinforce new concepts and support literacy skills through sequential, easy to assess activities. Student-tested and approved, these activities fit easily into your rehearsal and lesson plans, with minimum planning and maximum results. Discover creative ways to reinforce musical skill development in singing, playing, reading, writing, composition, improvisation and part-work in both general music and choral settings. Explore 5-7-minute practice activities designed to save planning time and to provide efficient and fun ways to deliver instruction and assess mastery.
IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD: From Musical Literacy to Improvisation
From the moment children begin to utter sounds, they create their own musical worlds through babbling, speaking and ultimately singing in their own ways. These creative instincts can and should be nurtured in a relaxed and playful way. In this session, we explore improvisation as a skill (not a magic trick!) that can be developed over time through small, incremental steps and fun activities.
SING IT IN YOUR HEAD: From Listening to Inner Hearing
“Inner Hearing” is the ability to hear sounds when they’re not actually present. In a Kodaly-inspired approach, development of this skill begins early, through listening and singing. Inner hearing provides a solid foundation for music literacy and other musical skill areas. In this session, we explore ways to build and strengthen the ear through small, incremental steps and fun activities.
HOT PEAS AND BARLEY-O: Children’s Songs and Games from Scotland
Get acquainted with songs and games from across the sea that have been out of circulation for thirty years! These songs and games have been researched and compiled by Dr. Susan Brumfield in the new book, “Hot Peas and Barley-O.” Hear original recordings, view photographs and short film clips and slides of modern children performing the songs and games. Learn how to incorporate these wonderful activities into a literacy-based curriculum and how to teach musical skills using this collection.
OVER THE GARDEN WALL: Children’s Songs and Games from England
Get acquainted with MORE children’s songs and games from the UK! Expert folk music researcher and Kodály pedagogue Dr. Susan Brumfield has compiled a second book in her series of childhood songs from other countries. “Over the Garden Wall” includes 38 game songs which emerged on the playgrounds and backyards of children in England, along with archival photos and field recordings. Learn how to incorporate these wonderful activities into a literacy-based curriculum and how to teach musical skills using this collection.
JEAN RITCHIE’S KENTUCKY MOTHER GOOSE
Jean Ritchie’s Kentucky Mother Goose is a collection of songs, rhymes and stories recalled by Jean from her own childhood. The youngest of 14 children in a singing family from Viper, Kentucky, she grew up surrounded by the ballads, hymns, play-party songs, singing games and dulcimer tunes that comprised the Ritchie Family repertoire. During this session, we will sing and play songs and games from the collection, and explore the rare recordings and family photographs in the collection, as we celebrate the life of beloved singer, songwriter, collector and scholar, Jean Ritchie.
MUSIC, LE COEUR DES CAJUN: Children’s Songs and Games from the Cajun Culture of South Louisiana
The Cajuns of Southwest Louisiana are descendants of the Acadians, French settlers from Canada’s Nova Scotia and New Brunswick colonies. Exiled by the British in 1775, many displaced Acadians settled along the bayous and in the swamps and prairies of southwest Louisiana, where a then-Spanish government welcomed them and gave them land. The French term evolved into the English word “Cajun.”
The tunes and grooves of Louisiana Cajun music are infectious and impossible to resist! In this session, participants will play and sing children’s games and dances from South Louisiana, exploring their roots in in standard, Creole and Cajun French through archival photographs and field recordings. An extensive handout containing song transcriptions and translations, a detailed bibliography and a list of archival resources will be provided.
BROWN GIRL IN THE RING: Children’s Songs and Games from Trinidad and Tobago
During the summer of 1962, American folklorist Alan Lomax made a recording tour through the islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Among the hundreds of songs that he collected were the singing games played and sung by children. Brown Girl in the Ring: An Anthology of Song Games from the Eastern Caribbean is a compilation of 68 songs collected by Lomax, Dr. J.D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes. This 1997 anthology (now out of print) includes game directions, historical notes on the songs and photographs from collecting trips throughout the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, Anguilla and Carricou.
In this session, participants will play, dance and sing ring games from Trinidad and Tobago, and explore Lomax’s archival photographs and field recordings. The session features “Apocalypso Now,” the Texas Tech University Steel Drum Ensemble.
GIRO GIRO TONDO: Children’s Songs and Games from Italy
Expert folk music researcher and Kodály pedagogue Dr. Susan Brumfield has compiled a third book in her series of childhood songs from other countries. Giro Giro Tondo includes game songs which were recorded by children in Tuscany and Rome, along with archival photos and field recordings. Songs are easy to sing, with fresh, fun singing games.
Get acquainted with songs and games from across the sea that have been out of circulation for thirty years! These songs and games have been researched and compiled by Dr. Susan Brumfield in the new book, “Hot Peas and Barley-O.” Hear original recordings, view photographs and short film clips and slides of modern children performing the songs and games. Learn how to incorporate these wonderful activities into a literacy-based curriculum and how to teach musical skills using this collection.
OVER THE GARDEN WALL: Children’s Songs and Games from England
Get acquainted with MORE children’s songs and games from the UK! Expert folk music researcher and Kodály pedagogue Dr. Susan Brumfield has compiled a second book in her series of childhood songs from other countries. “Over the Garden Wall” includes 38 game songs which emerged on the playgrounds and backyards of children in England, along with archival photos and field recordings. Learn how to incorporate these wonderful activities into a literacy-based curriculum and how to teach musical skills using this collection.
JEAN RITCHIE’S KENTUCKY MOTHER GOOSE
Jean Ritchie’s Kentucky Mother Goose is a collection of songs, rhymes and stories recalled by Jean from her own childhood. The youngest of 14 children in a singing family from Viper, Kentucky, she grew up surrounded by the ballads, hymns, play-party songs, singing games and dulcimer tunes that comprised the Ritchie Family repertoire. During this session, we will sing and play songs and games from the collection, and explore the rare recordings and family photographs in the collection, as we celebrate the life of beloved singer, songwriter, collector and scholar, Jean Ritchie.
MUSIC, LE COEUR DES CAJUN: Children’s Songs and Games from the Cajun Culture of South Louisiana
The Cajuns of Southwest Louisiana are descendants of the Acadians, French settlers from Canada’s Nova Scotia and New Brunswick colonies. Exiled by the British in 1775, many displaced Acadians settled along the bayous and in the swamps and prairies of southwest Louisiana, where a then-Spanish government welcomed them and gave them land. The French term evolved into the English word “Cajun.”
The tunes and grooves of Louisiana Cajun music are infectious and impossible to resist! In this session, participants will play and sing children’s games and dances from South Louisiana, exploring their roots in in standard, Creole and Cajun French through archival photographs and field recordings. An extensive handout containing song transcriptions and translations, a detailed bibliography and a list of archival resources will be provided.
BROWN GIRL IN THE RING: Children’s Songs and Games from Trinidad and Tobago
During the summer of 1962, American folklorist Alan Lomax made a recording tour through the islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Among the hundreds of songs that he collected were the singing games played and sung by children. Brown Girl in the Ring: An Anthology of Song Games from the Eastern Caribbean is a compilation of 68 songs collected by Lomax, Dr. J.D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes. This 1997 anthology (now out of print) includes game directions, historical notes on the songs and photographs from collecting trips throughout the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, Anguilla and Carricou.
In this session, participants will play, dance and sing ring games from Trinidad and Tobago, and explore Lomax’s archival photographs and field recordings. The session features “Apocalypso Now,” the Texas Tech University Steel Drum Ensemble.
GIRO GIRO TONDO: Children’s Songs and Games from Italy
Expert folk music researcher and Kodály pedagogue Dr. Susan Brumfield has compiled a third book in her series of childhood songs from other countries. Giro Giro Tondo includes game songs which were recorded by children in Tuscany and Rome, along with archival photos and field recordings. Songs are easy to sing, with fresh, fun singing games.
VOICES IN SONG
Choosing literature for young choirs can be a challenge! To keep your students’ interest, desire and energy for singing at an all-time high, join Dr. Susan Brumfield for a session that will motivate, educate and inspire. She will lead a new music reading session covering all the great choices for quality literature for young choirs from the catalogs of Hal Leonard Corporation, Boosey & Hawkes, Walton, Pavane and more.
KODALY PEDAGOGY IN THE CHORAL REHEARSAL
This choral reading/group participation session will address readiness, preparation, and presentation of choral repertoire for young choirs, along with continued development of singing, reading, writing, part-work, and aural skills in the choral setting. In this workshop, participants will explore Kodály-based strategies for analyzing and teaching choral music for beginning, intermediate, and advanced children’s choirs. A choral reading packet will be provided.
FROM CLASSROOM TO CHORUS: Building on the K-5 Foundation
It’s a big leap from the “happy circle” of the K-5 music class to the structure and pace of a choral rehearsal. There’s a lot to learn, and even kids who love to sing can be overwhelmed and intimidated by the change in their environment. Making connections between your rehearsals and the musical skills your singers bring with them from the K-5 classroom is essential when it comes to helping them feel successful in choir.
Building on the “other” musical skills (playing instruments, literacy, composition, improvisation, memory, inner hearing and part-work) can build confidence and keep young singers engaged as they grow into choral musicians. Fast-paced and fun, student-tested and approved, these activities fit easily into your rehearsal and lesson plans, with minimum planning and maximum results. Explore 5-7 minute practice activities designed to save planning time and to provide efficient and fun ways to deliver instruction and assess your singers’ progress in all areas of musical skill.
HEARTBEAT AND HARMONY: Exploring Choral Repertoire with Percussion
Dr. Susan Brumfield & Dr. Lisa Rogers, Texas Tech University
If rhythm is the heartbeat of music, then singing is surely its soul! In this demonstration / audience participation session, you’ll discover settings of folk, traditional, classical and contemporary music that feature percussion, from classical traditional instruments to the global grooves of body percussion and drumming around the world. We will explore collaborative repertoire suitable for classroom singing and choral repertoire for beginning, intermediate and advanced treble choirs.
This session features Dr. Lisa Rogers and percussionists from the Texas Tech University Percussion Studio, along with singers from The West Texas Children’s Chorus Preparatory Singers, Apprentice Choir, Concert Choir and Bella Voce. Music packets and additional notes will be provided during the session.
Choosing literature for young choirs can be a challenge! To keep your students’ interest, desire and energy for singing at an all-time high, join Dr. Susan Brumfield for a session that will motivate, educate and inspire. She will lead a new music reading session covering all the great choices for quality literature for young choirs from the catalogs of Hal Leonard Corporation, Boosey & Hawkes, Walton, Pavane and more.
KODALY PEDAGOGY IN THE CHORAL REHEARSAL
This choral reading/group participation session will address readiness, preparation, and presentation of choral repertoire for young choirs, along with continued development of singing, reading, writing, part-work, and aural skills in the choral setting. In this workshop, participants will explore Kodály-based strategies for analyzing and teaching choral music for beginning, intermediate, and advanced children’s choirs. A choral reading packet will be provided.
FROM CLASSROOM TO CHORUS: Building on the K-5 Foundation
It’s a big leap from the “happy circle” of the K-5 music class to the structure and pace of a choral rehearsal. There’s a lot to learn, and even kids who love to sing can be overwhelmed and intimidated by the change in their environment. Making connections between your rehearsals and the musical skills your singers bring with them from the K-5 classroom is essential when it comes to helping them feel successful in choir.
Building on the “other” musical skills (playing instruments, literacy, composition, improvisation, memory, inner hearing and part-work) can build confidence and keep young singers engaged as they grow into choral musicians. Fast-paced and fun, student-tested and approved, these activities fit easily into your rehearsal and lesson plans, with minimum planning and maximum results. Explore 5-7 minute practice activities designed to save planning time and to provide efficient and fun ways to deliver instruction and assess your singers’ progress in all areas of musical skill.
HEARTBEAT AND HARMONY: Exploring Choral Repertoire with Percussion
Dr. Susan Brumfield & Dr. Lisa Rogers, Texas Tech University
If rhythm is the heartbeat of music, then singing is surely its soul! In this demonstration / audience participation session, you’ll discover settings of folk, traditional, classical and contemporary music that feature percussion, from classical traditional instruments to the global grooves of body percussion and drumming around the world. We will explore collaborative repertoire suitable for classroom singing and choral repertoire for beginning, intermediate and advanced treble choirs.
This session features Dr. Lisa Rogers and percussionists from the Texas Tech University Percussion Studio, along with singers from The West Texas Children’s Chorus Preparatory Singers, Apprentice Choir, Concert Choir and Bella Voce. Music packets and additional notes will be provided during the session.