The Recorder: The Unsung Hero of Music Education. Part One.

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1 Fall 2014 Presidents Message 2 Ensemble Tanya Turner Keith Bissell Winner 5 Alison Roy - Keith Bissell Winner 12 Upcoming Events 16 Newsletter of the Ontario Orff Chapter Music For Children - Musique Pour Enfants Volume 20 Issue 2 The Recorder: The Unsung Hero of Music Education. Part One. by Tiina Kai Paluoja In North America, playing the recorder in elementary school is practically considered a rite of passage. Love it or hate it, I believe that the recorder, when taught correctly, is the unsung hero of school music programs. But what is the history of this instrument and how and when did it enter elementary music programs? Many cultures in the world have an instrument that could be considered a flute - simple construction, with or without keys, fingers covering and uncovering holes to change the pitch of the sound. Some well-known flutes in the world include the transverse or concert flute (as played in modern -day orchestras), the piccolo, the tin whistle, the fife, and the recorder. The first known types of flutes were constructed of wood, bone, horn or reeds and holes were cut at various intervals on the instrument. As technology improved, so did the construction of these instruments. Depending on the materials and technology available, various cultures developed their own types of flutes. The recorder is one such example. The first known recorders were created from wood in the fourteenth century. Occasionally, the recorder was carved from ivory. Archival and pictorial historical data indicates that the recorder was used in Western Europe from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries. The Normans introduced the instrument to England, where it was called the recorder, but the rest of Europe preferred the term flute à bec or Schnabelflöte, meaning beakedflute, accurately describing the shape of the mouthpiece, or fipple. The recorder has kept its simple construction since the Baroque period and can be played in any key, but beginners generally prefer the key of C for its simplicity of fingerings. History of Recorders The slightly more complex recorder construction of modern times was created in the second half of the seventeenth century. At this time, other instruments were also undergoing redesigns to improve upon the capabilities (Continued on page 8)

2 Page 2 Message from the Co-presidents: Marion Roy and Batya Levy Ontario Orff Executive Co - President: Batya Levy Allison Tipler Past - President: Marion Roy Vice President: Suzanne Waller Secretary: Catherine Irving Treasurer/ Website Administrator: Batya Levy Membership: Caren Ludwig-Shoychet Newsletter Editor: Jennifer Stacey Members at Large: Kristina Barratt AnneTipler National Archivist Bruce Grant St. John s Music Katherine Edmonston Sandra Lewis Lori Moccio Andrea McNeil Debrovka Vasic Elizabeth Se0 Mosaic Mosaïque is published three times a year by the Ontario Chapter of Music for Children, Carl Orff Canada, Musique pour enfants. Articles in the newsletter express the viewpoints of their authors and do not imply endorsement by the Chapter. Mosaic Mosaïque welcomes contributions of articles, ideas for columns, news and questions. Submissions are requested by November 25 for the January Issue, February 25 for the April Issue and July 25 for the September Issue. Submissions are subject to approval and editing. submissions to: Jennifer Stacey 13 Willowgate Dr., Markham, Ont. L3P 1G1 (905) j.staceyorff@gmail.com Please send Change We are all well aware of what a powerful word that is. Some changes are amazing, exhilarating, and fun, whereas others can bring with them uncertainty, and trepidation. As teachers we are aware of this word at the beginning of every school year. Some of you have had a change of schools, or of classrooms, or you are without a classroom and are roaming the halls a la carte. A few of you have left teaching altogether to go off on other adventures. Two of our Executive members have retired over the last 2 years Caren, our membership secretary and Anne our Member at Large. They will fill their days with many exciting projects but we are thrilled that they remain on the Ontario Orff Executive. Catherine West, a long standing member of Carl Orff Canada and a leader with the Ontario Orff Chapter retired this June. We are also pleased, and relieved that she hasn t left her role as liaison with us and will be there to answer our questions when they arise. There are changes on the Ontario Orff Executive as well as we start the new season. We welcome several new members to the Executive who are eager to volunteer their time to organize events for you, our members. As well, this will be Marion s last President Message as she will be stepping down as President. Marion writes I have enjoyed leading our vibrant and talented Executive, but it is now time for a new team Allison Tipler will be taking over as co-president with Batya Levy. She has been co-vice-president (Continued on page 3)

3 Page 3 for our Executive for several years ensuring that our workshops are led by talented clinicians. She has also added to our social media file by creating Facebook and Twitter accounts. Allison is a talented musician and teacher with a beautiful singing voice who who brings an enthusiasm and positivity to everything she does including teaching K-5 music for the Peel District School Board. I wish both Batya and Allison all the best as they co-lead an amazing group of volunteers on the Ontario Orff Executive. So, good luck everyone as you head back to your new season. We hope the changes that come your way are learning curves that help you on your path. Cheers Marion and Batya

4 Page 4 Carl Orff Canada National Conference Ensemble 2014 by Allison Tipler The Carl Orff Canada National Conference was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia from Thursday April 10 to Sunday April 13th, It was held at the Marriott Harbourfront which was a beautiful venue, just steps from the water. I attended this conference and had a wonderful time connecting with other friends from Ontario and all over Canada! the world. If you have never been to a National Conference start planning NOW to attend Bridges in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from April 28 - May 1, The conference kicked off on the Thursday night with a Ceilidh, a traditional Gaelic social gathering, where we danced to some great East Coast music. Catherine West and Marion We also recognized Catherine West who received her Honorary Life Membership to Carl Orff Canada. Marion and Batya On Friday morning at the Opening Ceremonies the keynote address was given by Doug Goodkin. Doug gave a vulnerable speech about the impact of music in his late mother s and grandchild s lives. At the Banquet on the Saturday Evening we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Carl Orff Canada with some great swing music from the 1940 s. The idea of Swing Music at the banquet was inspired by Doug Goodkin s blog telling his meeting with Frau Liselotte Orff. Clinicians included Randy DeLelles and Jeff Kriske (United States), Sue Harvie (Alberta), Deboral Ziolkoski (British Columbia), and Doug Goodkin (United States). The two workshops that stood out for me were given by Marion Roy and Maria Eppensteiner. Marion is the Ontario Orff Chapter president and she represented Ontario well by giving a very dynamic workshop. Participants left with concrete activities to use in the classroom. Maria Eppensteiner is an Orff Teacher from Austria who studied at the Orff Institut in Salzburg. She taught us through speech, improvisation, movement, and song. The sessions were all inspiring. This conference was a wonderful time to connect with like minded people, explore a new city, and be inspired by Orff educators all over Catherine West and Suzanne Waller

5 Review of Level 2 Course bytanya Turner Page 5 One morning while preparing for school, I heard CBC s Metro Morning discussing a more recent phenomenon called FoMO, the Fear of Missing Out. FoMO is a form of social anxiety, whereby one is compulsively concerned that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, profitable investment or other satisfying event. (Wikipedia) The expression FoMO popped into my head many times this past July during my level two course. I kept thinking how incredible it was that Orff Schulwerk training courses are running in the summer, and some teachers are truly unaware of this amazing opportunity. They really are missing out! After a grueling ten months of school, I need to do something for me. Personal happiness and confidence are often very closely linked to who we are as musicians as well as teachers. By becoming a better teacher, I am a better, happier person. or me, taking an Orff Level course with Catherine West, Kim Kendrick, Hania Krajewski and Alison Roy simply makes me feel good about my teaching. These instructors at the Royal Conservatory of Music assure me that I will be reinvigorated in my own instruction by the compendium of stimulating material that will keep me challenged. Catherine West (Basic Orff) changed my perspective about teaching. As a new teacher I thought: What will I do with so much time?. After spending time with Catherine I can only think: How can I possibly teach everything I want to in such little time?. The mind shift is monumental. Catherine pushed us to think about our programming in a different way. Her knowledge of the curriculum and how to teach it is excellent, and I will always be grateful for the time I spent under her tutelage. Hania Krajewski astounded us with her deeply felt love of all things kinaesthetic. We learned the folk dance t Smidge by folk-rock band Lais from Belgium. According to the California Folkdance Federation, it is this decade s Macarena. It requires much more cardio fitness than the Macarena and I think the tune is even more catchy! Check out the many versions on YouTube. Our class performed this piece on the last day. Kim Kendrick, recorder teacher extraordinaire, tortured us with Dick s Maggot from Isabel McNeill Carley s Recorder Improvisation and Technique. We learned that maggot means a silly idea or fancy, and although the piece was a tour de force on the recorder, I can t help but think that Kim also chose the piece to satisfy her incredible love of (Continued on page 6)

6 Page 6 language and wicked sense of humour. It was our final test on our alto recorders. Finally I will mention the incredible fun we had with Alison Roy, our vocal teacher. She has a great sense of humour, and her care and understanding of the voice made everyone feel comfortable, even if they didn t consider themselves a singer. I am also happy to report that our class can now recognize Healey Willan s Rise Up My Love by the alto line. To finish our sharing at the end of the two weeks, teachers and students alike sang Robert de Frece s beautiful piece, Sing from Your Heart, in English, French and most beautifully in canon. I was transported by the song, and relished the idea that we were all there because we love music and we love sharing music with our students. Professor of psychology, Dan Ariely, claims that FoMO is fear of regret that we have made the wrong decision on how to spend our time. I have no regret that I have invested my time in becoming an Orff trained teacher. Now that I have taken Orff Schulwerk courses I will be checking for workshops and professional development opportunities which are related to Orff. I would hate to miss out on a chance to discover something new, and grow as a teacher. Tanya is a full-time music teacher with the Toronto District School Board. She teacher music in English and French at Brown Public School. Tanya has a master's degree in vocal performance from University of Toronto. The Keith Bissell Scholarship This scholarship is given for the study of an approved Orff Level s course or Master Class at a Canadian Institution, with preference given to candidates applying to courses offered in Ontario. This scholarship is usually in the amount of $400. Scholarship winners are asked to write a short article describing their experiences in taking the course, which is then published in the Ontario Orff Chapter newsletter. Application Deadline: Early May, 2015(exact date TBA) Go to: olarships-2/ Please let us know if you are moving. Send your change of address to: Caren Ludwig-Shoychet

7 Page 7 Orff Teacher Training / Additonal Qualifications at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) For more information visit: The ECMA of Ontario has performed 20 years of advocacy and leadership in the field of music education for young children. Since it was founded in 1990 by Donna Wood with the dedicated help of our first president, Mary Stouffer, the ECMA has remained committed to fostering communication among those who value the importance of developmentally appropriate, high quality musical experiences in the lives of all children. For more information visit::

8 Page 8 (Continued from page 1) of the instruments. Other such instruments included the (transverse) flute, oboe, and bassoon. The recorder s shape was modified to be more tapered and conical and the instrument was now in three sections, instead of just one with more precise drilling for the finger holes as well. The modifications allowed for a greater range of notes to be played with a rich and reliable timbre. The newly-modified recorder became a popular instrument for European Renaissance and Baroque era ensembles. In fact, King Henry VIII was well-known as an amateur musician and composer and had a vast collection of recorders (seventy-six!) in his castle in England. As orchestral instruments became better manufactured, their tone and range greatly increased, as did their popularity. The recorder could not offer the same range of notes and dynamics and, frequently, flute in the score was mistaken to mean the concert flute instead of the recorder. Sadly, the recorder lost its popularity and nearly became extinct. In 1919, a man named Arnold Dolmetsch started making recorders and introduced a full recorder orchestra, or consort, to the public in His idea of producing recorders in various sizes from soprano to bass was very well-received. Musicians were excited about the instrument family s capabilities when played together and recorder orchestras were created throughout the world. In 1926, recorder demand was so high that the instrument began to be mass-produced to satisfy the demand of the public and the beginnings of a new era of music education. As the technology became available, the plastic recorder was created, allowing for a higher supply and demand of the instrument at an affordable price for school-aged children everywhere. In 1937 The Society of Recorder Players was formed in England followed by the American Recorder Society in the United States in Because of the increasing use of the recorder during the 1930s for classroom education, massed recreational playing, and as a choral instrument, the practice of employing more than one recorder on a single part gained acceptance and began to be viewed as a distinctive sound in its own right. History of Recorders in Music Education Most research about the beginnings of recorder-playing in music education indicates that the instrument was used in the classrooms starting sometime in the 1930s. According to Frederic Palmer of the American Recorder Society, around 1930 Ferdinand Enke directed performances of a recorder choir at the Volksmusikschule in Germany. This is the earliest example of recorder use in the classroom that I was able to find in my research. As the demand and interest for the instrument increased, so did the need and desire for various organizations such as The Society of Recorder Players (England, 1937) and The American Recorder Society (United States of America, 1939). Both societies still exist today. As the recorder gained popularity in the classroom, there was also an increase in recreational group playing. Today, there are over 2000 active members in the American Recorder Society, living in more than 30 countries around the world. Today, the recorder is frequently the first exposure a student has to playing an instrument in music education. In Ontario, the most common age to start playing is in grade (Continued on page 9)

9 Page 9 (Continued from page 8) four (aged 9 or 10) although some students start earlier in the primary grades and some students go through the education system without ever playing the recorder. There is no expectation in the Ontario music curriculum that specifically states that a student must play the recorder. However, as most music teachers will tell you, learning the components of music through the use of an instrument is definitely of benefit to the vast majority of students for many reasons, as will be discussed below. Conclusion - Why start with the recorder? We now know the benefits of learning an instrument. But why start out on the recorder when the long-term goal is to learn a band instrument? Why not start right away with the band instrument? There are several valid reasons. One of the main reasons for the popularity of the recorder is due to the fact that it is inexpensive, making it a highly accessible instrument for increasingly lower budgets in music programs around the world. Many families can easily afford to buy their own recorders. Made of plastic, the recorder is also highly durable against the wear and tear it may experience from younger students who are just starting to learn about the importance of caring for an instrument. It is highly portable, fitting easily into backpacks and student desks and can be washed very easily by hand or in the top rack of the dishwasher (for plastic recorders only!) The recorder s simple and compact design also allows for much smaller hands to manipulate the fingerings with ease. Many students in the primary/junior grades simply do not have the hand span or hand strength to be able to play an instrument that requires greater dexterity, such as the flute, clarinet or saxophone. The same principle can be applied to air flow as the recorder requires very little air to be played well, which is of benefit to students who have not yet developed a strong lung capacity as is that of strong wind musicians. Many music educators agree that students develop the necessary fine motor skills for playing the recorder in grade three, at the absolute earliest, although the majority won t be adequately able to play until grade four. Starting on the recorder helps students to develop this ability in preparation for other instruments later in their music education careers. Another reason for students to start their instrumental careers on recorders is due to simple physics. A recorder is a highly logical instrument to play. Cover consecutive holes with fingers, one at a time, and one quickly learns that the more fingers you add, the lower the pitch of the instrument as air is required to travel lower down the conical tube to exit the recorder. This basic concept, with some fingering exceptions, can be applied to the other woodwind instruments (i.e., flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone). Most music educators will agree that learning an instrument greatly enhances the music education experience of students. Most will also agree that learning an instrument as early as a student shows readiness is of great benefit to the long-term goals of most music educators to develop an understanding and appreciation for music that will hopefully carry through to the thirty year plan. Tiina Kai Paluoja is a Primary/Junior Music Specialist with the Durham District School Board for the past ten years. Tiina volunteers her time with the Estonian Guide and Scout band where she is the conductor and occasionally plays the flute, piccolo and alto saxophone.

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12 Page 12 Orff Level 2 in Vancouver, August 11-22, 2014 by Alison Roy Five years after taking Level 1 Orff in Toronto, I decided to finally get my Level 2 in Vancouver. I have been teaching the Summer Orff Vocal/Conducting classes at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto since I naively thought that I could do both in the summer, teach four Levels of Orff and study Level 2 in 10 days, but that turned out to be quite the dream. I also work during the summer so there has been a long gap between levels. I wouldn t recommend having the gap but it was well worth the wait to be able to study in beautiful Vancouver in August. One of the main differences between the courses taught at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the Vancouver Community College is the number of teachers. At the RCM, there are 4 teachers that you see each day - Basic Orff, Recorder, Movement and Vocal/Conducting. At the VCC, there are only two. Pam Hetrick (Level 1) and Catherine West (Level 2) teach Basic Orff, Recorder and Vocal/Conducting to their class and Susie Green teaches Movement to bothlevels. I ve always loved to dance! I have made up dance routines since I was a kid. But I m in no way a capital D Dancer...my feet naturally point in, I slouch and my arms have never met grace. But Susie Green encouraged all of us with every move. Every morning from 8:30-10, Level 2s stretched and danced and explored poetry and movement. In Susie s Movement class, we explored the four Laban movement factors of space, weight, time and flow. We floated, flicked, ran, danced, and discovered all levels of space across the massive carpeted dance room floor. We worked a lot with poetry and reacted through movement to the words in short haikus and longer poems. We also learned a variety of dance steps and lo and behold, one of our assignments was to make up our own dance routine! It was taped for posterity and ultimately for me to torture my family by forcing them to watch my new talent! I might have to audition for a dance troupe now! Susie is a very encouraging teacher for every level of dancer/mover. It was a lot of fun working with Catherine West, who I ve known for a number of years. I knew of her before we met, since my sister has spoken highly of her for years. I have had the great fortune of working beside her during the summer courses. She has a great enthusiasm for music education and especially for Orff Pedagogy. It was such a great delight to have her as my instructor for 2 weeks. On Day 7 of the course, Catherine had us list all of the songs we had learned up to that point. We would be incorporating these in Maurice Sendak s Where the Wild Things Are for our final presentation. We had 2.5 days. I was so immersed in the class and with assignments and recorder practice that I really didn t realize how much we had actually accomplished in such a short period of time. I felt that we didn t have a lot of time to pull (Continued on page 13)

13 (Continued from page 12) it off but both the limited time and the calm reassurance of Catherine and Susie allowed all things to fall into place. For the concert on Day 10, we performed a movement piece of Chief Dan George s My Heart Soars that Susie had coached us on. Then the little group of 6 played the roles of 20 in Where the Wild Things Are. We moved from being nasty boys being sent to our room, to waves on the open sea, to the island where we were the wild things. We moved from singing, to non pitched percussion and pitched percussion instruments, to recorders, to movement, to singing and back again. We were vines growing in the bedroom, waves on the sea, scary monsters or wild things, and then back to the sea and ultimately back to the disappearing vines in the bedroom. We moved constantly, Level 2 and with much practice and adrenaline, managed to put on quite a performance. We were a little too good as scary wild things and made a 2 year old audience member cry. One of the difficulties at the VCC was the Culinary School. The difficulty was mainly a lesson in will power. This has nothing to do with the Orff courses but it did affect us. They have a Chef school and a Bakery school that continue during the summer. The cafeteria offers class assignments for lunch. We had choices of salmon, beef, fish and 3 side dishes for $5-7! Also it was difficult turning away from the College s bakery. I did for the first few days until someone mentioned that on Fridays, everything is half the price. In the logic that is calorie counting, half priced chocolate truffles must be half the calories? Perhaps not, but it did become a decadent treat. Also it helped with the 2:30-4 pm mental fog that happens. I m sure Catherine could see it on our faces by day 5... that feeling of sleep deprivation and jet lag and many words coming at you all at once that should make sense but don t. Sugary delights from the Page 13 bakery seemed to keep us going until Special Topics at 4. Every day from 4-5 pm, Level 1 and 2 would get together for Special Topics. I think it is such a great idea to bring both levels together at the end of the day. The topics were wide ranging and allowed a refreshing way to end the day. The topics ranged from a Obwisana/greet session with Pam Hetrick, Yoga and Swing Dancing with Susie, Folk Dances with Marg Kristie, French Resources with Michele Desponts, Vocal/Conducting with me, a visit from the BC Orff Chapter and Things That Come in Threes. I encourage teachers to take an Orff Levels course out of province. It s very rewarding to meet Canadian teachers from a different city, School Board and province. We discussed everything from music pedagogy to poetry, from transportation to travel, from food to family, and from BC Teacher strikes to City Mayors! (Yes, the Toronto Mayor made it to BC discussions). I would like to thank the committee of the Keith Bissell Scholarship for the (Continued on page 14)

14 Page 14 (Continued from page 13) opportunity to study Orff in BC this summer. Thank you! Alison Roy Alison Roy sings in various choirs in Toronto including The Elmer Iseler Singers, St James Anglican Church Choir, Choir 21 and the Amadeus Choir. She teaches four levels of the Vocal/ Conducting component of Orff Pedagogy in the summer and throughout the year at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Alison conducts the Primary Choir at the RCM. She also works at 8 schools in the big land of Toronto for the TDSB as a Vocal Itinerant. Alison is a poet and provided the Orff staff this summer with a haiku a day. Alison hopes to complete Level 3 this summer somewhere in Canada.

15 Page 15 Dalcroze Society of Canada 2014 Annual Weekend Workshop with Paul Hille Diplôme Supérieur Saturday November 1, Training Class 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Sunday, November 2, Annual Workshop 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Location: National Ballet School, 400 Jarvis Street, Toronto, ON About our Guest Teacher: Paul Hille holds the Diplôme Supérieur from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and is currently a professor at the University of Music in Vienna, Austria. He is a regular guest teacher and workshop leader throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and he also served as the Vice President of FIER from 2007 to Mr. Hille is also the founder and chief organizer of Erasmus Hörraum 2012, an international symposium on ear training and listening at Vienna s University of Music. This symposium was nominated in 2013 for the "Lifelong Learning Award" in Austria. Please visit the our website for updates. For information about the Kodaly Society of Ontario please visit

16 Page 16 The Ontario Orff Chapter future workshops: An Orff Duet featuring Julie Grierson & Allison Tipler Sunday, February 8, am 2pm Upper Canada College Prep School 200 Lonsdale Road, Toronto, ON, M4V 1W6 Workshop Description: Julie will share arrangements and orchestrations that integrate all of the Orff media: body percussion, recorder, Orff instruments, speech, singing and movement. She will demonstrate ways beloved children s books can inspire students in the primary and junior grades to participate joyfully and creatively. Allison will present a grab bag of movement activities that can be implemented in your music room the very next day! She will show you an orffy way to teach melody maps, and take you through a lesson in improvisation and composition. Come prepared to laugh, sing, move, explore, and create.

17 Up and Coming Page 17 It s Elemental; Lessons that Engage! feat ing Don Dupont & Br ian Hiller 9am Sat day, Oct ober 18, Claude at son School f or t he t s 130 is Avenue, ont o,, M2N 0A8 EW I Workshop Description: Using a developmental, step by step teaching and the elements of Orff Schulwerk, participants will gain experience in teaching to the objective through singing, instrument and recorder playing, choral techniques and improvisation. Participants will leave with detailed lesson plans, songs poems, as well as ideas for further creative exploration. Folk songs, original material, as well as pieces from the Volumes will be About the Workshop Leaders: Don Dupont & Brian Hiller are both elementary music specialists in Westchester County, New York and professors at University, where they are Orff levels instructors. They present workshops at national and state music conferences, and for Schulwerk chapters around the county. Mr. Dupont and Mr. Hiller have co-authored six publications It s Elemental, It s Elemental Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Make a Joyful Sound and Why Mosquitos Buzz in People s ears. They are also contributing authors to Press the control key and click on the Ontario Musical Note below to go to the Website and download a PDF form to register for the workshop. If you have any questions, Contact: Batya Levy Home Phone: (evenings & weekends ) / batyalevy@rogers.com Follow the Ontario Orff Chapter on