In Orff Schulwerk classrooms, children begin with what they do instinctively: play! Imitation, experimentation, and personal expression occur naturally as students become confident, life-long musicians and creative problem solvers. The Orff approach to teaching is a model for optimal learning in 21st Century classrooms. This 7-minute video, with teacher commentary, models how children learn through…

This 2-minute video offers a brief look at the journey of discovery that children experience making music and movement the Orff-Schulwerk way. Be sure to watch the video of an Orff class in action for a more detailed explanation of Orff Schulwerk!

Assessments must be an integral part of the instructional process, are sources of information for students and teachers, and must be followed by high quality corrective instruction. Click below to find these Guidelines for Success from a workshop by Dr. Tom Guskey from the University of Kentucky. Assessment for Learning

It was an inspiring weekend at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference this past weekend in Columbus! There were many phenomenal general music clinicians, including some Orff specialists. I have outlined some of the sessions I attended below, as well as some resources they have published that are very helpful in supporting your…

I was searching for music education-related videos on YouTube recently and stumbled upon an amazing video of what looked like a scientific convention. After taking a closer look, I realized it was Bobby McFerrin demonstrating the pentatonic scale to an audience. The funniest part actually was that the audience did not know they were singing…

Although I could write a ton about everything I’ve learned so far this year about being an Orff teacher, I think most of it can be summed up with these three things:         1)      Being an Orff teacher takes time. Teaching in the Orff-Schulwerk style requires educator mastery of the material, which can…

I recently attended a local chapter workshop where the presenter keep saying that the “Orff spirit” would move us to complete the activities that were presented to us in a creative way. Very rarely would assignments be given, but rather a simple reminder that this “Orff spirit” would guide us to what instrument we wanted,…

Life After Certification – Long-Range Planning      Hello, my name is Erin Clevenger, and I am a planner.  I know many very successful music educators who can’t tell you what they’re teaching next month, or even next week, but for me that uncertainty would drive me bonkers.  I think my biggest challenge is the…

Swing-En* IV  *(The official title of our class, as listed in the OASIS catalog, is “Swing Ensemble for Pitched Percussion.”  My abbreviation for us is Swing-En – a good name for these episodes.) September, 1999 . . . the very first Orff class with senior adults.  Armed with a terrific set of goals and objectives…

Swing-En* III *(The official title of our class, as listed in the OASIS catalog, is “Swing Ensemble for Pitched Percussion.”  My abbreviation for us is Swing-En – a good name for these episodes.)  In the fall of 1999, I was hired to teach Orff for Adults.  My new employer was not a school district, but…

Orff Level I – Day 10 Friday marked the last day of my Orff Level I certification and the day was bittersweet; it was wonderful to look back at all we learned in our two weeks together but sad knowing we wouldn’t see each other and keep learning on Monday. The course culminated in a…

Orff Level I – Day 9 A continuation of the improvisation discussion from Day 7: First, try and use predictable forms during improvisation pieces.  You want the students to be concentrating on their improvisation skills, not their memorizing difficult form structures skills (remember that whole “working memory” thing from Day 4?). Second, there are many…