Orff Schulwerk

• Michelle Brinkman
• Posted 6/17/21
• 0 comments

Carl Orff and his associate, Gunild Keetman, developed Orff Schulwerk, or the Orff approach in Germany during the 1920s. After World War II, Orff and Keetman did a series of broadcasts on Bavarian radio featuring the Schulwerk.   

Orff and Keetman’s repertoire for these radio broadcasts became the Music for Children volumes published in the early 1950s. The pieces’ intention in the Music for Children volumes are musical models and a starting point of inspiration for the Orff Schulwerk teacher. 

A music teacher using the Orff approach may select from many different media within a lesson.   Speech, including rhymes and poems inherent to the child’s native language, provides a starting point for rhythm.   

Movement, singing, and body percussion are also commonly used.  Playing instruments is an essential media within the Orff approach as well.  Students play unpitched percussion, recorders, and barred instruments, sometimes known as “Orff instruments.”  

These instruments were developed in the late 1920s under the direction of Carl Orff and modeled after an African xylophone.  One unique quality of these instruments is the ability to remove bars that are not needed, providing the student with increased opportunities for success. 

Most Orff Schulwerk lessons utilize the following process, moving from the simple to the complex.  Teachers often begin with imitation, in which students replicate or “echo” what the teacher does.   

The next step of the process is exploration.  Students find new ways to use the musical materials. The final step is improvisation or creation, where students invent original material and demonstrate their independence from the teacher.  

The design of an Orff lesson moves from the simple to the complex, giving students many opportunities to experiment with music concepts leading to mastery of a. concept.   Students use problem-solving skills and work collaboratively with other students to create in an Orff classroom.   

Orff Schulwerk is an engaging approach to music education because students are always actively making music! 

Contributor

Michelle Brinkman

Michelle Brinkman has 23 years of experience teaching PreK-8 general music and is currently the K-5 music specialist at Nora Elementary School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Besides her teaching responsibilities, she also directs a choir, Orff ensemble, and folk-dance club at her school. Michelle…

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