The Kodály method applied to teaching piano

The tutor books I use are written from a Kodály perspective, though not with rhythm solfa and solfa within them – this I add! We sing all the early songs & all pieces are looked at in detail by my pupils before they start to play them – rhythm is clapped & said using rhythmic solfa, pieces are sung using the words, and solfa as appropriate. Lots of games are included covering; pulse, rhythm, solfa, internalisation and improvisation.

Aural skills, in the widest sense, are integral to all my lessons. New rhythms are often taught using songs, clapping or other games, before being pulled out as specific rhythms and finally labels being hung on them (eg L’il Liza Jane, which I use to teach syncopa (ti ta ti or  Ä ± Ä ) and later re-visit for tai ti (±. Ä )) all before they meet the rhythm in a piece. 

Lots of the pieces are duets with the teacher – this encourages hearing in two parts and blending. Two-part work is also a key feature before putting hands together – they play one hand & I play the other. This means they hear the whole piece several times before they try putting hands together themselves (often at home without my help), and gets them used to listening to the other part, not just their own. Sometimes, when playing duets, I make deliberate mistakes and then ask my pupils what I did wrong – it takes lots of practise to listen in two-parts, the natural way to start with is to block out the other part to try to concentrate on your own one!

If I need to correct something the pupil hasn’t got quite right, I usually use their own aural skills by getting them to identify for themselves what needs changing, by playing the piece like they did, then the way it is written.