Orff Workshops – St. Rose Style

Two of my friends, Jansen and Danny, doing an activity for the Orff Workshop!

“The American Orff-Schulwerk Association is a professional organization of educators dedicated to the creative music and movement approach developed by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman.
Our mission is:
• to demonstrate the value of Orff Schulwerk and promote its widespread use;
• to support the professional development of our members; and
• to inspire and advocate for the creative potential of all learners.” ~ http://www.aosa.org/

In laments terms, an Orff-Workshop is a workshop that teaches you the techniques taught by Carl Orff, a prominent music educator. There are many Orff Workshops hosted throughout the entire country, and The College of Saint Rose is lucky enough to host some of them! They’re great educational assets for us Music Education majors, and they’re also a ton of fun!

Some more Orff poses! Us music education majors clearly know how to have some fun 🙂

At this Orff workshop, Ms. Deborah A. Imiolo led i! She hails from Buffalo, N.Y. and works as a music teacher in Heritage Heights School District. Her learning goal (posted in a packet that she handed to everyone) was this:

“By the end of this workshop you will have a solid understanding of the terminology and technique of barred instruments and howt o introduce them to students in upper-grade levels. You will also learn how to use instrumental pieces from the Volumes to teach the elements of music (Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, Form) and integrate literature and technology. All of this will be covered with tips and ideas for developing good character in children with classroom management ideas tossed in throughout.”

Well, she certainly lived up to expectations! We got a full coverage on barred instruments and proper mallet technique, and we also got experience in teaching body percussion, fun instrumental pieces, and songs that are used to teach the rules of the classroom and about respecting the space and teacher. She also taught some techniques for teaching meter to upper level students. Some of the songs she taught were a bit whacky – at one point she was demonstrating a song from one of her publications, “Animal Cracker Suite and Other Poems “, and the majority of us at the workshop were amazed that she was able to sing and speak so fast while moving so quickly, let alone write a book. She was a very interesting individual, and taught us many things about classroom management and barred instruments!

Oh! And if you don’t know what a barred instrument is, that’s either a Bass Xylophone/Bass Mallophone, Alto Xylophone/Mallophone, Soprano Xylophone/Mallophone, and Glockenspiels! Music educators use these to teach kids the concepts of rhythm, melody, and technique when playing instruments. The Orff Technique is also known for teaching students creativity and improvisation, and it is implemented with these “Orff” instruments!

Some students playing with some of the “Orff” instruments, AKA Barred Instruments!

Now I’m sure you’re enjoying me writing to you about the Orff workshop, but I always feel that it’s better to describe something through pictures and video. So, just for you guys, I took a video of us learning a song about Catching Balls and teaching students about meter. Click on the link below and enjoy!

Orff Workshop – Roll it and Catch!

I hope you learned a lot about Orff workshops! Being at St. Rose just helps us all to really connect as educators and to learn a lot through workshops like these, as well as through classes from fabulous teachers! Workshops like these really showcase the St. Rose Difference!

Students learning the song “Roll it and Catch!”