Miriam College's new music program for kids

MANILA, Philippines – To harness kids’ psychomotor skills and natural musical potential, the Center for Applied Music of Miriam College recently launched an innovative program which will transform child’s play into a performance art.

Known as the Orff Approach or Music for Children, it teaches music to kids through singing, chanting, dance, movement, drama and the use of percussion instruments.

Conceived in the 1920s by German composer and educator Carl Orff known for his oratorio Carmina Burana, the program is based on his belief in the importance of rhythm and movement.

The program has no standard curriculum as teachers design their own lesson plans and adapt it to suit the size of the class and the age of students. She may choose a poem or a story to read, and students participate by choosing instruments to represent a character in the story or poem.

Encouraging the child’s natural sense of play, Music composed by children is mostly used in the Orff classroom.

Xylophones (soprano, alto, bass), metallophones (soprano, alto, bass), glockenspiels (soprano and alto), castanets, bells, maracas, triangles, cymbals (finger, crash or suspended), tambourines, timpani, gongs, bongos, steel drums and conga drums are some of the percussion instruments used in the Orff classroom.

As the teacher reads the story again, students add sound effects by playing the instruments they have selected. As the lesson progresses, students play Orff instruments or add other instruments, while others act-out the story. The teacher acts like a conductor who gives cues to the orchestra players.

Using the Orff Approach, students learn about rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, form and other elements of music. They learn these concepts by speaking, chanting, singing, dancing, movement, acting and playing instruments.

These concepts become springboards for other creative pursuits such as improvisation, composition and ultimately the formation of a Children’s Percussion Orchestra. Using techniques in rote and imitation, children perform as a percussion orchestra using Orff and malleted instruments such as glockenspiels, xylophones, metalophones and the marimba.

The course also gears to an Angklung Ensemble with the marimba as either a solo or accompanying instrument, and capped with a recital as culminating activity.

For inquiries on the program, call 426-1822.