On Imagination and Inner Hearing

"We should read music in the same way 

that an educated adult will read a book:

In silence, but imagining the sound."

~ Zoltan Kodaly

This quote by Zoltan Kodaly, one of the greatest music educators of our time, captures very well the philosophy of my music program.  For the past few weeks, students have been working on developing their "inner hearing", i.e. imagining the sound before delivering the performance.  This could mean what the melody, rhythm, dynamics, articulation, expression might be in an ideal performance.  

Kindergarten and Grade 1 students have been working a lot on interpreting a text and finding the right sound or mode of expression to communicate the meaning of the text.  Grade 1 students have extended this skill to "score reading".  They were asked to interpret a graphic notation and used different vocal qualities, dynamics and articulation in response to what they saw in the "music score."  Grade 2 and 3 students have been working on imagining a beat of silence in the midst of sounds.  This is a kind of "inner hearing" that is important in developing rhythmic precision when playing with other musicians.  Grade 4 and 5 students focused on the concept of "balance" when playing in ensembles especially when certain instruments, e.g. the recorder, have a softer tone than other instruments.