I am trained in Orff-Schulwerk and also implement Conversational Solfege. I believe the music classroom should focus on Activity, Creativity, Community, and Fluency.
- Students should be active through movement, playing instruments, and singing.
- Students should not only listen to music, but create their own rhythms, melodies, harmonies, forms, movements, and ways to express their musicality.
- Students should learn to be supportive and accepting of their peers, creating a supportive music community, as well as have a knowledge and understanding of musical traditions around the world and the important history of how musical styles in the US have grown and changed as our country has changed.
- Students should learn to be fluent in reading music so when they leave school, they won't be dependent on a teacher. This should be approached aurally, similar to language learning; students should understand what they hear and be able to use this information before learning what it looks like on paper.