Play, Expressivity, and the Elemental Marrying Speech, Movement, and Music Through Improvisation in Orff's Schulwerk

Allison Dotts

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Clark, Maribeth

Keywords

Music Education, Orff Schulwerk, Primitivism

Area of Concentration

Humanities

Abstract

Carl Orff�s Schulwerk, along with much of his compositional work, started as an exploration into the most primitive, elemental roots of music. In this thesis, I explore the natural, active music making experience developed by Orff, Dorothee Gunther, and Gunild Keetman. Through movement, improvisation, play, composition, and collective performance, music-making through the Schulwerk incorporates musical knowledge into a piece/performance, and creates an effective ensemble through active listening and collaboration. Because of its adaptability, the Schulwerk is an appropriate approach to music learning at any age, even in the 21st century. I also investigate turn-of-the-century fascination with primitivism, and its effect on Orff�s compositions and conception of elementare Musik. I explore traditional and contemporary methods of music learning, and compare these with the Schulwerk. I propose that it is the �elemental� nature of the Orff approach and its focus on play-based, experiential learning that make this type of music learning appropriate for and accessible to a wide range of students.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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