Abstract: This historical case study traced and examined the adaptation of Orff Schulwerk within the school music curriculum of Memphis, Tennessee. I sought to discover how people, place, and time impacted the introduction, adoption and implementation of this curricular approach. I chose to bound this study by the time period of the first ten years of the Memphis State University (MSU) Orff Schulwerk Levels Course, 1971-1980 (inclusive). The year 1980 was significant because it marked the American Orff-Schulwerk Association’s full adoption of course guidelines. Research questions included: How does a curriculum evolve when transferred from the culture and time of origin to another culture and time? How do local and national sociopolitical influences impact these developments and adaptations of a curriculum? What forces drive the process of the evolution of an elementary music curriculum? Which impact change? Which reinforce original intent (thereby resisting change)? How does the passage of time impact how a curriculum changes and evolves? Data were gathered from oral histories collected through first hand interviews and correspondence with the founders, instructors and participants of the first ten years, 1971- 1980, of the MSU Orff Schulwerk Orff Course. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and submitted to the interviewees for amendment. Additional primary sources included the ESEA Title III Grant of 1968, ESEA Title III Grant status reports, the Memphis City Schools (MCS) Orff Music Curriculum of 1971, AOSA correspondence related to the Memphis Orff program (archived in Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY), and AOSA archived video interviews. Secondary sources included academic journals; theses and dissertations; and materials specific to the MSU Orff Schulwerk Course such as advertisements, brochures, instructor course notes, concert programs, and university catalog course descriptions. Analysis of the data revealed people impacted the curriculum through translation, adaptation, collaboration, and identification. Place impacted the curriculum at school, city, and university levels as people constructed new understandings through common musical experiences. The impact of the passage of time on the curriculum was expressed through the flow of ideas. This flow would cycle through periods of “abundant time” when new ideas circulated freely and progress occurred, and “sustained time” when those ideas continued but were refined. Throughout examination of primary sources, four themes emerged: collaboration, autonomy, equality, and commitment. The force that drove the process of curricular evolution was people. MCS elementary music teachers developed a culture of collaboration in response to need early in the curricular adaptation. Autonomy was evident in teachers’ feelings of empowerment and freedom through creativity. Equality was evident in teachers’ access to training, equity of resources, and inclusion of music relevant to their students. Teachers displayed a deep sense of commitment despite the intense level of professional expectations. This commitment manifested itself through teachers’ commitment to their students, each other, and Orff Schulwerk. With an ongoing search for improvement in instruction in the field of music education, findings from this study could provide such a connection between how music educators once taught and how they teach now. This research can inform a philosophical basis for instructional practice negotiated by engaging with both past and present ideas. This could help educators gain a depth of understanding that may improve their teaching. By documenting the translation and adaptation of Orff Schulwerk for use in 1970s Memphis, this research could serve as a guide for someone wishing to translate and adapt Orff Schulwerk to a new context in the future.
Purpose: Examine the adaptation of Orff-Sculwerk within trhe school music curriculum of Memphis, Tennessee.
Source: Eastman School of Music (Link)
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