The Orff Echo is the national, peer-reviewed quarterly journal and philosophical voice of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. Our mission is to demonstrate the value of Orff Schulwerk and promote its widespread use; to support the professional development of our members; and to inspire and advocate for the creative potential of all learners. Non-members may contact the editor for information.
Interested in writing for The Orff Echo? Check out how to get involved in the process:
Extensions to articles published in The Orff Echo can be found in the AOSA Resource Library.
List of Orff Echo Articles
Teaching Recorder to Develop Student Creativity
Chandler talks about using the recorder as a way of improvising and discusses Graham Wallas’ four-step process for developing creativity.
Experiencing Music Composition in Grades 3-5
Professional Development Book Review: Authors Michele Kaschub and Janice Smith detail a variety of composition projects that general music teachers can use to facilitate composition by upper elementary school students.
The Wide-Mouthed Frog
Children’s Book Review: The wide-mouthed frog’s quest to find out what other creatures in the Okefenokee Swamp eat leads him to meet interesting creatures including one who considers him delicious! Opportunities abound for a musical story, movement, and environmental/science connections.
Moo!
Children’s Book Review: A picture book that takes readers on a wild ride when a cow steals a farmer’s car. Simple words and story line with the themes of making good and bad choices and telling the truth will resonate with all.
Recorder in the Schulwerk Past and Present
Purdum explains that the recorder has been an integral part of the Schulwerk since its beginnings in the 1920s. The creative teacher should see the recorder as a daily tool rather than an instructional unit.
Adaptive Solutions: Recorder Instruction for Students with Physical Differences
Thomforde discusses ways to make recorder instruction accessible for students with physical differences.
Prepare, Practice, Present: A “Sound Before Sight Approach” to Teaching Recorder
The author takes the reader through the Kodaly planning process and Feierabend’s Conversational Solfege, demonstrating how they connect with the Schulwerk and with the recorder.
The Amazing Alto: A Win-Win for Students and Teachers
Mann explores using the alto recorder to facilitate music making with middle school students.
Including Everyone: Creating Music Classrooms Where All Children Learn
Professional Development Book Review: In this book, Judith A. Jellison offers a comprehensive examination of the state of music education and special education in the United States.
Orff’s Deeper Message
Warner discusses her thoughts on how teachers can uphold Orff’s ideals and do justice to his work through an intimate acquaintance with his philosophy.
My First Five Years: an Orff Journey
The author writes about challenges facing new teachers and how the Orff approach provides tools for navigation.
Beliefs and Challenges for New Teachers
McCallum discusses the experiences of six beginning music teachers who use Orff-Schulwerk in their classrooms.
A Symphony of Cowbells
Children’s Book Review: On their move to a greener pasture, the cows’ bells ring melodiously in sequence. One morning, Elfi’s cowbell did not make its usual sound; her bell had disappeared and must be found before the cows will move!
Cultivating Connections and Cultivating Growth
The author talks about strategies new teachers can use to establish a productive transition to teaching.
Listen to Our World
Children’s Book Review: A beautiful picture book of animals, their young, the sounds they make, and the various habitats in which they live around the planet. There are many possibilities to challenge students’ creativity in the music classroom.
New Teachers and the Orff Approach
The authors examine the results of an online forum in which six AOSA members of varyng levels of experience discuss their perspectives of their first year’s teaching using the Orff approach.