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
Harnessing the Cloud for Professional Collaboration and Audience Engagement
An overview of how the Cloud was used to create a multi-media music and art project with elementary students.
Enhancing the Instrumentarium: Contemporary Instrument Makers and Their Digital Tools
Four examples of how digital technology was used to create instruments while supporting and encouraging the creativity of the Orff Schulwerk approach.
Moon
Children’s Book Review: Bilingual rendition of a Korean folk song with CD accompaniment in both languages about a child talking to the ever-present moon which illuminates the mountain, her hometown, and family.
Exploring Cultures Through Singing
The author says that it is the task of the music educator to present different cultures in authentic settings. She points out that, while children are taught to sing in a light, children’s choir tone, it is possible also to teach singing that is authentic in other cultures
Promoting Culturally Responsive Musical Experiences in an Orff Schulwerk Setting
In this article, the author discusses how, through the study of language and culture, the students connected to Chinese music and became invested in their learning.
Last Stop on Market Street
Children’s Book Review: A picture book that describes a boy and his grandmother’s ride across town on a city bus, city sounds, and the diverse people they meet along the way to their destination.
One World: Building Bridges
The author discusses culturally responsive elemental music making through artist-in-residence programs and other ways of exposing students to cultures other than their own.
Multicultural Music Education: Through the Eyes of the Next Generation
The authors, all from Hawaii, believe that Orff Schulwerk may play a significant role in promoting and preserving authentic multicultural experiences in the 21st century classroom. They share a number of Asian-Pacific related activities that they have developed.
Effect of Singing Instruction on the Singing Voice of Children Ages 5-8
The purpose of this research was to determine if singing instruction improved children’s singing. The data showed that children sang significantly better after instruction than before.
Creative Drama in the Orff Schulwerk Classroom
The historical and creative importance of keeping drama alive in the Orff Schulwerk classroom.
The Piano Studio as Orff Schulwerk Makerspace
Techniques for bringing Orff Schulwerk creativity, improvisation, and exploration into the piano studio.
Elemental Movement for Gifted Dancers
The use of elemental expressive movement exercises at a summer arts camp leads to enhanced personal creativity, community building, and expanded movement vocabulary.
Project Orchestra: The Child Becomes the Music
Using a variety of Orff media, children create and perform movement pieces as part of live symphony performances.
Is the Eye the Enemy of the Ear? The Unsettled Issue of Literacy in the Orff Approach: Part III
Three experienced Orff educators reflect on the role of notation in the Orff Schulwerk process.
Kodály Today: A Cognitive Approach to Elementary Music Education
Professional Book Review: This book is an all-in-one helpful resource for both novice and experienced educators who use any pedagogical approach to teach music to children in Grades K-5, with additional advice for older beginners in upper elementary or middle school.
Everybody Gets the Blues
Children’s Book Review: A lovely picture book to help children talk about sadness…and sing the blues away.