Research Studies in
Orff Schulwerk
About the Orff Method
The Orff method, also known as Orff Schulwerk or Music for Children, is an approach to music education conceived by the German composer Carl Orff (1895-1982). It was developed in the 1920s and 1930s while Orff was music director of the Günther-Schule, a school of dance and music in Munich. The guiding principles were contained in his publication Orff Schulwerk: Music for Children, volumes 1-5 (by Carl Orff and Guild Keetman, 1949-1954, Schott’s, Mainz). The first of many foreign versions was Music for Children (Mainz 1956-61), an adaptation in English by Doreen Hall and Arnold Walter of the University of Toronto.
Orff's approach, developed for children, was based on his belief that the easiest method of teaching music is to draw out the student's inherent affinities for rhythm and melody and allow these to develop in natural ways, leading the child by his or her intuition from primitive to more sophisticated expression through stages parallel to western music's evolution.
For further references, visit these websites:
American Orff-Schulwerk Association: http://www.aosa.org
Carl Orff Foundation: http://www.orff.de
Orff Center Munich: http://www.orff_zentrum.de