Prior to selecting the piece for this mixed-bag arrangement I thought about what specific characteristics make certain repertoire suitable for use in the classroom. This minor thought then led me into a solo discussion which mainly revolved around 3 main aspects;
- Key and Time Signature
- Ostinato’s and Riffs
- Transfer and Creativity
My thoughts with regards to key signatures and time signatures mainly revolved around playability and student familiarity. Although this task was focussed towards a stage 4 class there is still a significantly large spectrum of musical expertise with regards to students of this age. Furthermore, I wanted the arrangement to be playable on common classroom instruments such as metallophones and xylophones so the key of the piece I selected had to consist of a maximum of two flats/sharps when in concert pitch. With regards to time signature suitability, I needed to ensure that I selected a piece that was in a time signature that would be easy for students to lock into when playing and also one that they could recognise.
The selection of a piece that contains recognisable ostinatos, riffs and/or patterns is an important aspect of classroom arranging. Selecting a piece that contains repeated musical phrases or chord progressions is an ideal way of increasing the speed in which students can move from learning a song to performing it. A large aspect of ORFF pedagogy is repetition. By selecting repertoire that consists of repeating phrases and sections, ORFF pedagogy can be used to its full potential through repletion and transfer to enhance learning.
The transfer of ideas and the integration of creativity into the music learning experience is an essential aspect which forms a large portion of ORFF pedagogy. The transfer of ideas using different senses and repeating the ideas each time enables students to grasp the idea sooner and as such speed up learning. A common use of transfer which I decided to use in my mixed bag arrangement was from ORFF body percussion (FN, P, ST & CL) to classroom percussion instruments. In my individual arrangement, I decided to take this a step further and create a drum kit part from the three individual parts I had arranged.
With regards to the integration of creativity in classroom arranging, it is essential that some form of organising sound is integrated into the learning experiences. Whether this be simply varying dynamics in different sections, altering the structure of the piece or integrating elements of composition and improvisation into the arrangement. The integration of these creative elements is also a significant aspect of ORFF pedagogy. Teachers who adopt the Orff Schulwerk approach are first and foremost composition teachers and teach in a specific creative style that contains composition at the core. This style of teaching is one I want to represent myself and did my best to represent in the mixed-bag arrangement which I created.
LJS Music Education 