Week 5 - Orff Activities

 In today's class we looked at a different form of Orff teaching. The first four weeks of this semester we have focused a lot of the attention to the 'chunking' method. (Line by line chuck sized approach). This lesson the new approach we looked at was the 'whole song' method. The whole song method consists of performing the whole song/body percussion backed up with lots of repetition. After performing the catchy poem to us Belinda asked what line/movement we remembered and asked us to just use that as a start. Lots of repetition followed with new lines/movements progressively being added until the class had fully memorised the song/body percussion. We then incorporated the woodblocks/xylophones in the activity utilising our knowledge of Bordun's and melodic call and response. I personally struggled with the whole song method as my bias lies with the chucking method. I asked Belinda for her views and she said she didn't the see value in the whole song method until she became a teacher and wanted variation in the classroom and wanted to cater for the kids who need more stimulation in an activity/faster learners.

This week I had a read of a great article named 'The Effects of Orff-Based Music Therapy and Social Work Groups on Childhood Grief Symptoms and Behaviours'. This article talks about and proves how Orff based activities positively effected children with behavioural problems/experiencing grieving more so than more traditional methods of therapy. Children underwent an 8 week Orff style course compared to other participants being in more traditional methods of 'treatment' such as social workers etc. Below are some excerpts from the article

"Children in these groups readily engaged in the Orff-based activities and seemed able to express themselves non-verbally through Orff-based music therapy improvisation". (Hilliard, 2007, p. 123-128)

"While participants in the social work group seemed to be able to express themselves through nonmusical forms of play, those in the music therapy group showed stronger results. This may be due to music's ability to organize and structure while at the same time allow for spontaneous expression and creativity. Because grief is a complex phenomenon, it is important for grief counselors to recognize the variety of interventions that can be utilized in bereavement care. Referring children to a board certified music therapist for grief support is encouraged." (Hilliard, 2007, p. 123-128)

It's amazing how Orff can be used beyond education to help a troubled/grieving mind of a child heal and work towards positive results/outcomes.

Hilliard, R. E. (2007). The effects of orff-based music therapy and social work groups on childhood grief symptoms and behaviors. Journal of Music Therapy, 44(2), 123-38. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.usyd.edu.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/scholarly-journals/effects-orff-based-music-therapy-social-work/docview/223549488/se-2?accountid=14757