Kodály Teacher Training at JMU

James Madison University is proud to offer Kodály Teacher Training (Levels I, II, & III) here on our campus. It is endorsed by the Organization of American Kodály Educators and is held during the summer, when those actively teaching in the field can join us. 

The JMU Kodály Teacher Training will take place July 17-29, 2022. 

Please download the application here and e-mail the form to: hayeswb@jmu.edu.

Fees:

Non-Credit Option: $800

OR

Graduate Credit Option (3 Graduate Credits, registration, & billin through JMU Bursar):

• In-State: $472 per credit
• Out-of-State: $1,109 per credit

Participants will study pedagogy, musical materials, choral conducting, and musicianship/solfege. The workshop will begin on Sunday afternoon, July 17. Classes will meet 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday, for two weeks and will conclue on Friday, July 29 at 6:00pm. The JMU course is endorsed by the Organization of American Kodály Educators. 

Link coming soon for registration & payment. 

Housing:

Housing and meals are additional.

Housing is available in air-conditioned JMU residence halls that are about a five minute walk from the Music Building. The price is $45.50 per day for a single room and $33.00 per day per person for a double room. Grace Street Apartment Rates are $55.50 per day for a single room and $43.00 per day per person for a double room. At your request, we will attempt to pair you with a roommate. Daily room charges begin the first day of occupancy and continue through the last day of occupancy.

Linens can be rented for your stay for $8.00 per week, which includes 2 sheets, 1 pillowcase, 2 towels, and 1 washcloth. A blanket can be included in the set for a total per person charge of $10.00.

Meals:

Meals are available in JMU dining facilities. Meals can be purchased à la carte:

• Breakfast: $8.59
• Lunch: $10.72
• Dinner: $11.03

What will I learn and do during my two weeks at JMU?

Each day will run approximately from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Expect several hours of homework each evening. (A Kodály course is a lot of work, but we promise it will be well worth it!) 

Solfege/Musicianship

Course participants will have 2 hours each day of personal musicianship training, using solfege, rhythm syllables, and other tools. Some students come in never having learned solfege before, so if you haven't read in solfege or if you're shaky, don't worry! Our instructors start at ground zero.

If you're already an excellent sight-reader and very experienced in solfege, you will still be challenged in Solfege I. You will be asked to take your skills to new and deeper levels. Also, you will find the methods and activities at this level very valuable in terms of teaching solfege to your own students.

FYI:

• Level I Solfege is based primarily, but not completely, on pentatonic music.
• Level II Solfege deals with diatonic music and begins work on modes.
• Level III Solfege deals with diatonic, modal, and chromatic music.

Pedagogy/Methodology

You will have 2 hours each day of instruction in Kodály-inspired Pedagogy.

• Level I focuses on early-childhood through 2nd grade pedagogy.
• Level II focuses on 3rd and 4th grade pedagogy.
• Level III focuses on 5th grade through middle school pedagogy.

If you are a secondary level teacher, JMU instructors will help you to adapt beginning-, intermediate-, and advanced-level pedagogy and materials to the grade levels you teach. Many of our course participants have been choral conductors and even band and orchestra directors, and have found the instruction to be extremely valuable.

Pedagogy instruction includes:

• philosophy and history of the Kodály approach
• singing
• moving (games, dances, free and creative movement)
• reading and notating music
• playing instruments
• audiating
• improvising and composing
• lesson planning
• long-range planning
• differentiating
• developing artistry

Level I students may have the opportunity to observe and interact with children.

Materials/Folksong Research

You will have 90 minutes of Materials instruction each day. During Materials you will learn about choosing excellent quality, appealing songs and other materials for your students, authentic and responsible collection of song material, and analyzing songs so that they become more useful as teaching materials. You will also begin the process of organizing your collected song material in a retrieval system based on the musical concepts you teach.

You will be amazed at the time this will save you in lesson planning and how much more effective you can become as a teacher when your materials are well organized!

As you can probably guess, Pedagogy and Materials courses are closely related.

Other experiences and topics in Materials:

• folk dancing
• folk instruments
• multi-cultural music

Conducting

You will have 45 minutes of Conducting each day. This Conducting course is designed to build your conducting skills from your current skill level, wherever that is. Each year our course includes everyone from novice to expert conductors. The atmosphere in class is positive, supportive, and collegial.

Ensemble

You will have 45 minutes of Ensemble each day. This is primarily a choral experience, but often includes recorder and other instruments, depending on the talents of the year's participants. The goals of Ensemble are to share a satisfying musical experience, to learn new repertoire, and to use your developing solfege skills.

Credit

The JMU Kodály Teacher Training offers both credit and non-credit options. 

Non-Credit Option: 

• Kodály Levels I, II, or III: $800
• JMU will provide a letter documenting contact hours (75 for a Kodály Level workshop) for possible recertification to participants who attend all sessions. 

Credit Option:

• Kodály Levels I, II, or III (3 Graduate Credits)
• In-State: $472 per credit
• Out-of-State: $1,109 per credit

For further information, please contact:

W. Bryce Hayes
School of Music, MSC 7301
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
540-568-6753
hayeswb@jmu.edu