Educational philosophies supporting Music Playtime

Music Playtime

Music Playtime is a dynamic, evolving program shaped by the musical experiences,

backgrounds, and imaginations of the participating children. It blends three

internationally respected music education approaches—Dalcroze, Kodály, and Orff

Schulwerk—briefly described below.

For founder Sharon, these approaches are deeply personal. In Grade 5, a skilled Kodály teacher gave her classroom music lessons that became the foundation of her later studies. Years later, atthe Faculty of Music in Toronto, she encountered the irresistible sound of Orff Schulwerkxylophone ensembles led by Orff specialist Lori Dolloff. A few years into the program, she discovered, and fell in love with Dalcroze Eurhythmics—an approach that opened an entirely new world of embodied, somatic understanding. Dalcroze not only enriched her teaching but also transformed her musicianship and even aspects her life beyond music. By experiencing music through movement, she gained a deeper sense of presence, expression, and artistic meaning. She devoted eight years to a doctoral dissertation,

Education in Rhythm and by Rhythm: Exploring Holistic Experiences in Dalcroze Pedagogy.

Sharon is a life-long Dalcrozian who continues to take advanced classes whenever they are

available. Music Playtime reflects her commitment to giving children the same joyful, holisticstart that shaped her own path.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics

At the turn of the 20th century, Swiss musician Émile Jaques-Dalcroze created a series

of exercises to help his conservatory students—many of whom played with mechanical

precision—experience rhythm as something living and personal. By exploring their own

bodily awareness through stepping rhythms or conducting metres, students began to

perform with greater musicality and expression. His method builds accuracy and nuance

through improvised movement: taking larger or smaller steps, changing pace to feel

acceleration, or shaping gestures to match musical phrases—all guided by the

improvised music of an expert teacher.

Children love it because it feels like play. Through stepping, clapping, bouncing balls, stretching bands, and other activities, they internalize core musical concepts in a way that stays with them as they grow. Dalcroze Eurhythmics flourished in the garden city of Hellerau, Germany, spread across Europe in the early 1900s, and was offered for decades at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Although it is less common in Canadian schools today—due to specialized training requirements and decreased support for arts education—it remains a powerful way to develop musicianship.

Kodály

Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, like Dalcroze, wanted to make quality music education

accessible to every child. He began with the voice—the first instrument all children share—and built his approach around singing local folk songs, starting with limited pitch ranges, then gradually expanding. He introduced hand signs for pitches (do, re, mi…), rhythm syllables (“ta,” “tiki”), to make learning intuitive, and included written notation in his music lessons. This method took hold in European schools in the 1930’s and became widely used in Ontario elementary schools in the 1950s and 1960s. It is also the model for the beloved children’s music lessons led by Maria in the 1965 film The Sound of Music. Kodály’s approach builds a solid foundation in listening, singing, and reading music.

Orff Schulwerk

Developed in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman, this

approach combines music, movement, speech, and drama. They created special child-sized

xylophones, glockenspiels, and metallophones so children could play and improvise together easily. Orff classrooms also include a variety of non-pitched percussion instruments and recorders, the repertoire is developed from speech patterns, children’s rhymes, and short storis.

The Orff instruments’ pentatonic tuning and bar layout evoke the sounds of communal music from around the globe, including Indonesian gamelan and African xylophone traditions. Children’s captivating performances were sometimes featured on the radio. This approach flourished in urban Ontario schools from roughly 1975 to 2015, requiring well-equipped music rooms and specialized teachers. Children adored their “Orffestras,” taking turns playing, improvising, and dramatizing stories and compositions. Today, many young adults who were lucky enough to experience Orff classes remember them as joyful highlights of their school careers.

A Shared Vision

Although each approach is unique, all three were created by passionate educators who believed music belongs at the heart of every child’s education—not only for those whose families could afford private lessons. By initially learning music through movement, voice, and play, children discover their innate musicianship in a way that is inclusive, creative, and

lasting.