About Orff Schulwerk

The Orff Schulwerk process is a constructivist approach to music education suitable for use by any kind of teacher. The people who attend our workshops are those who yearn for creative ways to reach children, using the freeing elements which are expressed in music and movement. To the practitioner of Orff Schulwerk, reading music is not a prerequisite, nor the ultimate goal. The process holds that sound precedes sight, in that, the individual must perceive sound, express it bodily and only then is able to interpret the symbols which may record the experience. Instead of teaching individuals how to read notes to play and instrument, the Schulwerk emphasizes listening, valuing, creating and playing simple rhymes, chants and songs which express natural rhythms within speech, evolving into song, body percussion, movement, drama, improvisation and instrument play. 

Visit the website of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, AOSA: http://www.aosa2.org