This chapter will focus on how Waldorf schools can sharpen their focus in the music program to optimize resource management. It will discuss program structure, advocate for the adoption of general classroom education in Waldorf music programs, and outline the major music methodologies that are in use in the United States today. We will begin with a discussion of the roles that music and class
teachers are increasingly asked to take on in Waldorf schools.
Over-Specialization of Music Teachers, Class Teachers Becoming Specialists
The Waldorf music program survey shows a trend that may be at the root of a lack of program success and teacher music teacher attrition. Increasingly, Waldorf schools are asking class teachers to teach most or all music in Grades 1-3, and music teacher hours are organized so that the majority of them are spent in conducting choir or orchestra rehearsal in the middle school.
In this scenario, class teachers are essentially asked to take on the role of specialty teacher. This presents certain problems, one being that class teachers are not receiving the training to be music specialists even in Grades 1-3. Waldorf teacher trainings and summer intensives do not provide curriculum and development courses in music education in the same way that they do core curricula such as mathematics and language arts. Music classes are for the most part experiential, being limited to singing sessions and a few sessions of flute or recorder presentations.
teachers must be able to develop foundational skills in an informal musical environment, establish classroom form and build rapport with their students, before introducing the violin block in Grade Three or Four. If they are not given the opportunity to do so, there is a strong possibility that students will need remedial work in foundational music skills. The needed remediation will change from year to year depending on the knowledge and skills of the class teachers. This puts tremendous pressure on both the music teacher and the music program, and it impedes student learning.
Music specialists are increasingly seeing their abilities, knowledge, skills, and talents relegated to a marginal position in the life of the school. They are invited to conduct rehearsals, while others take on every aspect of the music program outside of that task. Their students may be required to take private lessons, and the student population of a single school may study with many different private
instructors. Again, the music teacher must try to blend all the different learning modalities that their students experience into some sort of cohesive whole, in the context of one or two rehearsals per week. When one considers this task, it is no wonder that there is increasing attrition amongst music teachers.
Finally, the type of music program Waldorf schools seem to be trending towards is one where the bulk of music classes and activities are in the middle school. Is this the best way to structure the music program, with almost no music lessons in the lower grades, and such a concentration of musical experiences in middle school? One must consider the academic load students carry in middle school and the fact that many of them are also involved in sports and other extracurricular activities, and ask if it makes sense for them to spend several hours per week in rehearsals for two or three different required music ensembles, and be required to take private music lessons as well.
Foundations for Excellence 81 first Waldorf curriculum, the music teacher worked with all grades. The goal was for the students to have an experience of a variety of different kinds of music through singing and the playing of different instruments, not to gain proficiency on a single instrument (Heydebrand, 2006; Steiner, 1987). The direction our current pedagogical practice is taking us is toward a music program that is very much like a tree without a trunk. There is no support in the lower grades for the 'crown' of specialized ensemble experience in the upper grades.
As a movement, we need to pause and consider what our options are in the music program. The pattern shown in this survey is not the only way to teach music well and effectively. In fact, I posit that it is far from the ideal way in which to structure a music program. The next section discusses the role of general, or classroom music education, in a successful music program.
Choosing the Direction of the Music Program
We have examined a survey of Waldorf music programs, identified positive and negative trends in these programs, and discussed how strategic planning is the foundation of a successful music program. We must now address a vital facet of program planning that we have thus far only touched on. What direction will the music program take? If a school already has a music program in place, can it be streamlined so as to enhance curricular quality, effectiveness of instruction, and the best management of resources possible?
In the majority of schools responding to the Waldorf music program survey, most indicate two or more required ensembles in the middle school. Most frequently these are orchestra, choir, and recorder ensemble. When schools struggle to give music teachers even minimal hours and budgets, and when class teachers are expected to take on significant aspects of the music program, how important is it that schools have two or three required ensembles?
Simply stated, it is not essential for schools to have multiple ensemble requirements in the middle school. There are no indications from Rudolf Steiner to the effect that Waldorf schools must have an orchestra, a choir, and a recorder ensemble. The indications that Steiner gave concerning the music curriculum do not mention the ensemble culture of the school at all, only asserting that it is good for children to have the experience of singing and playing an instrument (Steiner, 1987; Steiner, 1990). In one lecture Steiner mentions that playing a string instrument is good for the development of the ear (Steiner, 1995, pp.98-99), but this is not a call to create a school orchestra.
Foundations for Excellence 83 each school to decide what type of musical experiences are vital to the education of the child, and to facilitate those experiences through the structure of the overall music program. I suggest that schools consider the musical culture of the larger community when they make these curricular decisions.
Middle School Ensemble Options
By far, the most common middle school ensemble in Waldorf schools is the orchestra. Many schools have a Grade 3-8 requirement for the playing of a string instrument. Whether a school has an existing orchestra or not, it is good to consider which ensembles are most commonly found in area high schools. Is band, choir, or orchestra more prevalent?
For communities with a stronger band culture, it might be good to establish a school band instead of a school orchestra. What about schools that already have orchestra programs, but wish to give students a choice of different instruments in middle school? The symphonic band may be the option that works best. The symphonic band (also called concert band, wind band, or wind orchestra) essentially combines band and orchestra into one large ensemble, and can be comprised of any combination of string, percussion, woodwind, reed, and brass instruments. It is an excellent option for a school that wishes to focus its ensemble experience in the middle school years.
In areas where there is not a strong ensemble culture in high school, students can still have choices other than recorder, orchestra, and choir. Instead of a simple recorder ensemble, why not create a middle school medieval or Renaissance consort? This type of consort contains a variety of different instruments such as percussion, percussion, wind, brass, reeds, and strings. Singers are often included, and there is enough doubling of parts to accommodate players of different skill levels. If a school chooses to form a medieval or Renaissance consort, it could give students a choice of several different instruments, to create a well-rounded ensemble experience with a balanced sound quality of sound.
Foundations for Excellence 85 chosen to make the choir its primary ensemble focus. Many schools have classroom recorder
instruction when the school ensemble focus is the choir, but another possibility for instrumental instruction is a middle school guitar class. One goal of the guitar class could be for students to gain a level of individual skill on an instrument that can be used both in a group and as a solo instrument. Another goal of the class could be the composition and arrangement of original material in addition to learning and playing pieces written by others. It would give a thrust to the music program that is different from what one generally sees in Waldorf education, but one that is still entirely valid from a pedagogical perspective.
Another area of focused ensemble experience in the middle school could be the formation of an African music ensemble. In America, we typically picture an African music ensemble as being made up
entirely of drums of various types, but this is only one facet of the full African ensemble. Flutes, marimbas, shakers, gourds, bowed instruments, and singing are also part of the African ensemble. In the hands of a trained specialist, this type of an ensemble experience can be as technically and artistically demanding as a classic school orchestra experience.
When advocating for the focus on one main ensemble during the middle school years, what we are really saying is that the Waldorf school should not limit its students to only one type of musical experience. There is a difference between experiencing an instrument and singing, and the formal study of instrumental and choral music through a formal ensemble requirement. Schools can have the experience of instrumental music and singing in a less formal but still meaningful way, through the general music program in the lower grades. The general music program can continue through the middle school, with the addition of a single formal ensemble focus. This focus will give students valuable performance experience and encourage them, as a group, to achieve musical excellence
through the study of challenging and artistically demanding repertoire.
In my considered opinion, schools wishing for the greatest effectiveness in their music programs should focus on general music education through Grade Five, then focus their students on one or at the most two formal ensemble experiences in the middle school. If the middle school has two class periods per week for the ensemble, one period could be used for rehearsal of the entire group (Grades 6-8) and one period could be reserved for the continuation of the general music program. In this model, each grade could individually continue to have different musical experiences of a less formal nature that are suited to their grade level; and that form connections with their general curriculum.
If Waldorf schools can let go of the idea that their students must be part of two or three required ensembles in the middle school, the music program will have more resources to give the lower grades, and can effectively address many goals and objectives of the music program before the middle school years. This will help to balance overall music education through the grades by giving more time for musical instruction in the lower grades when the academic load of the students is lighter. The
development of foundational music skills in the lower grades will in turn ensure greater success in the middle school ensemble experience. It is possible for this pedagogical model to achieve the goal of educating the 'whole child,' and can promote the success of the entire curriculum.
Foundations for Excellence 87 General Music Education as the Core of the Waldorf Music Program
Why does this paper advocate for general music education, when it appears that most Waldorf schools have difficulty in funding even minimal programs for specialized music education such as strings? General music education is addressed because I believe it is the foundation of a superior music program. In my years as a Waldorf music teacher, I have become accustomed to seeing music specialist positions offered for only Grade Three and higher, but I have not become resigned to it. Children are ready to learn music in Grades One and Two, and this is the time that vitally important preliteracy concepts such as internalization of pulse, tempo, dynamic contrasts, and phrase are instilled in students. When students experience the elements of music in a holistic way, incorporating both melody and movement in Grades One and Two, music comes alive for them. Then in Grade Three, when music literacy is typically introduced, they have a living experience of music from which to draw when faced with abstract musical concepts.
One may ask why it is so important that a music specialist be involved in the musical preliteracy experience during Grades One and Two. Cannot a class teacher do just as well? This is not an argument over whether class teachers can provide a living experience of music to their students in Grades One and Two, because of course they can! One must, however, distinguish between having an experience of something, and creating a pedagogical moment. The music specialist knows what they must awaken within the child when the time comes to learn to read music, and they can choose musical experiences in Grades One and Two that facilitate this awakening. Of course a class teacher can do this as well, but if a music teacher is on the faculty, it is only logical to allow them to form a strong
In addition to giving intention to musical experiences in Grades One and Two, music teachers build rapport with students who will be learning complex concepts and mechanical skills with the
introduction of string instruments in Grade Three or Four. Student rapport is essential to the success of subject teachers in a Waldorf school. Denying the music teacher the opportunity to build rapport with their students in a less formal musical environment, before teaching the complexities of music literacy and the playing of a string instrument, is far from ideal for both teacher and students.
The majority of my colleagues report difficulties in building rapport with their students when they are new teachers. In my opinion, there is a direct connection between this problem and the way in which music programs are structured in Waldorf schools. It has been my personal experience to find that my students need to have remedial work in musical preliteracy when I have not worked with them in Grades One and Two, even when the majority of the class teachers on the faculty were trained
musicians. No typically developing child relishes remedial work; they wish to be doing what they are developmentally ready for, and they can easily build a resentment toward the teacher bringing that remediation, even if it is necessary.
This is not intended to criticize my esteemed class teacher colleagues, it is simply an acknowledgment of the importance of intention when creating certain possibilities that can become musical realities at the proper time. This specialized understanding is the gift of the specialist to their school, and it should benefit students in all the grades, not only students in the middle school.
Finally, we must be conscious of the burdens laid on the class teacher in Grades One and Two. They are forming their class, laying a foundation for future academic excellence, and supporting the overall healthy development of their students during these years. They are observing children carefully to
Foundations for Excellence 89 detect any learning or developmental challenges that may be present, and formulating plans for
assessment and remedial work. Is it really necessary to ask these teachers to teach music to their classes as well, or can a music teacher share their load?
Grade One and Two teachers tend have the most 'face-time' with their students of any class teachers. Could this lead to burnout and exhaustion, and be a contributing factor to attrition amongst class teachers? In recent years, many schools have adopted the practice of the class teacher teaching the children until lunchtime in Grades One and Two, and an afternoon teacher taking the class from after lunchtime until the end of the school day. While this may be a good solution for some communities, could the situation also be addressed by giving subject teachers more instructional time with the children? Subject lessons need not be arduous; they can be calming and restful after a vigorous
morning of academic work. They also can be a positive outlet for pent-up energy after a time of sitting at desks. A healthy balance of time with both class teacher and subject teachers can be a positive experience for all.
A general music program that is carried from Grade One through Grade Eight allows for the
internalization of musical experiences in an informal class environment, for foundational musical skills to be established in a more formal classroom experience, and for musical skills and understanding to grow in an organized and sequential manner under the direction of a trained music specialist. In the middle school, the students will have the ability to further develop their abilities through participation in a truly formal ensemble experience such as symphonic band. A program of this type is one that, although under the direction of a music specialist, allows for participation by class teachers in ways that can be agreed upon by the larger school community; and the possibility for true collegial
Foundations for Excellence 91 Common Music Education Methodologies in the United States