Pestalozzian influences on American music education : a comparison of early american and contemporary practices

Many of the fundamental philosophical premises of American music education were\ud based on the ideas of Swiss educator, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. This research explored\ud how Pestalozzian principles were rooted in early American music education and whether\ud these principles are still relevant today. It was found that Pestalozzian principles\ud influenced three of the major music educator methods created by Carl Orff, Jaques\ud Dalcroze, and Zoltan Kodaly as well as other more contemporary methods.\ud The main Pestalozzian principles relevant to early American music education\ud were to teach sounds before signs', singing before written notes; to listen to sounds and\ud imitate them through observation; active learning; to teach only one thing at a time:\ud rhythm, melody, or expression; to comprehend one step before going to the next; practice\ud first, followed by principles and theory; practice to articulate the sound before applying it\ud to music; to connect note names with instrument keys or strings; and to educate based on\ud natural values.\ud Pestalozzi???s main principles influenced Dalcroze, Orff and Kodaly in various\ud ways. Readiness was translated into all three educators??? curricula as sound before sign.\ud Dalcroze and Orff emphasized observation by listening first, acting second. Pestalozzi???s\ud insistence on an active child developed into physical movement for Dalcroze and improvisation for Orff. To start from what nature gave us was supported by Dalcroze\ud through physical motions and dance. For Kodaly, singing and body motions were the\ud most natural tools. The general practice philosophy of Dalcroze was that music is a\ud fitness of life, a way of living. For Orff, music was the necessity of instruments in the\ud classroom. Kodaly???s practice was based on hand signs and symbols. Finally, the\ud Pestalozzian philosophy insisted on starting from what was already known and familiar,\ud as with Orff and Kodaly methologies