About
We exist to share with other the advantages of the Orff approach to music education, and to provide support and professional development for educators wishing to use the Orff approach.
As a non-profit organization, we rely entirely on volunteers to run the Ontario Chapter of Carl Orff Canada. Those who use the Orff approach recognize that:
Children have a natural instinct to move, create their own music and explore their imaginations.
Learning about music is an active and joyful experience.
Children’s personal growth is enriched through cooperative group experiences.
Music is a living force vital to the education of every child in our diverse society.
Carl Orff (1895-1982) is probably best known as the composer of such works as Carmina Burana and Catulli Carmina. But it is his work with “Music for Children” which has inspired a global movement in music education.
The Orff approach to Music Education is holistic, experiential and process oriented. It is for all children, not just the most musically or intellectually gifted and encompasses aural, visual and kinesthetic learners.
Orff’s philosophy is based on solid, pedagogical principles. A structured, sequential development of knowledge and skills encourages joyful participation, creativity, and personal musical growth from all participants. The Orff approach taps the very essence of our beings. Children learn through doing, exploring and improvising. They are active participants in an integrated, guided process, one which allows for differing musical abilities. In the Orff approach, no child is neglected.
The Orff philosophy combines the elements of speech, rhythm, movement, dance, and song. And at the heart of all this is improvisation – the instinct children have to create their own melodies, to explore their imaginations.
Elemental music is never only music but an integration of movement, dance and language. It is music one creates oneself in which one is involved not as a listener, but as a participant.
The Orff approach is not only for children. In recent years, Orff specialists have experienced its flexibility and adaptability in their work with junior and senior high school students, adults, senior citizens, palliative care patients, and in many individual and group settings from private teaching to classroom to church.
Two Videos About the Orff Approach to Music Education
WHAT IS ORFF?
WHY THE ORFF METHOD?
COC "Why Orff?"