Sophia Institute online Waldorf Certificate Studies Program
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"True art is an expression of the human being's search for a relationship with the spiritual, whether the spiritual longed for when his soul leaves the body, or the spiritual which he desires to remember when he dips down into a body, or the spiritual to which he feels more related than to his natural surroundings, or the spiritual as manifested in colors when outside and inside lose their separateness and the soul moves through the cosmos, freely, swimming and hovering, as it were, experiencing its own cosmic life, existing everywhere; or ... the spiritual as expressed in earth life, in the relationship between man's soul-spirit and the cosmic ... " - Rudolf Steiner
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The element of melody guides the musical element from the realm of feeling up to that of thinking. You do not find what is contained in thinking in the thematic melody, but the theme does contain the element that reaches up into the same realm where mental images are otherwise formed. Melody contains something akin to mental images, but it is not a mental image; it clearly takes its course in the life of feeling. . .. The significance of the element of melody in human nature is that it makes the head of the human being accessible to feelings. Otherwise, the head is only open to the concept. Through melody the head becomes open to feeling, to actual feeling. It is as if you brought the heart into the head through melody. In the melody you become free, as you normally are in thinking; feeling becomes serene and purified. All outer aspects are eliminated from it, but at the same time it remains feeling through and through. - Rudolf Steiner in The Inner Nature of Music and the Experience of Tone
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And just as man experiences the inherent nature of music, so the forms of his body are shaped out of music itself. Therefore, if the teacher wishes to be a good music teacher he will make a point of taking singing with the children from the very beginning of their school life. This must be done; he must understand as an actual fact that singing induces emancipation; for the astral body has previously sung and has brought forth the forms of the human body. Between the change of teeth and puberty, the astral body frees itself; becomes emancipated. And out of the very essence of music emerges that which forms man and makes him an independent being. No wonder then that the music teacher who understands these things, who knows that man is permeated through and through with music, will quite naturally allow this knowledge to enrich the singing lesson and his teaching of instrumental music. This is why we try not only to introduce singing as early as possible into the education of the child, but also to let those children with sufficient aptitude learn to play a musical instrument so that they have the possibility of actually learning to grasp and enter into the musical element which lives in their human form, as it emancipates and frees itself. - Rudolf Steiner in Human Values in Education
Course WC/ART
Singing
Lesson 3
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Course Outline
Singing
Lesson 1 - Traditional Songs Part 1 Lesson 2 - Traditional Songs Part 2 Lesson 3 - Children's Songs Lesson 4 - Seasonal Songs Part 1 Lesson 5 - Seasonal Songs Part 2 Lesson 6 - Pentatonic Songs Lesson 7 - Lullabies |
Introduction
Music is an essential part of the Waldorf curriculum and permeates the school day from kindergarten through eighth grade. Music not only enlivens the spirit but increases a child's capacity for learning. Through the study of music, we learn to sensitize our hearing, allowing us to better listen to the sounds of the world and to each other. In the earliest years (kindergarten through first grade), the children sing primarily pentatonic melodies without harmony. In grade one, the interval flute and pentatonic flute are introduced and in second grade we add the pentatonic harp. Beginning in grade three, the students learn a more mindful approach to music, in keeping with their developing self-consciousness. In this grade, we move on to the diatonic flute and sing rounds and write music. The Waldorf music teacher takes a primary interest in each child's musical development but other adults also contribute to and support these efforts. The class teacher plays a vital role either by singing with the class and/or by playing recorder with them. The relationship each student develops with his or her private teacher is an important one, while parents help by supporting concentrated and regular practice times at home. Music is an important element of the Waldorf curriculum. According to Rudolf Steiner, the human being is a musical being, and the making of music is essential in experiencing what it is to be fully human. Music in the Waldorf curriculum awakens and nurtures the deep inner life of the child. As the main lesson curriculum follows the very specific stages of child development, so also does the music curriculum. Engaging the soul activities of thinking, feeling, and willing in the child, the study and experience of the various elements in music arouse and cultivate the very forces necessary to be able to meet the challenges of the world with enthusiasm and confidence. The music program in each Waldorf school reflects the specific skills, talents, and interests of the class teachers and of the music faculty. The size and configuration of the school building, the number of students, and the funding available also play a role. In every school, however, is the realization that music is necessary and essential to the entire Waldorf school experience.
Tasks and Assignments Singing Lesson 3
1. Set up your own portfolio collection of children's songs. Watch videos or listen to audio files, and/or study music sheets. See some examples given below. Use resources as needed and wanted.
2. Practice singing for a minimum of 5 days singing 5 or more songs several times each day.
3. Record one session each day. Each recording should include 5 or more songs. Submit 5 recordings of 5 or more songs at the end of the 5 days.
2. Practice singing for a minimum of 5 days singing 5 or more songs several times each day.
3. Record one session each day. Each recording should include 5 or more songs. Submit 5 recordings of 5 or more songs at the end of the 5 days.
Please submit files of completed art project(s), comments and questions via the online form or via email.
Examples of Children's Songs
All the Pretty Little Horses
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep my little baby. When you wake you shall have All the pretty little horses. Black and bays, dapples, grays, All the pretty little horses. Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. When you wake you shall have All the pretty little horses. Hush Little Baby
Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird And if that mockingbird won't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring And if that diamond ring turns brass, Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass And if that looking glass gets broke, Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat And if that billy goat won't pull, Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull And if that cart and bull turn over, Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover And if that dog named Rover won't bark Papa's gonna buy you a horse and cart And if that horse and cart fall down, You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town. Goodnight, Irene
Irene good night, Irene good night,
Good night Irene, good night Irene, I'll see you in my dreams. Last Saturday night I got married, Me and my wife settled down, Now me and my wife we are parted, I think I'll go out on the town. Sometimes I live in the country, Sometimes I live in town, Sometimes I take a great notion To jump in the river and drown. I love Irene, God knows I do, I'll love her 'til the seas run dry, But if Irene should turn me down, I'd take morphine and die. Stop rambling, stop your gambling, Stop staying out late at night, Go home to your wife and your family, Stay there by your fireside bright. Man of Constant Sorrow
"I am a man of constant sorrow
I've seen trouble all my days I'll say goodbye to Colorado Where I was born and partly raised. Your mother says I'm a stranger My face you'll never see no more But there's one promise, darling I'll see you on God's golden shore. Through this open world I'm about to ramble Through ice and snow, sleet and rain I'm about to ride that morning railroad Perhaps I'll die on that train. I'm going back to Colorado The place that I started from If I knowed how bad you'd treat me Honey, I never would have come." |
Brahm's Lullaby
Lullaby and goodnight, with roses bedight
With lilies o'er spread is baby's wee bed Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed Lullaby and goodnight, thy mother's delight Bright angels beside my darling abide They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on my breast They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on my breast (original German) Guten Abend, gute Nacht, Mit Rosen bedacht, Mit Naeglein besteckt, schlupf unter die Deck' Morgen frueh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt Morgen frueh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt Guten Abend, gute Nacht, Von Englein bewacht Die zeigen im Traum, dir Christkindleins Baum Schlaf nun selig und suess, Schau im Traum's Paradies Schlaf nun selig und suess, Schau im Traum's Paradies Wynken, Blynken and Nod Wynken and Blynken and Nod one night
Sailed off on a wooden shoe Sailed down a river of crystal light Into a sea of dew Where are you going and what do you wish? The old moon asked the three Well, we're going out fishing for herring fish That live in the beautiful sea Nets of silver and gold have we Said, Wynken and Blynken and Nod The old moon laughed and sang a song As they rocked in their wooden shoe And the wind that sped them all night long Ruffled the waves of dew While the little stars were the herring fish That lived in the beautiful sea Now cast your nets wherever you wish Never a feared are we So sang the stars to the fishermen three Wynken and Blynken and Nod All night long their nets they threw To the stars in the twinkling foam Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe Bringing the fishermen home T'was all so pretty a sight it seemed As if it could not be And some folks thought t'was a dream They dreamed of sailing the beautiful sea But I shall name you the fishermen three Wynken and Blynken and Nod Now Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes And Nod is a little head And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies Is a wee one's trundle bed So close your eyes while mother sings Of the beautiful sights that be And you will see the wonderful things As you rock in your misty sea Where the old moon rocked the fishermen three Wynken and Blynken and Nod |