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While variety may be the spice of life, too much variety can just be perplexing. The presence of so many different approaches to music-literacy instruction and the inability of the profession to agree on a common rhythm system may unnecessarily confuse our students. One elementary teacher might use the traditional Kodály syllables (ta ti-ti) while another in the same school system uses an Orff-Schulwerk approach (e.g., "watermelon," "apple"). The secondary ensemble directors may use the counting system (l-e-&-a), and so their students must learn two or more unrelated systems.
A recent national survey of vocal music educators reveals that some teachers use a combination of approaches within the same classroom.1 Results indicate that 57 percent of those who teach at both the elementary and secondary levels prefer the counting system, but 58 percent regularly use both the Kodály and counting approaches. Those who teach only at the middle and high school level prefer counting more strongly (71 percent), but many (41 percent) still use both approaches. While no current data exists about instrumental teachers' preferences, it is probably safe to say that most band and orchestra directors use counting.
Why do teachers use multiple approaches to rhythm instruction? One possible reason is that they are trying to help students make the transition from a system that works well for beginners (Kodály) to a system that works well for more complex rhythm patterns due to the emphasis on metric location (counting). A better solution might be to use a system that integrates the fundamental pedagogical principles so valued within the various systems.
An Effective Learning Sequence
For at least two hundred years, "sound before symbol" has been a fundamental component of music learning theories such as those promoted by educational theorists Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, James Mursell, Jerome Bruner, Robert Gagné, and Edwin E. Gordon. In spite of this, published resources for music literacy instruction (e.g., sight-singing method books, beginning instrumental method books) often take a notation-first approach; it is the rare resource that mentions the need to develop an aural vocabulary before encountering notation.
The first exercise many students encounter in their method books generally involves notation. This initial exercise is usually visually complex in that it includes most aspects of music notation: staff, meter...