Study notes on the subject:
Development of part-singing skills
for children, age 8 to 13

based on an analytical survey of the Kodály-Ádám Singing Books series

author: Dr. László Norbert Nemes

The main objective of sharing my collection of notes is to present study material on the topic of the development of polyphonic singing in the classroom for students participating in Kodály-based music teacher training courses nowadays available worldwide. These notes were taken during my analytical survey of the Kodály-Ádám Singing Book series that have for a long time been unavailable in print preventing many foreign music teachers who identify themselves as “Kodály teachers” from gaining an access to this material of epochal significance.

Jenő Ádám, in the singing book series (referred to as “a big boon to the cause of music education” by Kodály), leads pupils with utmost care toward gaining proficiency in musical reading including polyphonic repertory.
All notes in this present material contain examples taken from the Kodály-Ádám Singing Books and all of them have been carefully edited and referenced for study purposes. Some of the examples of course can be applied directly and used in classroom or choral rehearsal situation, some of them can be taken as an example and can be modified according to actual teaching/learning needs, but the primary aim of this methodological material is to share findings and thoughts on the topic in the title with colleagues, teachers and students alike.

The Kodály-Ádám Singing Books, this immensely valuable series has inspired my pedagogical work during the past two decades a lot. According to my opinion, these books do not only represent the most authentic resource for Kodály-inspired music education as they form the only series of music textbooks created for public school music education that bare Kodály’s name, but they reflect a highly refined pedagogical thinking that radiates responsibility toward music and children at a high degree. As Kodály wrote: “the author skilfully combines his musical knowledge, which is of the highest order, with his practical experience in public school teaching. He knows the thinking patterns, the spirit, and the learning capacity of children.”

I hope that this study material will be proven to be useful for all readers of the Kodály HUB site who wish to understand more about how to apply the Kodály Concept in practice. It is also my paramount hope that a second (revised) edition, that is already under preparation, will bring even more ideas to those who teach music in schools and/or train choirs based on the Kodály Concept of music education.

Dr. László Norbert Nemes
professor
Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music