Orffsite.com


About Me


I am a certified Orff-Schulwerk elementary music teacher, teaching in an urban school. I switched from secondary to elementary music teaching in 2006 and it's been the best move (not financially! ) of my career. If you want to have major impact on students concerning music education, elementary is where it is happening. Disclaimer: The topics in my blog do not necessarily reflect what is happening in my current teaching position or with my current students, administration etc. I have a long teaching history and may chose to deal with an element or problem that I have witnessed or experienced in a previous school or have seen being dealt with by other teachers I have encountered...so there!

How Bing and AI Thinks they can help with Your Lessons

May 5, 2023
  • The following is from my Bingchat, now available to all from Microsoft and Edge Browser, thinks it could help in your lessons. I focused on the rhythmic ostinato side, but it gave some other ideas too.
  •  What do you think? Have you used ChatGPT or Bing in lesson planning? 
  • Do you have some good prompts for us?
  •  Email me at orffsite@gmail dot com. (didn't write .com to keep the spammers away!) 

  • Here we go with guest blogger, Mr. Bing:

  • "Thank you for explaining the Orff-Schulwerk approach to me. I understand that it is an approach to music education that combines music, movement, drama, and speech into playful activities that are based on the child’s natural rhythms and language1. I also understand that ostinatos are short repeated patterns that can be used to create musical structures and accompaniments.

  • I think Bing can be used to help teachers prepare speech and percussion musical performances in several ways. Here are some possible ideas:

  • Bing can help teachers find examples of songs, poems, stories, or chants that use ostinatos and can be adapted for different age groups and themes. For example, a teacher can search for “songs with ostinatos for children” or “poems with ostinatos for elementary students”.

  • Bing can help teachers find images or videos that illustrate different concepts or topics that can inspire speech and percussion activities. For example, a teacher can search for “images of animals for Orff Schulwerk” or “videos of weather sounds for Orff Schulwerk”.

  • Bing can help teachers find resources or tips on how to use speech and percussion instruments effectively in the Orff Schulwerk approach. For example, a teacher can search for “Orff Schulwerk resources for teachers” or “tips on using percussion instruments in Orff Schulwerk”.

  • Bing can help teachers create their own content such as poems, stories, songs, or images using its creative features. For example, a teacher can ask Bing to “write a poem about spring with an ostinato” or “draw an image of a forest with different sounds”.
  • I hope these ideas are helpful. Do you have any questions or feedback for me? 😊
  •  What do you think? Have you used ChatGPT or Bing in lesson planning? 
  • Do you have some good prompts for us?
  •  Email me at orffsite@gmail dot com. (didn't write .com to keep the spammers away!) 
Long post but have to include Bing's Spring Poem:
Spring is here, spring is here
Time to cheer, time to cheer
Flowers bloom, birds sing
Spring is here, spring is here

See the sun, see the sun
Shining bright, shining bright
Feel the warmth, feel the joy
See the sun, see the sun

Hear the rain, hear the rain
Falling down, falling down
Watering the earth, making it green
Hear the rain, hear the rain

Spring is here, spring is here
Time to cheer, time to cheer
Flowers bloom, birds sing
Spring is here, spring is here

The ostinato in this poem is “spring is here, time to cheer”. It can be repeated throughout the poem or used as a refrain at the beginning and end. The rhythm of the words can be transferred to percussion instruments such as xylophones, drums, or shakers.


Later, and check out my new book on Amazon.com 

https://a.co/d/gp1prjn
 

New Improvised Movement Video

April 29, 2023
So here's an another example of improvisation in an Orff Approach music class. I had them practice poses, lots of practice, talked and practiced levels and let them change on chime signals. 

So fun! Obviously, I didn't tell them what moves to make. Some move appropriately to the music, others...oh well, they had fun. It's the top video on my video page.
Continue reading...
 

Improvisation in Orff-Schulwerk

March 30, 2023

The Orff-Schulwerk method of music education places a strong emphasis on the value of imagination and participation in the learning process. Improvisation, a technique that encourages students to explore and experiment with musical ideas in a safe and supportive setting, lies at the core of this method. I will cover some useful advice for incorporating improvisation into your teaching in this blog post as we examine the function of improvisation in the Orff-Schulwerk classroom.


What does impro...


Continue reading...
 

I'm Not Dead Yet!

March 30, 2023
Sorry I've neglected my site for so long, but life happens. Still loving music, playing mandolin, writing songs, and looking at the Orff Approach always. Still helping people and after 10 years, still getting good reviews on my Amazon Book, Orff Adventures for Children (see banner). I hope to improve the site and give you some useful content, lesson plans and more.
 Oh, and if you're a wanna be songwriter, I've written a little journal that is guaranteed to get you writing songs and being a re...
Continue reading...
 

Mallet Madness!

March 19, 2018
When I first started teaching at my school I used whatever mallets were available. Later, as my instrumentarium grew, I began to cut down on the number of different styles of mallets I use. Yes, I realize that you get a different sound with a hard mallet as opposed to using a softer one, but at the level most of my classes play, I didn't find it necessary. I chose one style of mallet for my alto and soprano xylophones, a different style for my bass xylophones, another for my bass metalophones...
Continue reading...
 

It's Program Time! Yeah or Boo!

April 21, 2016
Programs. Love them or put up with them, elementary music teachers will likely be presenting some sort of a performance for parents. Some teachers, either due to their desire or what has taken place in the past, will put major emphasis on programs. Some drop their District or State curriculum and the music from the musical takes over. In many cases, the music is just a side issue. The major effort is put into choreography, costumes and sets.
Other teachers take what they normally teach anyway,...

Continue reading...
 

Ok, Kids. Create Some Movement! Duhhhhh.

April 10, 2015
Even if your 4th, 5th, and 6th graders have done movement in your class, there are some groups who will just stare at you with calf eyes when asked to create some simple movement for a song. Some classes will jump right into it, but I recently had a class that spent more time talking about movement than actually doing it. For this group, I came up with a movement word list and a set of cards that could help them get started. I'm happy to say that it worked for them. My Word files for the card...
Continue reading...
 

Free Orff Music Lessons for Teachers

August 14, 2013
I've posted a "Trailer" for my book, Orff Adventures for Children. The video covers two lessons from the book. The lessons in the book have been kid tested and worked well with my students. Enjoy the free lessons, and I hope you will consider getting the book for yourself. Purchases will help me keep my website, www.orffsite.com going. Thanks. Click here to view the free lessons.
Continue reading...
 

New Flipped Classroom Section

July 17, 2013
Just a quick note to let you know that I've created a Flipped Classroom page on Orffsite.com. This is where I will be posting some short elementary music and, mostly, Orff related videos, podcasts, slide shows etc, that would be suitable for my, or your, school classroom website. You can find it on the site links above, or just click below. I start with a cheesy video describing how students should take bars off their Orff Instruments.

Flipped Classroom
Continue reading...
 

Six Comments that Tell You the Parent Conference is Over

July 16, 2013
Before having a face to face meeting with a parent(s) there are some things you want to make certain you've done.
1. You have attempted to resolve the issue over the phone. Notice I said phone and not email. Emailing is a losing strategy for anything more than a simple response. The phone is better unless the caller becomes agitated, belittling or threatening.
2.  Have all documentation and make certain you have followed your school/districts policies concerning parent notification and discipli...

Continue reading...
 
 
 
 

Make a free website with Yola