Gaza Svilvay, the founder of the Colourstrings method, described music as a “gift for life”
The Colourstrings approach encourages a love of music from an early age. Based on the Hungarian composer and educationalist Kodaly’s principles of teaching, this approach takes children on a magical world of adventure where they meet all the characters from Musicland. The children are barely aware that they are learning, when in fact they are absorbing a great deal through direct multi-sensory experiences involving the entire body; singing, creative movement, and active listening games. The earlier the children start the greater the benefits, which are not only musical. The core material used in Colourstrings is called the singing rascals. These are carefully selected traditional folk songs from Europe and Scandinavia. They are easy to sing for young children, and each song covers a fundamental aspect of musicianship. There is a lot of repetition, which is necessary for learning, but the songs are repeated in different ways through actions, games, and dance. On my program we will also cover material from the ‘Music is fun’ series. These are a set of beautifully illustrated books and Rhythm cards, written and illustrated by Sr. The children begin to read music using sol-fa (DO-RE-MI) with the aid of colourful pictures, songs, and toys. They travel to Musicland where they meet Mummy, Daddy, and Baby Bear, and are introduced to musical rhythm patterns in a very gentle step by step approach. The class lasts 45 minutes. It has a warm-up, activity, warm-down structure. Class usually ends with a ‘music appreciation’ time. This involves the child resting with a cushion and teddy, and listening to music. It is important that adults model this ‘quiet’ time so the children learn not only to actively listen to music, but also how to relax at the end of a busy music lesson. Looking forward to singing and dancing with you ☺
