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What is Elemental Music?

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Elemental music is as old as mankind. It emerged from primal instincts that have long motivated human beings to express themselves using their innate instruments – body and voice. The integrated approach - visual, auditory, tactile, bodily/kinesthetic, and vestibular – offers multiple possibilities for social-emotional interaction, which is explored and experienced in a naturally equitable and inclusive setting.

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In the 1920’s, composer and music anthropologist Carl Orff received the gift of an African xylophone that later inspired the designs of Orff instruments. In the 1960’s, he learned from Prof. Komla Amoaku the West African traditions of keeping speech, music, dance, and song connected in a playful manner. Together with his colleague, Gunhild Keetman, Orff structured the principles of this learning process into a framework called Orff Schulwerk-Music for Children (“Schulwerk” being German for “school work”).

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This holistic music-making has not only become part of education world-wide. Folk dances in many cultures and other musical genres - gospel, jazz, rock, hip-hop, reggae, salsa and more can be traced to strategies and skills of elemental music. The multi-sensory Orff pedagogy joins Montessori’s consideration for each child’s specific needs and autonomous learning process.