COURSES
Montessori Orff Music Level 1

The Level 1 course introduces the musical concepts of steady beat and rhythms, which emerge from natural speech patterns. These are explored through hand gestures, body percussion, and movement. Experiencing movement in the context of personal and general space develops body awareness and self-control. Vocal explorations and singing games build the child’s sense of melody while singing and playing instruments. Elemental forms of Echo-imitation, Call & Response, Question and Answer Games, and Ostinato give agency to individual learners within a framework of belonging to the community. Listening exercises and stories about composers and their music support auditory development. Throughout the course, pedagogical perspectives of classroom management, lesson planning, and inclusive modalities are reviewed using the Level 1 lesson manual.
Montessori Orff Music Level 2

Level 2 continues the learning process in its organic progression from simplicity, across multisensory modalities, toward complexity. Guided improvisation becomes formalized in small compositions, and the concepts from Level 1 are articulated in more abstract musical terms. Embodied rhythm leads to scoring body percussion and writing in “odd” time signatures. The universal “Laban Analysis and Notation for Dance and Choreography” helps characterize specific movement qualities in relation to body, direction, time, and weight. These qualities transfer naturally to expressing emotions, describing animal behavior, and understanding story characters. In addition, the concepts of science, visual art, literary genres, and music theory become more accessible to differentiated learners. Recorder playing, music history, and folk dances from around the world are introduced. Finally, the principles of Montessori-Orff Music are reviewed in context with their adaptability to variations in culture, languages, values, and current events.
Tuition and Fees
As of January 2021
Tuition: $120.00 per 8-hour course level/per person.
Tuition covers the training course in either online or onsite format, a 100-page lesson manual, a prepared spreadsheet for record keeping, certificate of completion, and participation in free monthly review/coaching sessions online.
Whole School In-Service: School leadership is invited to contact Inga Sieminski or at montessoriorffmusic@gmail.com for inquiries, scheduling, and payment options.
Open Enrollment: Please watch for listings of available course offerings and online registration.
Fees: Loyola University Maryland partners with Montessori-Orff Music to offer 7.5 Continued Education Units for each course level. The administration fee for the CEU certificate is $25.00. At the end of the course, a link to Loyola’s course site can be provided for this option.