Neveléstörténet, 2017 (14. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

2017 / 3-4. szám - Tanulmányok - Pethő Villő: Life-reformelements in Kodaly’s and his successors’music pedagogy

16 Life-reform elements in Kodály’s and his successors’ music pedagogy PETHŐ VILLŐ A new field of the research on life-reform is the study of life-reform elements of Kodály’s music pedagogy. The relationship with the life-reform movements can be followed in Kodály’s life work as well: he not only sympathised with life-reform type groups and conceptions, he was also a member of several life-reform groups. Within the framework of the demonstration of the relationship to life-reform movements it is extremely important to determine the status of Kodály’s educa­tional conception within the reform pedagogical movement. Those reform pedago­gies that aimed to increase the level of general musical training (Jacques-Dalcroze, Orff and obviously Kodály), and in Kodály’s case the creation of a new Hungari­an musical culture, are also related to art pedagogy which played a decisive role in the movement. The following question arises: how important is the role of music in Montessori’s and Steiner’s music pedagogical conception? What kind of similari­ties can be discovered between the aforementioned pedagogies and Kodály’s mu­sic pedagogical conceptions? Reform pedagogy was closely related to the youth movements emerging after the emancipation ambitions of the youth. In the relationship between the two move­ments music occupied an extraordinary role. The specific musical culture of youth movements very often created autonomous youth musical movements, which were accompanied by reform pedagogical conceptions as well. This study presents the re­sult of the comparative analysis of two youth musical movements: the German youth musical movement and the Singing Youth, the Hungarian youth musical movement which has partially realised Kodály’s music pedagogical conceptions. Appearance of life-reform movements in Europe and in Hungary The important economic growth that occured at the end of the 19th century, in the 1870s and 1880s had an impact on the society of the era as well. In parallel with the strong development of market economy a new feeling of life, a new lifestyle and a new form of life were born. The modernising and ever growing cities changed the way of life of the inhabitants. However, the “new man” - the individual able to for­mulate both oneself and one’s destiny - had to cope with the feeling of alienation and rootlessness. Life-reform movements or lifestyle reform movements were meant to resolve loneliness and alienation, they reacted to the changes that had a substan­tial influence on “common people” and searched for new alternatives of life. Howe­ver, the multiple and loosely interrelated reform efforts covered all the aspects of human life, lifestyle and body-culture movements emerged wishing to break with

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