The purpose of this project was to create Orff instrument arrangements for a select repertoire of representative music from the Common Practice Period (1600-1900) . The intended use of these arrangements is to provide elementary music teachers with experiential, performance-based resources which serve to engage students in Western art music. The works selected were Minuet in G by J.S Bach, Water Music by G.F. Handel, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by W.A.Mozart, Ode to Joy from L. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Wiegenlied by J. Brahms, and Variations on a Shaker Melody by A. Copland. These pieces were purposefully selected with the intention of bringing together a body of pieces that were representative of the different eras of the Common Practice Period. Arrangements of these works were created for Orff ensemble, a commonly found instrumentarium in elementary music classrooms, using the compositions in Carl Orff’s Musik fur Kinder as a reference for instrumentation. The arrangements make use of the following instruments: soprano glockenspiel, soprano xylophone, alto xylophone, bass xylophone, and bass bars, as well as unpitched percussion and body percussion. The accompaniment parts are original to this project and are designed to tonally, harmonically, and rhythmically reinforce the main themes of the selected composition in a way that allows each player to be an active participant. Selected works and the resulting arrangements were designed to facilitate opportunities for student improvisation, allowing for an active, creative role to be taken in the performance of the literature.
Semester/Year of Award
Nicola F. Mason
Mentor Professional Affiliation
Curriculum and Instruction
Restricted Access Thesis
Romer, Paul, "Western Art Music through the Orff Scuhlwerk" (2017). Honors Theses. 417.