Orff Schulwerk and Popular Music Education

Abstract

One way to build a comprehensive, inclusive, and equitable music education is through the inclusion of popular music in curricula. However, it can be challenging for teachers to bring popular music into the classroom for many reasons. We suggest that since many teachers are educated in the Orff Schulwerk approach, this can be one way to teach popular music in the classroom. In this article, we discuss the similarities between Orff Schulwerk and popular music education, share our rationale for creating a weeklong course on popular music and Orff, describe how it was structured, and share resources. We invite teachers to build relationships with their students, talk to students about what and who they are listening to, start with activities that are comfortable for them and their students, and know that music standards can easily be achieved through teaching and learning about popular music.