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Summer School Reviews

BKA Summmer School 2004 - A Veteran’s View
by Celia Waterhouse (from BKA Winter 2004 Newsletter)

Could there possibly be anything new to learn at Summer School on the eighth time of attendance? After so many times at Summer School (I attended my first back in 1993) the experience has become quite like an extended family – the staff, the British and Hungarian tutors, and even many of the students, are the familiar people I meet up with once a year like long-lost relatives or friends. But what, after so many times before, could I hope to get out of it musically, professionally?

Clearly Lenke Igo feared the same, having been my solfege teacher in the Tutorial group for several years. But she needn’t have worried. Solfa may get easier over the years (and after this long association it really gets into your bones), but it never ceases to be a challenge. And with so much repertoire to choose from, you never study the same piece twice – (well, almost never!). This year, as well as the staple Bach chorales, we sang some deliciously chromatic pieces from Classical Canons and Kodály’s Tricinia and 66 2-part exercises. But I was most delighted to study more of Bartók’s delightful SSA songs – what a joy to glide through all the subtle key nuances, rendered effortless and so logical through solfa. Now, where else in the UK could I find a group of peers able to aspire to such challenging and inspiring vocal chamber music so readily?

Seasoned choral singer that I am, I always enjoy and learn from the Choir at Summer School (and, equally, the invigorating Vocal Techniques and Warm-Ups with Paula Somorjai which get each morning off to a bright start). Lenke, who was this year’s Choir Conductor, had chosen a very varied programme, none of which I had sung before, including Kodály’s very dramatic setting of Psalm 114, and a colourful cantata by Telemann. Choir presents a challenge to newcomers to the Kodály approach: for many of these students the pieces are beyond their actual grasp of solfa, yet solfa is always the initial medium of study. The informal system of ‘choir helpers’ (i.e., people like me who are happy to give their neighbours a bit of on-the-spot guidance as required) works well, and most novices gratefully place themselves close to someone more experienced. What fascinates me is how skilfully the conductor deconstructs the pieces, using solfa to achieve rock-solid accuracy of notes and tuning, and then puts it all together again. Instantly there is a firm foundation on which to graft dynamics and expression, achieving an unforgettable standard of performance for anyone taking part – remarkable with such a diverse and variably experienced choir. If only we could find choirs in the UK which operate on these lines, but sadly I encounter much resistance to the benefits of Kodály techniques in most branches of the wider choral world.

Afternoons at Summer School offer a great deal of choice, with all the usual Methodology options for teachers, as well as Choral Conducting, and other tutorial- or workshop-style sessions. Having attended many of the Methodology groups over the years, I decided on Nicky Woods’ String Teachers Methodology. What was I, a piano teacher with such a long experience of teaching from a Kodály perspective, doing there?

Nicky had a very diverse group, ranging from two teenagers learning string instruments, and a folk guitarist, who played mainly by ear, to string instrumental teachers new to Kodály – and one piano teacher well-versed in Kodály techniques! My particular interest was to try and experience the instrumental teacher’s task from a string teacher’s perspective, as I occasionally give presentations on the Kodály approach to mixed groups of instrumental teachers. I was also keen to see the common ground and differences between what I do as a piano teacher and what Nicky does as a string teacher.

I have nothing but praise for Nicky. Not only did she manage to hold together the very small group - out of which two were intermittently coming and going for their daily singing lessons - and build dynamic sessions from day to day, but she also structured and organised her material skilfully. She has a great deal of relevant experience, both as a cello teacher, a class teacher and an Advisory teacher for the Voices. She had selected excellent examples of songs and other materials to explain the Kodály progression, demonstrate particular learning points and illustrate essential Kodály techniques. She had clear and comprehensive handouts, summarising the ground covered from day to day and including a good selection of relevant repertoire – some new even to me!

What emerges so clearly is the fundamental importance of building the learning as a musical experience. Nicky’s sessions demonstrated how we could do this, so that our pupils experience and enjoy the songs first, laying foundations for control of pulse, rhythm and pitch in the process. We then help out pupils to use these simple building blocks to make music on their instruments – even achieving quite complex ensemble playing from the earliest stages by means of simple repetition, ostinatos and canons.

When UK instrumental teachers first discover the Kodály approach the typical response is “Where are the tutor books so we can teach the flute/violin/clarinet in this way?” But there is no way of teaching the Kodály approach until we have experienced it from the inside, understood the importance of building the musicianship first, and learned repertoire and techniques to go about this. Nicky’s sessions were a practical presentation of these basic tenets, which are fundamental to all instrumental teachers whatever the instrument. I am happy to say, I came away from Summer School inspired to plan my pre-instrumental group for the autumn with many fresh insights.

Many thanks to the Summer School staff team for the dedicated work they do in organising such a stimulating and enjoyable week. Thanks and congratulations too to Gillian Earl, in her first year as Summer School Director, for her part in presenting this superb music training opportunity.