The Lebanese Kodály Society was founded in 2000. Its purpose is to promote Kodály's concept of "Music for Everyone" through the improvement of music education in schools in Lebanon and the Arab world.
The Lebanese Kodály Society will continue to serve an important role in music education in Lebanon and the Arab world in the 21
st Century. That role will be to:
Advocate quality music education which includes:
Quality repertoire drawing on the best in folk and composed music;
Music literacy and skill development;
Development of individual musicianship through singing, movement, listening, reading, writing and creating;
Inclusiveness reflecting the cultural heritage of the school community;
Social development through group and individual self-expression;
Personal growth through artistic performance;
Each individual should be afforded the right and the opportunity to develop his or her musical gifts;
Music education is an integral part of the normal school curriculum;
The need for musical expression, inherent in every human being should be satisfied; room should be made for authentic musical material that has educational value; as a step towards understanding between people, school song books, in addition to indigenous musical heritage, should contain songs selected from all over the world.
In service music educators through assistance to the schools and through publications;
Facilitate an evolving approach and adapting learning experiences to contemporary teaching trends (collaborative learning and assessment);
Continue to provide a clear focus on the philosophy for Kodály-inspired music education;
Promoting the production and publication of quality music materials that are produced as a result of a genuine musical impulse;
The Lebanese Kodály Society provides music books and supplements to many schools in Lebanon, Arab world, USA and Europe and other countries.
Ibrahim H. Baltagi is an adjunct Professor of Music at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik and Lebanese International University. He received his Ph.D. in music education from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and his Masters in Music and Kodály certification from Silver Lake College of the Holy Family in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Ibrahim has a post graduate training in Kodály methodology from the Zoltan Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemet, Hungary. His Orff Schulwerk training is from University of Saint Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Baltagi has a diploma in clarinet performance from the Conservatoire National de Boulogne in Paris, France.
He has presented and conducted workshops in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and the United States. Ibrahim has published a series of music books for children in French, English, and Arabic entitled Let’s Read and Write Music. Dr. Baltagi published three articles in the International Handbook of Research in Arts Education.
Dr. Baltagi is the director of the Lebanese Kodaly Society and Phoenix International School of Music and Performing Arts.
Music is all around us; it touches everyone regardless of culture and age. As your guide to music education, it is our goal to introduce you to the latest trends in music education and to help young people achieve their full musical potential. We hope this web site will be of help to you.
Nobody is too young or too old for music, that's why we wish you the inspiration to pursue your musical dream.
Music plays an essential part in our daily life. What makes music unique and special is its ability to create an emotional response in the listener. A quality music education program needs to develop the aesthetic experience of every student to its highest potential, while enhancing the human experience.
Our philosophy of music education is committed to the offering of a comprehensive program of music education to all students at all levels. We believe that students best learn to understand and appreciate music by active involvement in the classroom. This includes movement, singing, and the playing of classroom instruments.
It is vital to design musical learning for college non-music majors that focus on multi-sensory experiences with music. The development of skills in understanding, performing and interpreting music is possible for anyone willing to take the time to study, practice, and learn. The classroom teacher requires knowledge and understanding of the basic elements of music—melody, rhythm, texture, dynamics, tone color, and form—on which to base musical study. To be confident in teaching, a classroom teacher needs skill in teaching children to sing, play instruments, listen to music, express music through movement, and to create music.
We, as educators, should provide the opportunity for music majors to explore, cultivate and create musical experiences for their future students. Through this opportunity, we can hope for our students to gain intellectual development essential to becoming a life long learner. It is our job to grant the opportunities for college students to commit themselves to rising above the norm, gain self confidence, and learn various communication skills through music.
Music and the arts offer the chance for students to express themselves through feelings and thoughts.
Let’s Read & Write Music is research based. Teaching techniques delineated in this series may already be known to educators. However, we have combined these techniques with current research to develop a model of music instruction and learning that offers the teachers and students a map to follow for developing their musical understanding.
Let’s Read & Write Music is a child centered publication. The procedures and suggestions in this series have been shaped by numerous discussions with music teachers and my own research and observations.
Music teachers will be able to use the ideas and materials in this series as a springboard for developing music lessons that will allow children to grow as performers, critical thinkers, creative human beings, and stewards of their cultural heritage.
The series provides a comprehensive approach to music teaching that positions music performance, movement, age-appropriate repertoire ,instruments, music literacy skills, music creativity, and music listening as the basis for a music education.
The series presents a learning theory model. This model builds upon the accepted process of teaching music elements:
prepare, make conscious, reinforce, and assess.
While we have adopted these phases of learning, each one of these phases is further broken down into stages that allow for the sequential teaching of music elements, developments of musical skills, as well as the means for their assessment. It is a model that incorporates the learning practices associated with folk music tradition, classical music, and oriental music.
Let’s Read & Write Music incorporates the Kodály method which is considered highly structured and sequenced. It is a chain of concepts presented in sequential order, where none should be skipped.
The Kodály method is taught in various parts of the world preferable as two periods of 45 minutes per week so that material is covered in one academic year.
