Dear friends,

I have been wanting to respond to Cathyıs question about working with
intervals, which has not yet been possible for me at this time of the year.
Now that I see this new post about the use of the Kunath recorders, I feel
that I must add my voice right now with a resounding affirmation of every
word of Andreaıs response! At the Washington Waldorf School, we use
exclusively Choroi flutes from first through fifth grades for all the
reasons that Andrea mentioned, and more.

I quote here from an article written by Christof-Andreas Lindenberg, a
master pedagogue and therapist who has worked with, on, and out of the
Waldorf Music Curriculum for over 50 years:

³The pentatonic Choroi flute... supports the young childıs experience of...
feeling a oneness with the world. A recorder, by its accentuated tone
production, sharply separates the young child from the world around, often
far too early. We blow through the Choroi flute, but into the recorder; we
place the fingers lengthwise onto the holes of a Choroi flute between the
lips, and blow the tone without tonguing, in contrast to the recorder, which
requires consonantic tonguing.²

These differences between the gestures of the two instruments parallel the
changing conscious of the young child as he or she develops between the age
of 7 and approximately 11-12. I would urge all music teachers to play and
experience these differences for themselves as the best guide for making
music decisions that are based on the developmental path of the young child,
which is the foundation on which the entire Waldorf curriculum is built.

At a bit later date, I will still share a few thoughts about the interval
question, Cathy!

Greetings to all,
Sheila Johns





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