KOCHI: Breaking conventional format, especially when it comes to anything classical, is an area of everlasting debate. But when Biju Rajan decided to take the road less trodden, he was more than confident. The music teacher is presently busy popularising Kodaly method, an unconventional style of teaching western music, through free classes and workshops. “In the traditional music teaching method the students get a lot of input, but are unable to create the desired output,” he says.
A method developed by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly, it’s an approach that focuses on a total learning experience. “In simple terms it’s a method based on sound-to-symbol concept.
In the traditional method first we learn the symbol and then play it vocally or using an instrument. Kodaly is the reverse application, first we are exploring the sounds and then converting it to symbols,” he says.
Biju’s tryst with Kodaly started two years back when he attended a workshop in Banglore. “It was quite a revelation. I understood this simple method is more effective than our complicated and time-consuming traditional method. Almost all countries have Kodaly associations and recently India’s first association was started in Kolkata,” he says.
According to Kodaly philosophy, music belongs to everyone and is not something exclusively meant for the talented lot. “There is an African proverb which reads ‘if you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing’. In this method we discover the sound within us and you don’t have to train for years to get any result. It’s a step-by-step process which starts with the middle note.”
He adds that if you follow this method you would be able to create a musical score without the help of any instruments. “Now most of the elementary schools in the UK and US follow this. It helps the kids to develop musical thinking,” he explains.
Biju says the highlight of the method is the way it brings out the music in you. “In the traditional method you learn music or an instrument for a decade, but you become only a performer, not a musician. But in this method you start thinking in terms of sounds, the basic quality required for a musician,” he adds.
He has been conducting free workshops and classes in the city to popularise this stream of teaching.
“In Kerala it’s not still very popular, so I started classes to educate people about this method,” he says. In his institute Sound of Music at Thakarapparambu Biju also trains music teachers in this method. “Every Sunday I teach them music theory and Kodaly method.” During the summer vacation he conducted free classes for children and says the response has been really great. “And in the school I teach, we follow this method. The result is that now the students are able to create music on their own,” he says.