Kodály Method Empowers Aesthetic Education of Public Traditional Chinese Music in Higher Vocational Colleges

-- A Case Study of Classroom Practice with the Guzheng and Piano Concerto “Ling’an’s Regret”

Abstract

In the context of global multicultural music education, the Kodály method has become a mainstream pedagogical model for preserving indigenous musical traditions worldwide, thanks to its practice-based activities that stimulate multisensory synesthetic responses. Currently, public music appreciation courses for vocational college teacher education students in China commonly suffer from weak theoretical foundations in music fundamentals, limiting their ability to deeply engage with traditional Chinese music and resulting in superficial analysis. This disconnect between aesthetic education and professional training is further exacerbated by the natural compatibility between Kodály’s movable-do solfège system and China’s pentatonic scale. Therefore, this study focuses on public aesthetic education courses for vocational college students majoring in primary English education, using the cross-cultural guzheng-piano concerto "Ling'an Yihen" as a teaching vehicle. It applies a localized version of the Kodály method's three-P (Preparation-Presentation-Practice) instructional model, integrating simplified stick notation, Curwen hand signs, body percussion, and AI-powered digital percussion sound effects into the curriculum. Empirical teaching results demonstrate that this localized Kodály approach effectively lowers the barrier for beginners in appreciating traditional Chinese music while enhancing students’ abilities to discern timbre, rhythm, and emotional expression. Moreover, it provides future teachers with high-quality tools for aesthetic education, achieving an integrated educational goal that combines appreciation of traditional Chinese music, cultural identity, and patriotic values. The study also fills a gap in empirical research regarding the integration of Western teaching methods—such as Kodály—with Chinese national concert works within vocational higher education aesthetics education, offering a localized Chinese model for global diverse music education.