Satis Narona Coleman
1878-1961
Major Publications
Links
References
Satis N. Coleman graduated from the Sam Houston
Normal Institute in 1895. She received three degrees from Columbia
University: BS in 1927, MA in 1928, and PhD. in Educational
Psychology in 1937. In addition to experience teaching private
music, Coleman taught Creative Music at the Lincoln School of Teachers
College (Columbia Univ.) from 1920-42, and Teacher education
(Columbia Univ.) from 1925-1942.
Coleman believed that all children should be engaged at an early age in varied activities such as singing, dancing, playing instruments. Opportunities for self-expression through creative experiences should lead children to discover musical interests and the desire for developing skills. Through experimental field studies, Coleman developed a cipher notation system so that children could experience sound before symbol (Southcott, 1990). Developing children’s musical feeling was crucial, and was developed through improvisatory experiences. She was guided by the philosophies of Rousseau, Pestalozzi and Froebel.
Coleman researched instruments from many historical or cultural
sources to develop simple instruments
(many forms of wind, string, and percussion) that children could invent and play (Volk,
1996). Children’s compositions for the instruments led to
full-scale symphonies written and performed by the children. In a
review of Boston’s dissertation, Oehrle (1995) compared some
of Coleman’s work to music-making in African cultures. Volk
(1996) suggested that Coleman’s use of outside resources,
particularly of other cultures, was very progressive, and
constitutes the legacy left by Coleman.
In fact, Coleman had an international influence,
which is evidenced by the adoption of Coleman’s methods by
two Japanese music educators (Koizumi, 1994).
Satis Coleman was described as a pioneer whose work was far ahead of its time (Southcott, 1990). Boston suggested that Coleman’s work offered both an alternative philosophy for music education of the early twentieth century, and served as a “prototype for contemporary music education” (Boston, 1992, abstract).
Coleman, S. N. (1922). Creative Music for Children. N.Y.: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Coleman, S. N. (1931). A Children's Symphony. N.Y.: Teachers College, Columbia University.
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Instruments Used as basis for Coleman's prototypes for children.
Boston, S. C. (1992). Satis N. Coleman (1878-1961): Her Career in Music Education (Abstract). (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland College Park1992). Disstertation Abstracts Online, 54, no. 01A: 0121.
Coleman, S. N. (1922). Creative Music for Children. N.Y.: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Coleman, S. N. (1931). A Children's Symphony. N.Y.: Teachers College, Columbia University.
Oehrle, E. (1995). Dissertation Review: Satis N. Coleman (1878-1961): Her Career in Music Education. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 126 (Fall), 53-57.
Southcott, J. (1990). A Music Education Pioneer-Dr. Satis Naronna Barton Coleman. British Journal of Music Education, 7 (2), 123-132.
Volk, T. M. (1996). Satis Coleman's "Creative Music". Music Educators Journal, 82 (6), 31-33, 47.