The catholic and protestant churches in Germany are experiencing a sharp decline in church memberships. As a result more and more people don't listen to the instrument organ or to organ music anymore. At the same time the number of organ pedagogical and organ (music) mediative programs has been increasing since a few years.

„Children and classical organ music – is that possible?“ This question was the introductory question in the master thesis „Music mediation of organ music and the instrument organ in the catholic church. An analysis of concert concepts for primary schools“.

This study analysed music mediation concepts of organ music and the organ instrument for primary schools. In addition to this, the concept for children’s organ concerts, „Orgelbauer Fröhlich“, was developed, organised and evaluated between December 2019 and February 2020. In this concert Orgelbauer Fröhlich introduces children in a scenic-interactive, playful and humorous setting into organ music and the instrument organ. The children's concert continues to this day.

805 children aged between 5 and 10 from more than 10 different primary schools were asked to fill out a survey form directly after the concerts with four question referring to their gained experience.

Almost 90% liked the organ concert for children with Orgelbauer Fröhlich. More than 50% liked the classical organ music and the figure Orgelbauer Fröhlich as well. 76,65% would like to visit an organ concert for children again, 72,15% had heard an organ before.

In conclusion, this study shows that children are likely to enjoy classical organ music and develop interest in the instrument organ. Using different kinds of methods like acting, games and music are essential for building a low-threshold access. This could lead to an interesting in self-playing the organ.

This paper presents findings from research conducted with preschool children at a private kindergarten in Athens, Greece, exploring the progression of rhythmic skills and improvisation through Lucy Green’s 'Playing by Ear' method. Rooted in informal learning, the method aims to enhance students’ auditory, rhythmic, and overall musical abilities. Given the children's age (4-5 years), their need for social interaction, teamwork through play, and lack of formal music notation instruction, this study examined the effectiveness of applying an informal music learning approach in formal educational settings. Since Green's original study focused on children aged 13-14, this research investigates necessary adaptations for younger children.

Using qualitative methodology, specifically an action research approach, the study investigated how the 'Playing by Ear' method developed rhythmic skills and enhanced students’ ability to play music in small groups without teacher guidance. The results showed that the method significantly contributed to rhythmic development, both through instruments and kinetic activities. It fostered early experimentation and improved students’ capacity to play independently, promoting new communication and cooperation skills.

Aligned with student-centered learning, the method encouraged educators to focus on individual student interests, allowing children to explore their unique musical identities. The approach positively impacted students' well-being, strengthening friendships and fostering a sense of belonging. Overall, the 'Playing by Ear' method enhanced musical skills and was perceived by students as a highly enjoyable and recreational experience. These findings are relevant to the conference theme, highlighting the benefits of informal music learning in early education.

Lithuanian traditional polyphonic songs Sutartinės are one of the most unique examples of archaic polyphony in the world. They are characterized by distinctive musical language and have very few analogues in world musics. Due to their uniqueness, sutartinės have attracted great interest amongst ethnomusicologists not only in Lithuania but also internationally (Slaviūnas 2006, Vyčinienė 2000, Sachs 1962, Boiko 1992, Jordania 2006 etc.). Today, the Sutartinės are experiencing a revival and are gaining more and more interest among young people. They are often used in various jazz, rock, fusion and electronic music projects. The syncretic nature of Sutartinės combines music, poetry and archaic choreography, opening up diverse and broad possibilities for interdisciplinary integration. From the perspective of multiculturalism, the examples of the Sutartinės songs could be useful to music pedagogy not only in Lithuania but also in other countries.
However, the possibilities of the use of Lithuanian Sutartines in music pedagogy are still little explored. The aim of this paper is to reveal the structural peculiarities of Lithuanian polyphonic songs and to describe their possibilities in a primary music education. Structural analysis and comparative methods are used. Lithuanian polyphonic songs are characterised by narrow melodies based on archaic scales of 2-5 notes. Their rhythmic structure is based on elementary repetitive rhythmic patterns which form rhythmic inversions, complementary rhythms and cross-rhythms. These songs are characterised by archaic forms of polyphony: call-and-response, drone, parallelism with second harmonies, and canon (Velička, 2024). The most important challenge in teaching these songs is the combination of several voices in an ensemble. The structural features of the musical language of Sutartinės are in line with C. Orff's Elemental Music philosophy and are perfectly suited to the various purposes of music education: music making, music creation, active listening to music. This presentation will be illustrated with examples of pupils' works.