2022–2023 SEASON
Greg Ristow
Stephen neely
Adriana ausch-simmel
Michael Joviala & Leslie Upchurch
Nicole BrockmaNn
Karen Bescan & Terry Boyarsky
Eiko Ishizuka
Mari Izumi
Dalcroze Connections is the o cial magazine of the United States Dalcroze community and seeks to inform, inspire, and educate Dalcroze practitioners at all levels. It is published twice yearly by the Dalcroze Society of America.
MANAGING EDITOR
Katie Couch editor@dalcrozeusa.org
DALCROZE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
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Michelle Li
Alex Marthaler (ex o cio)
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MAGAZINE DESIGN
Alex Marthaler
The views expressed in Dalcroze Connections do not necessarily represent those of the Dalcroze Society of America.
© 2023 Dalcroze Society of America
All rights reserved.
ISSN 2769-8602 (Online)
ISSN 2769-8564 (Print)
14 Plastique Animée: e Dalcrozian Analytical Technique
Plastique animée is an artistic realization of a piece of music using the body. In this article, Stephen Neely considers the rationales, purposes, and strategies that help when exploring music via “moving plastic.” 25
Mary Dobrea-Grindahl writes about these essential strategies of a eurhythmics lesson, which teach students key skills in listening, coordination, concentration, and memory.
This reprint of Herbert Henke’s article from the American Dalcroze Journal has ten improvisation games from the master of musical puzzles.
The Dalcroze Society of America (dsa) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to promoting the artistic and pedagogical principles of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze through educational workshops, publications, financial and consultative assistance, and the encouragement of local chapters throughout the United States.
Become a member of the dsa by visiting dalcrozeusa.org/join
Vision Statement
The Dalcroze Society of America works to ensure that a strong and vibrant community of practitioners and participants flourishes in the United States and benefits from the unique music and movement opportunities that the Dalcroze experience has o ered the world for over 100 years.
Mission Statement
The Dalcroze Society of America is dedicated to serving the following threefold purpose pertaining to the professional practice of Dalcroze education, the extended global community of practitioners and institutions dedicated to this practice, and the general public’s awareness and appreciation of it.
• Sustain and expand the professional practice of Dalcroze education in the USA and in the world
• Strengthen our connections to the global community of practitioners and institutions dedicated to Dalcroze education
• Raise the general public’s awareness and appreciation of Dalcroze education
The Dalcroze Society of America is commi ed to growing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community of Dalcroze practitioners.
Sta Executive Director
Board of Trustees
Board Chair Lori Forden boardchair@dalcrozeusa.org
Vice Chair Mary Dobrea-Grindahl vicechair@dalcrozeusa.org
Secretary Lauren Hodgson secretary@dalcrozeusa.org
Treasurer
Kent Cleland treasurer@dalcrozeusa.org
Trustee
Ruth Alperson
Trustee
Patrick Cerria
Trustee
Katie Couch
Trustee
Mira Larson
Trustee
Cynthia Lilley
Trustee
Melissa Tucker
Regional Chapters
New England Chapter
President .................................. Adriana Ausch-Simmel
Vice President Caroline Ly
Secretary Anne Edgerton
Treasurer Phil Berman
New York Chapter President Michael Joviala
Vice President Clelia Cavallaro
Secretary Lisa Dove
Treasurer Pauline Huang
Northwest Chapter
President ....................................................Jared Ballance
Vice President & Treasurer............................... Xing Jin
Secretary Molly Porterfield
Ohio Chapter President ................................................Lauren Hodgson
Vice President ..................................................... Sonia Hu
Secretary Mary Dobrea-Grindahl
Treasurer Greg Ristow
Member at Large Terry Boyarsky
Philadelphia Chapter
President Dawn Pratson
Vice President Barbara Golden
Secretary Gema Valencia-Turco
Treasurer Leo Zumpe a
Rocky Mountain Chapter
President ........................................................ Katie Couch
Vice President Emma Shubin
Treasurer Lori Forden
Are you interested in starting a chapter in your region?
Alex
Marthaler executivedirector@dalcrozeusa.orgTrustee
Laura Wiebe
Ex O cio Trustee, Professional Development Commi ee Chair
Michael Joviala
Ex O cio Trustee, Executive Director
Alex Marthaler executivedirector@dalcrozeusa.org
Email chapters@dalcrozeusa.org
Magazines have always been a staple in my reading. In my youth, I enjoyed publications from Highlights to Rolling Stone, and more currently the New Yorker and 5280. I never imagined that I would one day be producing a magazine myself, and I’m thrilled to serve as the newest general editor of Dalcroze Connections, the o cial magazine of the Dalcroze Society of America.
Dalcroze Connections aims to bring our readership useful content through lesson plan ideas, repertoire pieces, long-form historical or pedagogical articles by Dalcroze experts, and more! It connects us as a community when we are separated by distance and time zones.
e 2023 National Conference this past January demonstrated to me (and others, I’m sure) how important it is to physically be together. Sessions were presented by a wide variety of clinicians, from highly trained Dalcrozians to professional dancers, and all were informative and enlivening. Among the many sessions filled with valuable information and experiences, there was something for everyone. For more on the conference, be sure to check out Lori Forden’s synopsis on page 13
at is the goal of Dalcroze Connections: to provide you, our readers and supporters, with materials you can learn from and use, and to connect us all. is issue continues the theme of expert-wri en articles on the Dalcroze Teaching Strategies, with more to come in following volumes (and blog posts). We are also trying out our new regular features, including Anatomy of a Lesson Plan (“skip” to page 46 for trochaic rhythms) and Aural Reactions (on page 49).
Have any comments or feedback for us? Send it in to editor@ dalcrozeusa.org and have a chance to be featured in next issue’s Verbal Reactions column (our inaugural o ering is here on page 12).
Above all, we hope you enjoy this latest issue, as much as we had fun pu ing it together.
Katie Couch Editor Westminster, CO katie@dalcrozeusa.org
Lisa Parker has been an important American Dalcroze pioneer. She studied at the New York City Dalcroze School with Dr. Hilda Schuster, who studied with Dalcroze. Lisa frequently remarked that in America, we made the Dalcroze work our own while still adhering to the principles. Having also studied with Dr. Schuster, I observed that it was true.
As many of her students did, I came to study with Lisa Parker at the Longy School of Music where she started the Dalcroze program, still continuing to this day. For years, Lisa traveled, giving classes and workshops, introducing and developing the Dalcroze work. For decades, her students came to study with her and with Anne Farber, from all over the country and the world. ey were so much more than just teachers, they were mentors. e program became an important destination and still is for those interested in the Dalcroze work. Students developed skills, knowledge, and in many cases, a career.
Lisa Parker was a consummate Dalcroze specialist and proponent, yet she developed her own teaching style and o en encouraged her students to do the same. She frequently seemed to be teaching as if by magic, having a natural flow, focus, originality and sensitivity to her students. Although there was no way to copy her style of teaching, though many people tried, she did introduce countless students to the Dalcroze work. She would o en encourage students and colleagues to find their own way to adhere to it and to also interpret it. While working as one of her colleagues, it was a trait I admired.
Lisa Parker will be greatly missed by so many. Her work will most certainly live on in a myriad of ways, through her students.
Ginny La sIt is with great pleasure that we honor our dearest colleague, Lisa Parker, who served on Le Collège de l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze (Geneva) for many years. Lisa made a remarkable contribution to the development of Dalcroze eurhythmics in the world, she was an inspiration to the entire Dalcrozian community! She was an outstanding teacher who had a profound influence on many of us, students and colleagues. Her lessons were so musical and inspiring, and her smile, beautiful and caring. Her departure creates a great void, but her legacy remains and will continue to exist through the generations.
Her memory will forever be engraved in our hearts.
On behalf of Le Collège de l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze,
Louise Mathieu President
Your presence in me is so alive that I address my words to you today.
I must have been seventeen years old when we met at a Dalcroze Congress in Geneva.
I was deeply touched by the beauty of your teaching: your musical and pedagogical intelligence, your humanity, your sense of humor, the richness of your improvisation, your pragmatism and your culture brought me a new breath and a complement to what I had known until then.
We met through eurhythmics, but it is above all a bond of friendship that we have woven during the decades that followed. You had an open heart and mind. Talking with you about important or trivial things, laughing or crying, everything was possible. Your curiosity led you on various paths, including the one of self-knowledge. e one we practiced together with a shared interest and enthusiasm is Osteophonie,
because of its deep connection between humanity and music.
You have led your professional life in a remarkable way. What a lot of wonderful work you have achieved! Your students all over the world are living witnesses of this. However, you would have liked to find a be er balance in your emotional life. You had many friends and were very close to your family, but you also said that you missed having a man by your side.
A er leaving the position of director of the Dalcroze department that you had created in Longy, you continued to give private lessons and courses to seniors. You took a lot of pleasure from it. For my part, I benefited from your precious and generous support in my return to Dalcroze teaching and you actively participated in listening to all the recordings I made for my pedagogical project. What a gi
Life has put you through a di cult ordeal by gradually depriving you of speech and
I first met Lisa at the [Longy] Summer Institute in 1996. I was captivated by her teaching, and her personality and, of course, by Dalcroze. I promised to return for more, but family responsibilities kept me away until 2019. In the meantime, we kept in touch, I studied conducting with her privately, and she visited me and my family in Maine. ere was nothing I learned from Lisa which I did not use repeatedly in my teaching and music-making over the course of those years.
What a joy to finally return to Longy in July of 2019, and, at eighty-five (!), Lisa welcomed me back as if I had never le ...then I got hit by a car while biking home on the third day of class. I su ered a severe head trauma, and other injuries, leaving me almost immobile. Lisa sprang into action. I could at least observe classes, and she would solicit donations from the faculty so that I could Ly back and forth to school daily once I got out of the hospital. I am grateful for that to this day. What an incredible lady! A superb musician, a great teacher, and a wonderful human being! I will never forget her!
Richard Pitremovement. You showed courage and resilience, and were infinitely grateful to be so well cared for by your family.
While your words became fewer—but still relevant—your sparkling eyes never lost their sharpness and your face remained so expressive! I will never forget the tenderness and emotional depth of our exchanges during the week we had the pleasure of spending together last summer in Maine with my husband Michel and your family.
Dear Lisa, your leaving is not a rupture, on the contrary. Writing to you, talking to you, thinking about you, means always to live a beautiful moment of friendship.
I have only gratitude and joy to have had the privilege to meet you, to know you, and to share so many colors of life with you.
anks to Life.
Françoise LombardOne of the first, and most enduring, memories of Lisa was her piano improvisation. e ways Lisa traversed landscapes from atonal to tonal, her touch on the instrument, her bass lines, sequences, and fluid modulations were all part of it, but the sum was greater. ese were all tools through which she evoked such beauty and nuance of movement, such space. I o en just listened to Lisa’s playing, not for pedagogical reasons but simply because of how much I love her improvisations.
What consistently blew me away though is how simple so much of her playing was. I mean, on the one hand here was music that was so evocative, so moving in such emotionally contradictory ways, and on the other, it was so o en so simple when you analyze it from her perspective! e more accurate term is elegant. As profound as her playing was, Lisa made sure to play in ways that
enabled her to pour her a ention to the smallest details of her students. I guess that sort of elegance is part of the reason that anyone who has had the good fortune of taking one of Lisa’s classes will know what we mean when so many of her students say that nobody played like Lisa.
e other enduring quality that comes to mind right away was Lisa’s thirst for learning. e notion that someone as accomplished and experienced as Lisa remained fascinated, and curious, and investigative, even when illness was upon her, is good news for all of us.
ank you.
Guy MendilowLisa Parker was Dalcroze royalty. She was a queen of improvisation; of unfolding layers of a lesson like the plot in an absorbing novel. We willingly surrendered to her magic, her musical elegance, her deep insights, and her endlessly inventive exercises that, literally, kept us on our toes.
One day, in the summer of 1985, I stepped up the winding, wooden staircase of Longy’s historic home for a solfège class and was ultimately led to a basement room under Pickman Hall for a Dalcroze experience with Lisa Parker that transformed my life.
Lisa invited me to discover that music was more than notes on a page in need of re-creation. She guided me to the realization that music is alive in each of us; that our own creative voice is waiting to emerge and be fully expressed through our body, singing voice, the vehicle of a drum, piano, flute, or any number of instruments.
Lisa Parker was my lifelong teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend.
“Teach the students, not the lesson plan,” Lisa said in a Dalcroze pedagogy class. Of course, she did not mean to imply a lesson plan is superfluous. On the contrary, a well-considered, artful plan is essential and “Is your improv ready?” she would ask in her mellifluous, expectant voice.
I believe what Lisa meant was to be ever alive and alert to the needs of your class. Be in the moment. Teaching is a form of improvisation; a give and take between all members of the equation; a mutual learning. Together, the teacher and students form a continuous feedback loop.
I learned from Lisa to be truly present with my students. ey show me what they need; what direction to take. is may, or may not, correspond exactly to the lesson plan. at’s okay. What ma ers is making a connection with the students, students connecting with themselves and each other, all while immersed in the musical subject at hand. Lisa said that if you know your pedagogical goals (musical and otherwise) and have facility in your teaching, endless pathways to your desired destination will be revealed.
Today, Lisa Parker’s graceful elegance, keen musical intelligence, and endless creativity sparkles in each of us who were touched by her extraordinary life and teaching artistry. Lisa’s legacy is carried forward, throughout the world, by her former students. In this way, I believe her gi s continue to enrich us beyond measure.
Melissa Tuckere first time I met Lisa was at a workshop of the Tristate Chapter. We passed a ball, imagining it being light or heavy or any weight in between. Lisa accompanied/guided us by playing the piano. Her improv was out of this world: rich, varied, beautiful, surprising, inspiring, expressive, a joy to listen to and very inviting to move. I was in love with her music, then and always a erward. Lisa’s teaching was equally great: she generously shared her knowledge and experience, was demanding and encouraging in a miraculous balance. Lisa spread a lot of joy.
I miss her but I treasure the many beautiful memories. I’m grateful to have met her.
Johanna Kopp
I had the privilege of meeting Lisa Parker during my first months of undergraduate study at the Longy School of Music. She, along with the other wonderful Dalcroze teachers at Longy, opened a doorway into music and changed the course my life has taken. Not only did her musicianship inspire her students to learn more about how music resides in the body, she also inspired us to trust and develop our musical intuition. She had a special ability to see her students’ strengths and help them hone these as tools in our performance, improvisation and pedagogy.
Time and again, she would take an idea I set forth in improvisation or pedagogy—which o en felt limited in skill or musicality—and show it could be nurtured and transformed into a powerful musical force that could move a classroom. She always found a way to challenge her students to stretch to a new capacity, no ma er what they brought to their work, helping us to uncover what was within. Her simplicity of improvisation always allowed the music to shine through.
I will always remember her response at a workshop when a student asked how she created such a magical experience in her classrooms. True to Lisa, she found a way to reflect this compliment while ge ing to the heart of the ma er, saying that she in fact was not magical, rather that “the magic is in the music.” ank you, Lisa, for revealing to us a li le bit of this magic in all you did.
Emma Shubin
I first encountered Lisa Parker at an Or conference in Boston where she gave a pair of Dalcroze workshops. I hadn’t signed up for these classes; some guardian angel had placed me in them. Fi een minutes into the first class, I knew my life had changed. Here was this beautiful woman leading us into a [Dmitry] Kabalevsky piano piece through movement, through listening, through embracing it with heart and mind. It was a simple piece for children, and the lesson was perfect for children as well, but both piece and lesson were gems. I realized that I didn’t need to “invent the wheel”—it already existed at the Longy School. I arranged to come to Cambridge the following summer, putting my young children in a local summer camp, ge ing my first deep dive into Dalcroze.
Of course, I got more than Lisa in the bargain; she had the perfect co-teacher in Anne Farber. e two of them created an environment where learning wasn’t just fun—it was a passionate endeavor. Fixed do solfège became an adventure; movement was the way into connecting to what music was all about. I had been an improviser before I knew how to talk; Lisa and Anne opened up a world of pianisitic possibilities. Never had a challenge been so thoroughly gratifying.
During the next five summers I found myself (literally) in Cambridge being trained as a musician and as a Dalcroze teacher. I would go back to my job in Los Angeles and gradually apply what I had learned to my own students.
Lisa was a musician’s musician and a teacher’s teacher. She provided a model of how to teach with grace, delight, and intelligence. Her piano improvisations were gorgeous but never self-aggrandizing. Her directions were as charming as they were precise. Every lesson was an experience in closing in on a concept, a physical puzzle, and (almost always) a piece of classical music. I was frequently brought to tears by the sheer beauty of the journey led by Lisa.
I join the many who are forever grateful to have known and studied with Lisa; each of us, in our own ways, carry a torch passed to us. But there was only one Lisa, and I miss her so very much.
Cynthia Lilley
e first dsa National Conference I a ended was held at Carnegie Mellon University in July 1972. I will never forget Lisa Parker’s opening session, a beautifully delivered and constructed eurhythmics lesson, a work of art, really. Fi y years later, I remember Lisa’s entry into the room: she glided in, with a gracious, loving presence. Her voice was lilting, warm, and expressive.
With a focus on the subject of binary-ternary, Lisa used imagery, beginning with “walls.” Lying on the floor, class members curled into fetal positions, surrounded and held in by imaginary walls. With our bodies—hands, elbows, feet, heads—we pushed the walls away, making more and more space, until finally, we broke free, standing up, then skipping and galloping around the room, with Lisa’s improvised music. As the lesson progressed, we delved deeper into the subjects. Lisa improvised music in binary rhythms that described walls: dense and serious. Responding to this music, we stood three or four, or more, abreast, arms locked as we moved, striding forward as in a phalanx, unsmiling. When Lisa improvised in ternary, we broke away, free again, happily skipping around the room.
Lisa’s lesson progressed seamlessly; she played musical examples that illustrated the subjects of the lesson. ese included
the Dance (“Tanz”) from a section of Carl Or ’s Carmina Burana,”Uf Dem Anger,” to which we improvised binary-ternary “minuets” with partners. e lesson concluded with Lisa reciting lines from the poem, “ e Mending Wall” by Robert Frost: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” (ternary), and “Good fences make good neighbors” (binary). e entire lesson was intensely musical; I was enchanted, excited, inspired—opened. A erwards, my head spun, filled with new ideas. I wanted more. “More” became a lifetime of studying and teaching Dalcroze eurhythmics.
At the heart of the Dalcroze lesson is music improvisation by the teacher for the students’ movements. In this photo (above le ) of a workshop lesson by Lisa in winter 2014, members of the class are moving with partners and smiling. ey are responding to the fantastic, upbeat, jazzy music Lisa improvises. We can see, in Lisa’s posture, that while Lisa watches her students, she watches over them; while they listen to her music, she is making pedagogical and musical decisions.
My experience as a musician and teacher has involved a decades-long immersion in Dalcroze eurhythmics. Lisa has played a major role in this scenario. A er participating in the dsa workshop in 1972, I lived in Cambridge, Massachuse s for one year.
During this time, I observed Lisa’s eurhythmics classes for children and adults. Since that time, I have studied and worked with Lisa. I cannot imagine my personal or professional life without Lisa’s presence. Lisa has been a generous teacher, colleague and friend. She leaves a legacy of a multitude of students, across the U.S., and around the world; many are now certified Dalcroze teachers. A er decades of leadership of the Dalcroze Institute at the Longy School of Music, Lisa confidently bestowed the role onto Eiko Ishizuka. e Institute continues with a talented new leadership and cohort of teachers, all beautifully trained by Lisa.
I was delighted to see Dalcrozians Ma ie Kaiser and Aaron Butler in 2017 in Quebec at the Universite Laval, where the third International Conference of Dalcroze Studies (icds) was held. ey participated in a special eurhythmics class taught by Silvia del Bianco and Sylvie Morgenegg, from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze. Ma ie moved the exercises away from the class, o to the side of the room, carefully, as she held their infant daughter, Sage. In this photo (above right) are three generations of Dalcrozians: Lisa, Ma ie, and Sage.
ank you, Lisa.
Ruth AlpersonMy thoughts about Lisa are almost too profound to put into words. Lisa was poetry in motion, from her voice to her mind to her entire being. I will never forget her and I count myself as one of the blessed ones to have had her in my life.
Kathy JonesLisa Parker’s teaching in the dsa Conference at Ithaca College in 1981 was my first experience of her beautiful work in music. From then on, I was drawn like a magnet to her lessons and workshops, both as participant and observer, at Longy and other places, including her unforgettable visits to Toronto.
Without a doubt, Lisa’s inspired teaching was always undergirded by her sense of presence...a profound sense of being. I sensed she first and foremost just wanted to “be” with each of us.
Twila Miller
In conversations, she generously shared insights about her own teaching and the people from whom she learned, especially Hilda Schuster. Lisa as editor encouraged me to write my first Dalcroze history article, “Chicago, 1913: Eurhythmics Entering American Dance,” for the American Dalcroze Journal (Fall 1983). I am forever grateful that she introduced me to many of her colleagues and students, who in turn widened my understanding of the Dalcroze practice.
Soaked in academic music theory, I walked into one of Lisa’s 3rd-year classes at Longy and walked out in a daze. I felt I had found what I had been missing all along—the wonderful holistic musical world that is Dalcroze—and there was no more magical guide than Lisa, of course. I’m ever grateful for the Dalcroze experience and Lisa’s wisdom, patience, and inspiration. A er years of improvising professionally and for fun, I realized that there was a focus and discipline to it—thrilling!
She was a wonderful pianist, and improviser, of course, and gave us the precious gi of expanding our minds, our listening, our perceptions of ourselves and what could be possible. I’ll miss our lunches, discussions, friendship, and I’m not alone in this. ank you, dear Lisa. You gave us joy, always.
Margaret Ulmer
Sing and move with Lisa’s music in this recording from the 2017 3rd International Conference of Dalcroze Studies (ICDS3) in Quebec City, Canada titled “The Living Moment: Exploring Improvisational Practice.”
Watch it at linktr.ee/dalcrozeusa
In 1978, I came to the United States to study and mentor with Lisa Parker. I had met her at the Dalcroze Conference in Geneva, Switzerland in the summer of 1977 and she graciously invited me to join her at Longy School of Music for a year of study. I delightfully and immediately accepted her invitation that came to me just a er I had completed my Master’s Degree in Eurhythmics at the Musikhochschule Detmold, Germany, and was ready to venture into the New World.
I so loved working with Lisa as a student, teaching assistant and then becoming her daughters Eden and Wendy’s German language teacher where we created and performed German plays and musicals on stage in Lisa’s backyard. Most creative and enjoyable times.
Lisa had become a friend, confidant, and a guide, and was most influential in terms of my teaching preschool- to college-level groups at New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. She supported me in finding my way into this new country that ultimately became my home.
I’m deeply grateful to you, Lisa, for your guidance and wisdom and (not to forget) your contagious humor and playful way of being. I feel most blessed having known you.
Elsbeth MeuthI have recognized and respected Lisa Parker as an exceptional Dalcroze teacher and mentor who had always taught and trained all her students in a kind and wholehearted spirit. Gratefully, I am truly proud to be one of her students at Longy School of Music during the period from 2003–2005.
She warmly welcomed me, as a foreign student from abroad, to the school by kindly allowing me to have an audition appointment, and later accepting my audition. Since then, I have learned a lot from her in all academic respects. Most importantly, I have learned from her how to be a competent music teacher. She had helped me change the way I feel about learning and teaching music, thus leading me to the Dalcroze world. With her rich experiences, Lisa Parker had heedfully trained and tempered me to become a good music teacher of today. Her outstanding example has greatly inspired me to determinedly march forward along the path of Dalcroze music and to do my best in my teaching career in the interest of my students.
Toon Chamroon
Editor’s note: Unfortunately, space limitations prevented us from publishing all the reflections we received in Lisa’s honor. Please visit dalcrozeusa.org/blog for Part 2.
Help us share the power and artistry of Dalcroze with teachers everywhere.
Discover what other readers are saying about the most recent issue in these le ers to the editor.
I enjoyed [“Spatial Awareness” from Vol. 7 No. 1 (Fall 2022)]. I found resonance with a number of ideas.
In particular, your idea about using (or not using) “stretchy material.” For years I had incorporated elastics for a group understanding of dynamics. For one class I forgot the “stretchies” and had the group imagine using a stretchy material as I improvised. The result was so much more rewarding. They concentrated on how the group as a whole imagined and implemented the connection to sound rather than focusing on their personal e orts to pull or release the material.
Stephen MooreI want to say CONGRATULATIONS for the new look of Dalcroze Connections. It’s beautiful and I enjoy a lot going through [to] discover the di erent articles and sections.
Thanks and bravo to all the people that participate in that project and good luck!
Looking forward to see you at the next congress and study days.
Silvia Del BiancoCongratulations on a beautiful issue of Dalcroze Connections. I proudly display my hard copy in my studio for parents to page through.
I particularly enjoy the richness of perspectives from practitioners all over the country, and the variety of articles ranging from informational to personal anecdotes. Some of it is immediately applicable to teaching classes (the article on incitation and inhibition) while other parts are thought-provoking (Michael Joviala’s musings about space), rea rming (KuanTing Chang’s scholarship report), or inspirational (Louise Mathieu’s reflections on using recorded music in the classroom). All presented dynamically with beautiful photos and interesting graphics.
Thank you for a job well done!
Mira LarsonDalcroze Connections is made possible by the participation of the following training centers, organizations, and businesses whose advertisments appear in this issue. They make this high-quality publication possible and we are grateful of their support of our mission.
The publisher does not necessarily endorse any particular company, product, or service. The Dalcroze Society of America (dsa) is not responsible for the content of any advertisment and reserves the right to accept or refuse any advertisment submitted for publication.
Information for advertisers (rates, order form, ad specifications, etc.) can be found at dalcrozeusa.org/dalcroze-connections or by emailing admin@dalcrozeusa.org
e power of togetherness and connection is strong when like-minded people gather in one place like many of us were able to do at the Dalcroze Society of America National Conference at Baldwin Wallace University. As Dalcrozians, we are linked by a common practice and an intention to explore movement in music, movement as music, and music through movement. e conference o ered us a precious chance to celebrate and interact with our community in person.
e Dalcroze method of learning, teaching, and exploring music brings richness to my life. Many people, myself included, will tell you that practicing Dalcroze changed the way they make music; play their instrument; feel music; or simply understand music. is is one of the reasons many of us work to maintain and nurture our community through the Dalcroze Society of America (dsa). We not only want the Dalcroze community to survive, but we also want to see it thrive.
Our Board of Trustees, commi ee leads, and commi ee members have enthusiasm and many ideas about how we can help to serve our community, to encourage information sharing, and to educate artists who don’t yet know they want Dalcroze in their life. is academic year, the Board of Trustees has been engaged in productive and meaningful conversations about what our
community does well, what it needs, and what opportunities exist. ese conversations are leading us to our next strategic plan. e strategic plan will lead us to develop and refine programs and commi ee goals. e plan will also help us to evaluate our budget and the funds needed to make these e orts come to life.
We want you to feel welcome in the dsa and there are several ways you can join in the fun. If you feel it is the right time in your life to volunteer on a dsa national commi ee or in a local chapter, please reach out and tell us some of your special interests or skills. Another option is to check out one of our Dalcroze Lab events for some inspiration or to learn more about a subject. Connect with us through our blog, Facebook page, or Instagram and share the posts with your friends. Read and share this Dalcroze Connections magazine. Regardless of your time availability, we greatly appreciate your donations and continued membership in the dsa. Our organization continues because of your support.
Lori Forden Chair of the Board of Trustees Morrison, CO lori@dalcrozeusa.orgThe Dalcrozian Analytical Technique
Stephen Neely, Dalcroze License
Myintroduction to the Dalcroze classroom was filled with many variations of follows, canons, replacements, quick reactions, improvisations, and entrainments shared with my professor and with my peers. I found the work challenging and exhilarating and was so thrilled by the interactions that I couldn’t wait to come back. One of the most memorable sets of classes in my early training included explorations into plastique animée (sometimes translated as “moving plastic,” “living sculptures,” or simply “music visualization”). Plastique animée lessons are notably di erent from our other routines in that instead of being led through the lesson, as is the case in most of the examples mentioned above, the building of a plastique animée asks the student to lead with an infinite set of options and o en concludes with a public presentation of the creation. Plastique animée is a favorite activity for many students, but for others, it can be among the most challenging, so taking time to consider rationales, purposes, and strategies can be of great help when o ering these explorations.
Plastique animée is a historic and critical part of the method dating back to the earliest writings of Jaques-Dalcroze, notably in La Rythmique et la plastique animée (1919). e Dalcroze Society of America Professional Certificate and License Teacher Training Program handbook o ers the following definition:
Plastique animée is an artistic realization based on analysis of a piece of music through the body as an outgrowth of eurhythmics or solfège. It is an artistic interface between music and movement which deepens the student’s understanding of both. is can take on many forms from informal classroom experiences to formal staged presentations. Generally, plastique animée requires the movers to:
1. Improvise
2. Analyze, interpret, and demonstrate specific formal and aesthetic elements in the musical score and its relationship to movement in an artistic way
3. Create, rehearse, and present
is description is by necessity general as the work can serve di erent purposes for di erent teacher-student interactions. Depending on the specific school, era, and goals of the coursework, plastique animée may be o ered with a variety of outcomes. It can be presented solo or in ensemble with colleagues. It is regularly presented with recorded music, but some schools prefer live music, and, in other cases, it might be presented in total silence. It is regularly mounted to pre-composed works but can also come together in the moment to newly improvised music. It is a desirable practice for children and adults and is appropriate for individuals with great physical technical abilities as well as for novice movers and individuals of varying physical ability. It can emphasize a tightly choreographed set of choices or be used as an opportunity for improvisational exploration. Each of the options a ord di erent learnings and can be tremendously valuable as teaching tools if presented with proper pacing and a ention.
In all cases, plastique animée is an overt demonstration of a personal and specific embodied musical experience e most common examples involve a chosen selection of repertoire, a score, and a recording. Simply stated, the student or students choose a piece of music, study the score, ask themselves, “In what ways does this music move?” and then search for congruent gestures to demonstrate the musical movement.
“
e true perception of movement is not of a visual order, it is of a muscular order.”
ÉMILE JAQUES - DALCROZE
“The acquisition of all the plastic, dynamic, and agogic qualities indispensable to rhythmist or dancer, actor, or mime, will make him only an adapter, a transposer, an automaton, unless these technical qualities are controlled by a wealth of fancy, a supple, elastic temperament, a generous spontaneity of feeling, and an artistic, responsive nature. All plastique education, therefore, should aim especially at the arousing of natural instincts, spontaneity, individual conceptions. The nal culmination of studies in moving plastic is certainly the direct expression of aesthetic feelings and emotions without the aid of music or even speech.” — Émile Jaques-Dalcroze
Whenworking with new students, it is o en necessary to clarify the di erences between plastique animée and dance. While both are full-bodied gestures regularly paired to music, there are significant di erences between the two. It might be easiest to think of them on a spectrum with dance at one end and plastique animée at the other. e purest examples of dance value movement and gesture above all. Dance can be presented with or without music and is primarily concerned with the motion of the body and the visual presentation of this motion. In the same way that sculptors manipulate clay, choreographers of dance are sculpting the moving body to create visual compositions. is is gesture for gesture’s sake.
A second point on the spectrum would be dance with music. Here, it is still dance in that it is gesture for gesture’s sake, but we start to
see how music can influence the movement. It is more likely that a choreographer will place significant movements like a grand leap at an accented point in the score rather than completely ignore the pushes and pulls within the music. e dancer might use the musical movement to amplify the gestures in the choreography. However, it is also common for choreographers to ignore specifics in the music and to allow the music to “play along” as the dancer dances in front of and not necessarily with the sound. So, while some leaps might appear on accented beats, there can be other examples in a presentation where movement choices are not paired to the music (e.g. a piroue e where there is nothing in the music that feels like spinning).
A third point on the spectrum a empts to balance the values between body movement and musical movement. In these situations, a
choreographer is listening closely to the score, studying the composition, and then matching the technical abilities of the dancers (or movers) to salient moments in the score. e choices are more specific and paired, but there can also be moments in the dance where the gesture separates from the musical score to make a gesture statement. is point on the spectrum is balanced between revealing the score and prioritizing the body in motion.
At the last point on the spectrum, it is the music that is the sole motivator of the choreography and gesture is merely a tool to reveal the music and musical interpretation. Plastique animée values the musical motion above all else. e choreographer must study the score/ performance before they can know what gestures will fit, then use gesture to demonstrate the musical motion. In plastique animée, all gestures are tightly paired to the musical score.
Howmight we bring a new group of adult students to the work? What if they have never seen a plastique animée choreography and are new to Dalcrozian routines? As mentioned in my introduction, plastique animée can be the most exciting for some students and the most dreaded for others. What is freedom, self-expression, creativity, and collaboration for one student can be experienced as insecurity, judgment, and profound awkwardness for another. is is true for all our Dalcrozian routines, but I have found these emotions and experiences amplified in the plastique animée lessons. It is critical to be extra aware and thoughtful as we build to the grand finale!
As in all things Dalcroze, it is the preparation that makes all the di erence. Long before I ever mu er the words plastique animée, I take my students through hours of big-body, expressive gesture exercises spread over multiple sessions. We start with simple, silly, and playful
experiences that challenge them to literally stretch their bodies into di erent levels in space (high, middle, low) and proximities (gestures that expand the body, compress the body, and bring one closer and farther away from others). We explore the di erences between directional movement versus random wiggles and motion without momentum or trajectory. In early classes, we mirror and echo the gestures of our neighbors; we explore our own personal expressive range by playing with gesture near the body and stretching as far from the body as possible. We also explore the gesture as phrase by noting arcs of intention in our improvised motions—such as beginnings-middles-cadences and the forward yearning motion necessary to achieve the sensation of phrase.
ese building classes are presented in ten-, twenty-, and thirty-minute increments interspersed with other aspects of our musicianship study. My classroom makeup commonly
consists of music performance and composition majors from eighteen to twenty-three years old. ese undergraduates and graduates do not all self-identify as movers or dancers, so I work slowly to introduce the practices of big-body expressive gesture. I prioritize the simple, the playful, and the successful. I keep the pacing fast in these early experiences: thirty seconds to explore; fi een seconds to show your neighbor your movement; immediately switch neighbors and watch someone else’s work; smile and wink and tell your next neighbor, “Hey, you are really good at this!” e exact pacing is, of course, dependent on the specific group of students. Some students are dancers at heart, even if they have none of the formal technique, and require very li le onboarding. Others require much more. In either case, we engender trust in the students through exercises performed in a safe, supportive atmosphere geared toward the larger goal of deepening musicianship.
“ ere is no singular way to create a plastique. e only mandate is that all gesture must reveal specific motion in the score.”
STEPHEN NEELY
There is no singular way to create a plastique. e only mandate is that all gesture must reveal specific motion in the score. ere should be no extraneous nor meaningless gesture. It is a literal moment-to-moment pairing. e movement should look like the music sounds. e experience of moving the score should feel identical to the experience of listening to or performing the score.
When working with new movers, I always o er the following plan:
• Pre-Plastique: Find the score, study it for objective, inarguable compositional choices.
• A ention One: Embrace the awkwardness. is is improvisatory and exploratory.
• A ention Two: Discover what fits. is is subjective and personal. is is composition.
• A ention ree: Curate your choices. Vet, tweak, and adjust. is is interpretation.
Before any movements are made, we take a short period (a few minutes) to get familiar with the piece, study the score, and discuss cogent moments and significant happenings. e main question to answer here is, “What did the composer write into the score?” We note the form and the key and the objective facts in the score such as tempo, meter, dynamics, voicing, imitation, articulation, etc. Our plastique animée will need to acknowledge many of these obvious compositional choices.
A er we have some initial ideas about the objective facts or data in the composition, we next turn to the subjective and interpretative opportunities in the score. is is where plastique animée really shines. e subjective decisions are the personal moments in the piece that proclaim, “It feels to me like this.” In A ention One, we ask, “How does this line move?” Any given line or passage in a selection of music must move, but it does not need to feel exactly the same to every participant. Plastique animée is an exercise that challenges participants to find the gestures that reveal the aesthetic of every musical moment in the score.
ere are lots of ways to get into A ention One, but I always encourage my students to just “go for it.” With no time to discuss or prepare choreographic fireworks, I play the recording and tell the students to make up something and embrace the awkwardness. e excerpt plays; they wiggle, and lean, and giggle, and look around desperately for someone to o er something promising. e short excerpt finishes and we then take sixty seconds to play with some of the improvised choices that came up in the first awkward run. A ention One is the beginning of noticing what feels. It is not the simple naming of the objective facts in the score. It is the turning toward the subjective, personal experience and noting how it fits with the music we are moving to. Ninety seconds in, we are already entering A ention Two.
e actual making of the plastique is a backand-forth game of trying out ideas and seeing what fits. Some gestures work and others fall flat. When experimenting in an ensemble, we find that some arrangements of bodies beside bodies help make the score clearer, while other choices obscure the music. Some choices are tremendously clever and fun and fancy while others are more mundane, but the only choreographic choices that should find their way into a plastique animée are those that illuminate or demonstrate the musical motion of the score. A ention Two is not simply finding things to do to fill up the time of the performance. It is to find gestures that reveal the music.
I tell my students, “Plastique animée is not a dance. It is a realization of the experienced gestures in a selection of music.”
STEPHEN NEELYIn A ention One, students study the score and improvise movement to it. Photo by Michelle Li.
A ention ree is the real point of the exercise and is where we see the true value of the practice. A ention ree is woven in with A ention Two as we realize that not all gestures fit (objective analysis), and not all fi ing gestures feel right (subjective interpretation).
Up to this point, students were led through a period of gestured improvisations and were challenged to make choreographic choices. e A ention One work is not always fun or obviously enriching. Sometimes it can feel silly, and for some students, awkward. A ention Two is more rewarding in that we get to do some planned movement, but it is still less clear how the exercise is deepening one’s personal musicianship. A common a itude encountered from students in professional training is, “Why are we doing this?”
A careful teacher will be there to aid the student in recognizing the value of the exercise and can help them see the artistic process they are involved in. Every time the mover improvises an awkward motion for a given moment of music, they immediately make a value judgment. e motion either fits or it does not. For the choices that do not, we cringe and throw them away. For the gestures that work, we are likely to keep them, feel congruence with the music, and use these as the basis for our evolving choreography. It is in the A ention ree phase where we start to understand that we have had an instinct for musical feeling all
along. is is a revelation for many students. e fact that not all motions fit is proof that “music feels” and that “music feels personally to me.” e student likely will not have words to describe why one gesture choice feels be er than another, but we can easily agree that not everything fits. We cannot just fill the space with anything because, at the root of it, feeling is motion. ere is musical feeling which is manifested as motion in the experiencing body, and there is overt gestural motion, which also manifests as personal aesthetic or feeling in the experiencing body.
Plastique animée pushes us into the highest levels of artist interpretation. Once we toss the choreographic choices that do not fit, we are led to a range of choices that do fit. We come to realize there are multiple gestures that could fit any single phrase. It is then the job of the interpreter to weigh and balance and assess each of these choices against one another, honing the decisions to the best choreography of the day. While we might find five di erent options for a given phrase at today’s rehearsal, we also acknowledge that the options are not aesthetically equal. ey all fit, but one is bolder, and another uses more space, and one is busy while another is subtle. One choice depends on greater connection with my colleagues and another shows unison motion but separate trajectories. us the infinite realities of true interpretation come to light.
When introducing plastique animée, di erent pieces are more and less appropriate for di erent students. A good piece has a mix of technique, expressivity, density, and complexity that match the interpreter. Here are three pieces that university students have presented successfully in my classroom.
• Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, ii. Assez vif et bien rythmé
A contemporary-sounding pizzicato piece with an urgent character that later becomes melodic with bowed playing. The instruments of the string quartet either play together or take turns in the lead role, which can help guide students in their onstage groupings and texture.
• Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor, 2nd movement
A beautiful yet frantic scherzo and trio with elements of canonic playing between the three instrumentalists. The B section features a change in meter from 3 to 4, which can be a nice moment for students to choreograph.
• Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, “American” B.179: iii. Molto Vivace
A lovely American-sounding piece in ABABA form where the B section uses the theme of the A but in minor. Elements of a bird call can be heard in some of the melodic lines.
It is noteworthy that in each of these pieces, there are lots of notes! That is to say, one cannot (should not) a empt to find discrete movements for every note. Instead, selections such as these require the interpreter to choose—what of the complexity is so salient that it must be brought to the front and demonstrated in gesture? Much of the point is that di erent interpreters will choose di erent lines, di erent emphases, di erent motions to reveal their own embodied music. Every new artist reveals something di erent and personal about the selection.
Listen to these pieces at linktr.ee/dalcrozeusa
Whilethere are many opinions in our community and in our histories for the importance of plastique animée in Dalcroze training, I am happy to champion the practice as a tool for analysis. Plastique grants strategies that not only encourage the interpretation of a score, but demand a comparison of interpretation against the live performance of the body in motion. In plastique, the interpreter is called to literally demonstrate their choices. ese amount to value decisions. We are confronted with actual dilemmas in artful interpretation. e novice might look at the score and assume that every note is as important as the other. We hear this subconscious opinion in every child’s sonatina performance that seems to emphasize each eighth note as the next most important moment of the piece, resulting in playing note to note (a plastique animée of this interpretation would have hundreds of equal length gestures, each one revealing the next eighth-note motion). Master interpreters know there is a ranking of musical gestures. ere are gestures at the level of the eighth note, but also of the quarter note, and the half bar, and whole bar, and two bars, and larger and larger (and smaller and smaller!).
We can find awareness of gestures embedded inside greater gestures embedded inside meta gestures.
e notion of gestures embedded in or encapsulating others is well understood in general music education. However, it was not until I was exposed to plastique animée that I started to understand how we can also choose to value one level of these above others. Rather than always going with default or instinctual choices, plastique animée provides a working ground for various interpretations, o ering clear options to value one line or motive or motion above another. One cannot value everything equally. When noting the various engagement options, the interpreter understands that we cannot acknowledge the four-bar and the embedded two-bar phrase equally at the same time. e act of interpretation is recognizing the multiple choices and then ranking one choice above the others. In this way, our choices reflect our values. Plastique animée is the overt demonstration of these values.
As we work through any given selection, we start with unrehearsed guesses—hunches as to what works. It is telling how o en we change our minds when engaging in the process of a entions one, two, and three. Logical-
ly, a certain choice seems to make good sense, yet when tested somatically, many of these logics are discovered to not actually reflect our musical values, requiring more searching and more revision—all of which is revealed through the personal body in motion.
“Music is supposed to feel.” is is a statement we try to keep front and center in all my adult musicianship classes. Music feels, and feeling requires motion, and plastique animée is a way to try and vet various motions, phrase by phrase, gesture by gesture, until we have an interpretation that reflects our values. At the university, I have taken to describing plastique animée as the Dalcrozian Analytical Technique where the point of the exercise is to discover, vet, and prove “in what ways does this music move?” We begin with a claim that all music is either yearning toward or away from moments of crusis. e plastique animée requires the interpreter to support that claim and prove the choices are true through their eu-rhythmic “good-flow” demonstration.
Plastique animée is so rich an exercise that it would not be possible to include all its uses, versions, or outcomes in a single article. at said, I would like to o er a few more notes for clarification.
The mover(s) involved in creating a plastique animée are permi ed any gesture they believe reflects the motion of the music. Some motions are very small and quick, pulling our a ention to a micro level of the score, and other choices reflect grand and extended gestures, motions that span great distances—again, pulling our a ention to macro layers of the musical motion. As a teacher in the method, I encourage the broadest range of expressive movement possible (gestures in all levels of space, gestures near and far from the body, gestures that lead with any part of the body, gestures of varying tempi and rhythms, and a rich a ention to intentional, trajectory-filled motion versus directionless motion).
Dancer technique is not a requirement. While we all aspire to greater technique in all our performance, it is very acceptable to mount a plastique animée at any point in your Dalcroze journey. We conduct the exercise with young children, older bodies with limited mobility, and everyone in between. Greater technique simply a ords greater expression. While it certainly has several things in common with dance, realizing the goals of the plastique animée is not dependent on dancer training or on dancer a entions. I tell my students, “Plastique animée is not a dance. It is a realization of the experienced gestures in a selection of music.” It is more like the act of conducting an orchestra than dancing at the ballet. The conductor simply a empts to embody the score for the performing ensemble.
We always learn new information when placing the literal body in motion compared to merely thinking or abstractly feeling our way through a selection of music. At the root of all Dalcroze work is the soma—the feeling-experiencing body. The power of the work is in the a ending to this first instrument, the experiencing body. We are familiar with the more traditional approach to interpretation where one scans a score and makes choices about the performance through thinking and logic. These choices can be conceived and tested separate from a feeling body and, in that way, might fall short in the actual act of performance. Plastique animée separates authentic gestures from superficial, ill-conceived, and untested gestures. It is for this reason that many students continue using plastique animée as part of their music interpretation practice years a er taking their last eurhythmics class.
When critiquing a plastique animée for authenticity, one can start by simply asking, “What still feels awkward?” The exercise is e ective in pointing out the passages where the mover has no meaningful interpretation compared to other passages where the artistic vision is strong. I tell my students, “If it feels o , it is.” At the end of a successful project, there should be no moment without thoughtful eurhythmic trajectory—in other words, there should be good flow. There is something about the body in motion paired with sound that e ciently highlights a focused or unfocused artistic vision.
Solo projects are useful as they force the performer to choose the single most important thing to realize at any given moment. Yes, one might a empt to show one line with feet while also demonstrating another line with the torso, but the strongest choices rise quickly to the top. In the plastique animée, our musical values are on clear display.
Ensemble projects are wonderful, of course, for the collaboration and sharing of ideas. They also allow the group to show multiple layers in the music at once. Primary a entions versus secondary gestures, counterpoint, and emboldened unisons are all possible once there are multiple partners.
When looking for models of musical excellence and interpretative prowess, we cite conductors as oft-applauded musical leaders. The conductor of an orchestra or opera is called upon to lead the ensemble in a singular vision. Internationally, the primary tool of the conductor is gesture. For all the words and descriptions anyone might offer, conducting uses simple leans, swings, and heaviness and lightness of the gesturing body to relay the deepest messages. I have come to introduce plastique animée as a form of amplified conducting, where we are attempting the same rich sharing as the main stage conductor. However, in plastique animée, we are not bound to a podium with only two arms, a stick, some leaning, and raised eyebrows. The Dalcrozian can conduct their interpretation with their whole body and with their whole body in concert with multiple bodies, all attempting to share the unfolding movement in the music. When I frame this historic practice as a tool for analysis, and when I make clear the connections to becoming a master interpreter, the exercise not only hits a chord with my students, it truly becomes one of the most significant interactions we share in our lessons. ■
design, the body, aesthetics, performance, and experience.
It’s not often that we encounter a eurhythmics lesson without hearing one of these quintessential phrases. They are an integral part of a eurhythmics class and an indicator that students are experiencing one of several frequently used pedagogical strategies: association, dissociation, or quick reaction. Each is a powerful teaching tool for the Dalcroze educator.
Mary Dobrea-Grindahl, Diplôme Supérieur
“WHEN I SAY CH A N G E, CHANGEBETWEENYOUR HAND S AND FEET.”
“ C LAP THEBEAT . ”
Ateacher plays a pa ern and the students clap it; student A draws a line through space and student B mirrors it; a class sings in unison while clapping the rhythm of the song they are singing. ese are all examples of association experiences in a class.
Associations provide foundational listening and movement experiences for students; they are building blocks. A er teaching college students for over thirty years, I know that students love demanding physical and musical exercises, but I’ve also learned that simplicity ma ers; associations provide simplicity. I use associations in multiple ways in a class.
when an element (musical or otherwise—a beat, a rhythm, a touch, or a gesture) occurs exactly the same way in two or more voices simultaneouslyPhotos by Kathryn Nockles.
When teaching students who are experiencing eurhythmics for the first time, I use association between the piano and their stepping or clapping to introduce the beat in the simplest, most direct way, playing only what students will clap or step. is builds confidence and sets the stage for success while simultaneously teaching students that the piano provides structure and guidance in the class.
I o en use the same technique when introducing a new topic; my goal is for students to experience a series of small successes as we gradually build to the big challenge over the course of a lesson.
Imagine your lesson plan or long-term goal includes using a follow in class. My mo o is “every good follow begins with a follow.” In a typical follow, students step a rhythm or pa ern, and the teacher improvises over it with increasing complexity, using syncopations, hemiola, character changes, and other musical elements. Students need to hang on to the rhythm, stepping accurately and musically throughout the exercise.
I prepare students for successfully executing a follow by playing exactly what the class steps, first in a simple, pure way, gradually adding di erent dynamics, characters, etc., but still playing only the rhythm. is helps hone their listening skills and adjust to changes in tempo and character without added rhythmic complexity.
Sometimes, students need ideas to spur their movement vocabulary, and I use an association exercise to lead them down a new path. Most o en this is as simple as asking students to imitate a gesture I create. (Because the association is with gestures, I refer to this as a physical association rather than an association between a musical element.)
Eventually, I say, “Ok, you’re on your own,” or “Pair with a friend; choose a leader and copy what you see.” I then go back to the piano to improvise as they continue exploring.
To set the stage for a more difficult exercise
To expand a group’s movement vocabulary
when two or more different elements occur simultaneously
Thedissociation may occur between what
I play and what students step (I play divisions, they step the beat, or I play triplets, they step divisions), between their hands and feet (they step the beat while clapping the multiple), or between a gesture they see and how they move (their partner’s arms may gesture overhead while theirs move out to the side). A dissociation raises the level of di culty of an exercise, requiring more concentration and coordination from participants.
Experiences in dissociation encourage physical and aural awareness and are essential to high-level music making. We live in a complex, polyphonic world, and musicians need to develop the ability to perform their part while actively listening to the music happening around them. Jaques-Dalcroze o ers this perspective in Rhythm, Music and Education:
One can imagine counterpoints of all kinds. e interesting and useful thing is to experience—live—them organically. Polyrhythm is facilitated by the cultivation of automatisms. An arm will execute a rhythm automatically while the mind executes the execution of a second rhythm by another limb.1
Just as with association, I use dissociation exercises to teach a specific skill (e.g., beat/division/multiple) and also as a starting point for more complex exercises, like a quick reaction, canon, or follow. When using this strategy in class, it’s paramount for teachers to recognize that they have the power to either set students
up for success or u erly overwhelm them. I work hard to ensure my students have enough experience with each element of the dissociation before I ask to combine them.
For example, we’ll clap and step the beat, then clap and step divisions; once this is comfortable (becoming an automatism), I may add a layer and ask students to clap the divisions while I play the beat, then switch between the two. Some classes need an additional step of pairing students, with each partner performing one of the rhythms (giving the added benefit of social interaction). Once they master each step—which may take three minutes or thirty, depending on the group—they perform the dissociation independently. Typically, I start with
the more “solid” (most o en slower) element in the feet and the quicker in the hands before asking the students to change.
Dissociation exercises turn from moments of challenge to moments of pure joy in a eurhythmics class, particularly when students are asked to perform complex dissociations. I remember well the first time I was asked to step amphibrach (a syncopated rhythm pa ern) tempo primo in my feet and twice as fast in my hands. Despite careful preparation by my teacher, it seemed impossible! Eventually, as I mastered the skill, the sense of accomplishment and joy I experienced was palpable. I’ve watched the same transformation in my students over the years; I think it’s one of the secret rewards of our work.
Example A: Teacher plays the subdivision, students step the beat
Teacher plays: Students step:
Example B: Students clap the upper rhythm, step the lower rhythm
Hands:
Feet:
Dissociation exercises turn from moments of challenge to moments of pure joy
Areassociation creates freedom and enhances the spirit of play for students of any age and level. It becomes, in fact, an automatism, something we can execute completely without thinking, o en while focusing on or simultaneously performing something else. Simply put, automatisms are the Dalcrozian’s answer to multitasking. Automatisms allow us to shi our focus from one task to something new or more di cult and to trust our physical capabilities.
Do I use automatisms in class in the same way I use other strategies? No. Mostly, they are
something I observe, a sign I can challenge students with a more di cult exercise. But I can’t imagine executing many other exercises—a dissociation, ostinato, canon, polyrhythm— without the benefit of an automatisms.
Jaques-Dalcroze understood the vital role automatisms play in our daily lives. In Rhythm, Music and Education, he wrote, “ e be er our lives are regulated, the freer we become in every way. e more words are included in our vocabulary, the more our thought is enriched. e more automatism possessed by our body, the more our soul will rise above material things.”2
Automatisms are the Dalcrozian’s answer to multitaskingEurhythmics students work to automatize the Dalcroze arm beats in 5. Photo by Kathryn Nockles.
when the teacher uses a signal to motivate a change in movement through one of four means: verbal, aural/musical, visual, or tactile
If there is a classic exercise in the eurhythmics experience, the quick reaction may be it.
I remember my first eurhythmics class when my teacher said, “And when I say ‘change,’ you’ll change between hands and feet.” My eyes got big and I thought, “You want me to do what?” I never thought this was a skill I could master, and certainly, in that moment, I never realized how much fun quick reaction exercises could be. Musicians need to be flexible, ready for change, and prepared for the unpredictability of performance. Quick reaction exercises serve to develop these skills while allowing teachers to reinforce new concepts and build the level of challenge in a class.
In a quick reaction exercise, the teacher uses a signal to motivate a change in movement through one of four means: verbal, aural/musical, visual, or tactile. Each challenges students di erently and develops other skills, such as listening, coordination, and concentration, in various ways.
Here, the teacher (or a student) gives a verbal cue (“change,” “hip,” “hop,” etc.) to stimulate change. e frequency of the signal is one component that determines the level of di culty of the exercise. When I’m introducing a topic, I may signal change at the end of a phrase; as students master the skill, I increase the frequency to add a layer of di culty.
One of my favorite things to do in a class is to choose an interval (each measure, for example) to say “change,” to set up a habit, then change the interval at which I give the signal. Invariably, students have been lulled into believing the pa ern will last forever and get surprised by the sudden lack of change! It’s always a great reminder for them of how musicians can’t stop listening, thinking, and reacting. Unpredictability is fun.
Laced into the teacher’s improvisation, an aural quick reaction uses music to signal a change. An easy example of an aural reaction is playing for a locomotor skill—a march—then changing to another—a skip—using only the music as a guide. No words!
e possibilities are endless: Music in major may indicate stepping forward; in minor, backward. ree notes played in the bass might indicate tapping the floor; a trill in the soprano means turn around or change direction. Aural reactions are fun and help develop listening skills.
Here, students need to watch the teacher (or a partner) to execute a change. e teacher might tap beats on their head, and students imitate. en the teacher switches to shoulders, then knees, and students make each change with them.
A more challenging visual reaction might use gestures to indicate specific rhythm pa erns. For example, in compound meter, arms overhead indicate divisions; arms extended down, the beat; out to the side, a skip; and in toward the chest, short-long. e class claps or sings the rhythm as the teacher moves between pa erns; a student could lead the exercise while the teacher plays, leading to interesting experiences with phrasing and cadences. To add another layer, split the class in half. One group watches the right arm; the other, the le , and magically, the quick reaction also becomes a dissociation exercise.
Visual reactions can be helpful to change the pace of a class, or to use when the teacher feels a need to be with the group physically rather than at the piano. ey provide opportunities for students to lead an exercise. ey also help students learn to “hear” music in their heads when it’s not being provided for them, enhancing their musical imagination and providing a pathway to improvisation.
Here, the signal for change is indicated by touch. is may be the least frequently used type of reaction, but, like an aural/musical cue, is an e ective way for teachers and students to communicate without words.
Imagine students seated in a circle. One person walks around the outside of the circle. If they tap someone’s head, that person claps the beat; shoulders, divisions.
Another possibility: in pairs, one student taps beats (or a pa ern) on the shoulder of their partner, who responds by clapping, articulating, or improvising a melody in rhythm.
A fun exercise is to place students in a line. e student in the back taps a rhythm on the person in front of them, who does the same to the person in front of them; when the teacher says “change,” everyone turns around and the rhythm “changes” direction. Warning: silliness can easily ensue!
Placing the signal to change is essential to successful execution of any quick reaction exercise. Give the cue too soon and students may try to change before it makes musical sense; too late, and the teacher sets the class up for failure. When I execute a quick reaction in class, I think anacrusically so that placement of my signal aligns rhythmically with the musical element.
Association/dissociation and quick reaction exercises are closely related: an association may quickly turn to a dissociation as the teacher starts to improvise over a rhythm and layers a new skill; that dissociation may then become the basis for a quick reaction exercise. ese strategies teach listening, coordination, concentration, and memory and are a valuable asset in a eurhythmics teacher’s cache. ■
1 Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Rhythm, Music and Education, trans. Harold Rubenstein (Ashford, Kent: e Dalcroze Society, 1967), 70.
2 Jaques-Dalcroze, 61.
Mary Dobrea-Grindahl, Diplôme Supérieur, is Professor Emerita at Baldwin Wallace University where she enjoyed a multi-faceted teaching and performing career for over 30 years. She is Vice Chair of the Dalcroze Society of America Board of Trustees, a member of the PDC (Professional Development Commi ee), and served as editor of the American Dalcroze Journal. Mary trained teachers as a faculty member of the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Summer Academy and the University of Maryland, College Park; she also worked at the Institute for Jaques-Dalcroze Education in Bethlehem, PA. As a clinician, her workshops focus on using eurhythmics to develop artistry. Mary is dedicated to using music to bring art to members of underserved communities; her current passion is developing ways to use eurhythmics to teach reading literacy to children.
Originally published in the American Dalcroze Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2
Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s vision of musical education was joyful and kind. He said, “It is the function of teachers, by care and perseverance, to create in students’ souls the ray of joy.” (Rhythm, Music and Education, 1915)
Herbert Henke connected this to the delight of puzzles. In a 1999 interview he said, “It’s vital to arouse curiosity when you teach music. You must o er a bit of surprise, like completing a puzzle” (For the Love of Teaching, 1999). Here, in Herb’s own words from vol. 22, no. 2 (Winter/Spring 1996) of the American Dalcroze Journal, is the joy—and intrigue—of musical puzzles.
Explore more of the archive at dalcrozeusa.org/adj
There is no doubt that Émile Jaques-Dalcroze was a clever, imaginative teacher. One only has to read eyewitness accounts of his eurhythmics classes or consider his solfège-rhythmique approach to the teaching of ear training and sight singing to verify this description of him. Today we would probably call many of his teaching techniques “game strategies” because they contain the elements of fun and challenge. Reading a simple scalar melody with insertions of di erent key signatures every few measures, for example, requires quick-reaction and alert awareness of whole- and half-step placements. Meeting the challenge and hearing the abrupt key shi s can provide amusement and a sense of accomplishment that leads the reader to want to repeat the exercise with a new set of key signatures.
Jaques-Dalcroze emphasized that his teaching approach should be adapted to fit each teacher’s particular strengths, interests, and se ing. Eurhythmics is not a step-by-step
method that never varies, even though there is a logical sequence for learning that underlies the teacher’s planning. is pedagogical freedom has been both a strength and a deterrent in the dissemination of Jaques-Dalcroze’s ideas. e freedom has allowed eurhythmics to be adapted for use in many di erent environments—artistic, educational, and therapeutic. However, the expectation that the teacher must take the initiative to develop a teaching plan rather than follow a preconceived set of instructions dissuades many persons from commi ing themselves to the use of eurhythmics in their work.
e playing card game strategies described in this article should be considered as possible teaching ideas that might fit under the umbrella term of eurhythmics. Would Jaques-Dalcroze have approved them? Who knows, but they do contain elements of fun, challenge, and easy manipulation of simple material that are the hallmarks of eurhythmics teaching. ey also require the student to concentrate, to respond to aural stimuli, and/or to produce tonal pa erns on command. e strategies reflect the author’s interest in puzzles and solitaire, both of which are wonderful devices to avoid dozing o while mindlessly watching television. Everyone who reads this article is encouraged to try playing each game with a set of playing cards while si ing in a comfortable chair with a lap board or in front of a desk or table. en shu e the cards and play the game again. Your ability to sing scale degrees and intervals will be improved with practice.
ose who use the playing card game strategies must be careful to adapt the level of di culty for their own teaching situations. Success comes in the careful balancing of challenge and fun: too simple is boring and too hard is frustrating. Feel free to change content and to invent di erent strategies as “spin-o s” from what is presented here.
For the following strategies, each person should have one or more sets of playing cards, ace (1) through eight. For the teacher’s use, a set of giant-sized cards purchased in a novelty shop will be an advantage. Playing cards are an advantage because they can be read easily from more than one position. If playing cards are not available, it’s simple to make facsimiles on 3x5 file cards. It is helpful to have a mixture of black and red numerals on the cards. When the games require students to work together, they should sit on the floor or around desks/tables, pairs facing each other or in small circle groups. O en it is advisable to have two or three students sing while sharing the same cards in order to help one another be successful.
Games in which the cards represent scale degrees: Each card represents the number of a major scale degree. Use any keys that are comfortable to sing or play. Eventually, these games can be played in the minor mode or even in other modes if the instructor wishes.
Games in which the cards represent intervals: In these games, each card number represents an interval. Naturally, students tend to be confused by this change from the preceding games. One way to deal with the confusion is to use only black numbers for scale degrees and red numbers for intervals. Most of the games deal with the intervals that occur within the diatonic major (or minor) scale. For instance, in the major scale “1 – 3” is a major third, “4 – 2” is a minor third.
The teacher holds up each card in random order for the students to sing. The student may respond by singing syllable names or numbers, depending upon the teacher’s pref- erence. The cards are shu ed and the game is repeated. The obvious adaptation is to begin with only 1’s, 5’s, and 8’s, or only 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s, or whatever limited number of pitches the teacher thinks is appropriate for the group.
Students turn up their own cards and work individually. Another possibility is for the students to sit in a circle, each turning up one. Each student sings the pitch indicated by the card and the group immediately follows by echo-singing that pitch or by singing the correct pitch if the individual student erred.
The teacher plays a scale degree and the student puts down the appropriate card from the ones held. When all of the cards are put down the entire group of students sings the pitches in order from le to right. Again, the game can be as di cult or as simple as the teacher determines. For example, it could be played with just two di erent pitches: “1” and “3.” Everyone, of course, must have the same number of cards, such as four “1’s” and four “3’s.”
Put down a vertical double row of cards. An example might be “2 – 5 – 4 – 8” in the row to the le and “3 – 1 – 6 – 7” in the second row. The student must sing “3 – 2,” “1 – 5,” “6 – 4,” and “7 – 8.” If desired, the student can be directed to sing each interval twice using the words “3 – 2, major second,” “1 – 5, perfect fi h,” etc.
Each student has eight cards representing a major scale. The teacher plays four intervals such as “2 – 5, 8 – 7, 3 – 1, 4 – 6.” The students place the correct cards down in front of them. Be sure to ask the class to sing what they have put down in front of them a er the cards are in place.
The teacher holds up cards in random order a er establishing the pitch on which each interval is to be created. If “1” is the first pitch and each interval is sung ascending, then the card numbers coincidentally represent both intervals and scale degrees. But if “8” is the first pitch and each interval is to be sung descending, the card numbers truly represent only the intervals to be sung. Other scale degrees should
This game can be played with the teacher holding up the number cards or with two or more students placing cards on the table in sequence. The first pitch sung is “1.” The card shown indicates the interval to be sung. The next interval shown by the next card is to be sung from the last pitch, and so on. The person showing the card would announce “ascending” or “descending.” For example, if the key is C and the first four cards are “4-ascending, 6-descending, 2-ascending, and 3-ascending,” then the pitches to be sung would be “C – F, F – A, A – B, B – D.” (The underlining represents pitches below “1.”)
also be used as the first pitch for each interval. The issue of ascending or descending intervals must be decided by the teacher. The direction to be sung can be announced each time. Another possibility is to use the playing card suits. For example, if red cards are being used, the hearts can represent ascending intervals and the diamonds can represent descending intervals. If both ascending and descending intervals are to be sung from a given pitch, remember to choose a key that is vocally comfortable.
Individuals can practice singing both scale degrees and intervals by dividing cards into two piles of black and red numbers. Turn up a black card and sing that scale degree. Turn up a red card and sing that interval ascending or descending from the pitch sung on the scale degree. Turn up another black card for a new scale degree and another red card for a new interval to be sung. Another more di cult version of this game is to turn up the red card first and then the black card. The challenge is to make the black card scale degree the second note of the interval to be sung.
8 ♦ 4 ♣
The cards can be used to go beyond diatonic interval singing. For example, use just two suits—hearts representing major and spades representing minor. Decide on the first pitch from which each interval is to be built. Then sing ascending or descending major or minor intervals according to the card shown. As in Game No. 8, it can be more di cult to use the agreed-up- on scale degree as the second note of the interval rather than the first.
Students have both red and black cards representing as many intervals as the teacher wishes to use. In this game red signifies a major interval and black signifies a minor interval. A beginning experience might be to use just the numbers “2, 3, and 5.” The teacher then plays either melodic or harmonic inter- vals of major and minor seconds, thirds, and fi hs. The students place red or black cards on the table in the order of the intervals played. When checking accuracy a er all of the intervals are played it is a good idea for the teacher to play each interval and ask the stu- dents to echo-sing it.
Skill development requires practice. However, repetition without thought or without change becomes very tiresome and unproductive. e advantage of using card games lies in their easy manipulation of basic musical material, the fun of using playing cards in an unorthodox way, and the need for students to react actively and quickly to aural and visual stimuli. e games will be enjoyed if the teacher carefully adapts them to match the students’ level of musical development so that a feeling of success rather than frustration is engendered. When all of these considerations are taken into account, the games can be a valid part of the eurhythmics experience. ■
Herbert Henke (1931–2015) was Emeritus Professor of Eurhythmics and Music Education at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Prior to his Oberlin appointment, he taught at the University of Maryland and in the Oberlin and Cleveland public schools. Dr. Henke was active as a clinician in eurhythmics choral music and music education throughout the United States, Western Europe, Taiwan, and Japan. He had extended teaching residencies in Australia, Germany, and Sweden and served as choral director for the American School in London and as a music consultant in El Salvador and Costa Rica. Dr. Henke authored numerous articles on integrating eurhythmics into choral and instrumental training.
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Withgenerous help from the Dalcroze Society of America, I had the opportunity to continue my Dalcroze teacher training at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Dalcroze Academy (dsrda) in Dallas, TX, from July 18-30, 2022. Under the direction of Dr. Jeremy Di us, Diplôme Supérieur, the faculty at dsrda inspired and challenged me, encouraging me to stretch my skills to the best of my ability. e experience was transformational, and I le the academy brimming with ideas to use with my piano and music theory students.
During the two–week Professional Certificate course, each day was filled with new learning experiences, both in formal class se ings and informal exchanges with my peers. Our days included movement warm-ups led by Dawn Werme Pratson, where she would lead us through combinations from di erent somatic practices drawn from Bartenie to tai chi. It was a wonderful way to begin the day.
Eurythmics classes occurred each day, coupled with pedagogy lessons. During pedagogy lessons, students created lessons according to Dalcroze principles and had the opportunity to demo-teach these lessons to our class. is was an invaluable experience for me. Not only did I get the opportunity to try out ideas in a safe environment, but I received feedback from my teacher and my peers. Workshopping ideas together helped shape the direction I wanted my lessons to take, and seeing my peers’ lessons helped me see the Dalcroze principles and strategies at work in a number of di erent lessons designed for a wide variety of ages and
contexts. In addition, my eurhythmics teacher Lauren Hogsdon’s knowledge and experience with Dalcroze pedagogy combined with best practices from the wider educational field helped place these philosophies and ideas directly into a practical application.
Solfège lessons have challenged me to reframe the way I conceive of music theory concepts I already know. As a graduate teaching assistant, I have taught aural skills to music majors at the university level, and this reframing of processes to learning aural music theory in a Dalcrozian way has been extremely beneficial for my students. Instead of lecture before skill acquisition (as many music theory textbooks advocate), changing to a theory follows practice model allows students to take ownership of their skills and transform music theory from something that only exists on the page to something deep in the body and inner consciousness.
In a strange twist of events, I sustained a fracture to one of my fingers during the third day of the workshop (yes, scarves were involved…). is had substantial implications for improvising at the piano, as well as many other areas needing to be assessed. e faculty at dsrda could not have been more supportive in both validating my concerns not only as a Dalcroze student, but as a pianist. For improvisation at the piano, with the help of Jeremy Di us and Bill Bauer, I modified my movement improvisations to only use the le hand, and rewrote progressions so that I could play both chords and motifs with one hand. While a finger injury is never an ideal situation for a pianist,
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rough this program, we are able to assist serious students at a Dalcroze training center. Please consider donating to support the next generation of Dalcroze educators.
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what I gained from the experience was an important lesson for me as both a musician as well as a human being. e compassion and support from the faculty and students helped me grow in ways I had not expected, but am grateful for nonetheless.
I have deep gratitude to the dsa for its support of my continued Dalcroze training through the Dalcroze Society of America Memorial Scholarship. e funds have substantially lightened the financial burden of embarking on my Dalcroze journey.
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A er every DSA Conference, I leave saying three things to myself:
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2. Eurhythmics truly is the greatest way to teach.
3. Thank heavens I’m a Dalcroze teacher!
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Each issue, we highlight a reader’s brief composition that might be used in the classroom. Use this as inspiration for your own improvisations and share the results!
Welcome to the Improv Exchange, a new regular feature in Dalcroze Connections
In it, you'll find inspiration to help kickstart your own improvisations at home or in class.
is issue’s column features the work of Aaron Morrison, a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and passionate music enthusiast. He is currently an undergraduate student studying composition with Nancy Galbraith at Carnegie Mellon University (where Dalcroze eurhythmics is part of the curriculum), graduating this May. His music is influenced by jazz pianists, minimalist composers, and video game soundtracks, among countless other sources of inspiration.
Like the play of light on an early spring morning, “Spring Rain” has a bright but wistful feeling. e harmonic backdrop moves between perfect fourths and major thirds, diatonic harmony in G b, and relationships of thirds as the sunlight breaks through in the lovely B b major at the end.
You might start by using chord tones to create a melody (taking the lead of the actual melody), especially as the harmony planes up and down. Enjoy the release into the G b major tonality at bar 13 when it finally lands on the ii7-V7 (A bm7 to D b7), and indulge yourself in the lovely major third of the final chord before the clouds dim again.
If you feel up to it, share your results with Dalcroze Connections, whether it’s a realized composition, an audio file of your playing, or an anecdote of how your students responded.
To get you started, we shared some of our own variations on this piece at dalcrozeusa.org/blog, You’ll also find Aaron’s own chord voicings and our interview with the composer.
Share an improvisation this piece inspired or submit a new composition for next issue!
We’ve republished a lesson plan created and used by an experienced Dalcroze teacher, making some annotations along the way to help deconstruct the activities and the ideas behind them. Annotations by Katie Couch.
Here we have an aural reaction in which students react a er the musical signal (because they don’t know when it’s coming). The signal should be randomized to keep the student’s a ention sharp.
Elda Nelly Treviño Flores (Dalcroze License, PhD) is a professor at the Facultad de Música of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (uanl), professor and coordinator of Programas Dalcroze at Universidad Panamericana, and director of the independent studio Música Viva in México. She o ers workshops and lectures throughout México and abroad. She has been piano soloist of the symphony orchestras of the uanl, and those of Matanzas and Santiago in Cuba in addition to being active as a collaborative pianist. From 2012–2016, Elda Nelly coordinated the Mexican Dalcroze Certification Program at the Conservtorio de las Rosas. She holds a PhD in psychology from the uanl (summa cum laude), a bachelor and master of music in piano literature and pedagogy from the University of Texas at Austin, and the Dalcroze certificate and license from Carnegie Mellon University. She is the representative of the International Federation of Rhythmics Teachers in México and is a member of the publications commi ee of the Dalcroze Society of America.
In this aural reaction, the signal is not changed as frequently or as randomly, giving the students a chance to truly associate with the trochée (as opposed to signaling it a er they hear it).
This is an example of both improvisation, in that the students get to choose how they move, as well as association, as the students are matching their stretches to the music.
A folk dance is a fun way to end a lesson, as it involves the whole group working together in a light-hearted way.
Typically, a trochaic beat is moved as a skip, although how the students step is up to the teacher and their goals.
This type of pa ern is known as a systemization, in which the trochaic rhythm is moved systematically through all of its possible placements in the measure. Then we have a dissociation, where the students step the heard rhythm pa erns as their arms continue conducting the beats. These types of dissociations are di cult, since they require coordination and focus to perform with accuracy.
a. Stretching exercises moving to the measure unit ( d) in # music improvised by the teacher
a. With the music, step the beat in $. The music will mostly consist of quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes. However, when the students hear a trochée ( o ), they make a gesture on the beat immediately after (while still walking)
b. Do the same as before, but now clap on the beat after
c. Repeat the game, but now the meter changes to #
d. Find a partner on the beat after hearing the trochée and clap hands with each other once. Keep eye contact
a. Step and conduct the beats in #. When the students hear the trochée, they step it once on the beat after
b. The teacher improvises music in # , changing the placement of the trochée to any of the beats (1, 2, or 3), playing only quarter notes on the rest of the measure
• Students walk and conduct: they identify where the trochée is, and step accordingly in association
• Once the students understand the previous exercise, create a pattern of four measures: in measures one to three, move the trochée on each beat; measure four has only quarter notes. Step and conduct the pattern several times
a. Students sit in circles of five, each holding a drum
b. Keep the same pattern as the previous exercise: each student plays one measure on the drum
c. Change directions with “HOP ”
a. Teacher gives brief historical context of the mazurka
b. Step the pattern found in the piece while conducting
a. The teacher demonstrates the dance steps of the mazurka
b. Make two circles (in-out) facing each other
c. Dance the mazurka as a circle dance
Changing the game to a partner activity will also change the amount of space used by the students: you might notice them clumping closer together in order to react on time.
This is a fun group activity that involves inhibition/incitation: each student is incited to only play one measure at a time, while keeping the whole systemization in their heads. This is a good tool for assessment on the teacher’s part. Additionally, the verbal cue of “hop” adds an element of fun and surprise.
Each issue, listen to a piece of music and guess what Dalcroze lesson it might be used for. Submit your ideas to editor@dalcrozeusa.org
The twenty-first century Dalcroze teacher o en uses current technology in the classroom to connect with students—including recorded music. We’d like to introduce you to recordings that have been successfully used in a Dalcroze lesson to explore or discover a specific musical goal.
e catch: while we will provide you with the piece (in the form of a link to listen to the track online), you—the reader—will have to guess the musical subject.
Was the piece used in a class on meter? Phrase? Rhythm? Melody? Harmony?
e possibilities are endless, but there will be one correct, and hopefully obvious, answer.
If you’d like to play, take a listen to this track, perhaps move to the music in your space, and email us with your guesses as to the musical goal.
ose who write in with the correct answer will get their names published in the next issue of Dalcroze Connections
If you are a Dalcroze teacher and have a great recording you’d like to share with the community, let us know!
PROMPT: I Love You Truly, by Al Bowlly
ANSWER: Rhythm pa erns
ank you to Edwin Chen, Laura Montanari, and Alex Marthaler who wrote in—Alex got it right!
