DISSOCIATION

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 difficulty 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 offers this perspective in Rhythm, Music and Education:

One can imagine counterpoints of all kinds. The 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 utterly 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 often 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 pattern) 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.