jaques-dalcroze - the basic principles

8/12/2019 Jaques-Dalcroze - The Basic Principles

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Submitted by Lorenzo Capitanio

Jaques-Dlacroze – The Basic Principles

Topic:

hat are the basic principles o! the system o! music education de"eloped by#mile Jacques-Dalcroze$ To %hat e&tent and ho% could these principlesha"e application in your o%n teachin'$

Lorenzo Capitanio(#d)(usic #ducation*+, B).ons*+, B(us+, Dip(us

© /001, 2o"ember+ ll ri'hts reser"ed+ Lorenzo Capitanio

CONTENTS PAGE

1.0 INTRODUCTION 2

2.0 JAQUES-DALCROZE PHILOSOPHY 2

2.1 Eurhyth!"# $

2.2 S%&'()* +

2., Ir%!#/t!%

,.0 JAQUES-DALCROZE IN A TRADITIONAL TEACHING PRACTRISE

$.0 CONCLUSION 3

+.0 RE4ERENCES 5

3 /001 Lorenzo Capitanio J/6u*#-D&/"r%7* 8 Th* 9/#!" Pr!"!&*#

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

#mile Jaques-Dalcroze )4567-4870* o! S%iss nationality is hi'hly celebrated !or his %or9

in"ol"in' a philosophy !or music education titled Eurhythmics, a system o! educatin' the

body to %or9 in harmony %ith the rhythmical comple&ities !ound in music+ This essay %ill

discuss the principles o! Jaques-Dalcrozes philosophy to%ards music education and to

%hat e&tent and ho% his principles could be applied to traditional teachin' practices+

2.0 JAQUES-DALCROZE PHILOSOPHY

ccordin' to Chos9y )4856*, Labuta and Smith )488;*, and Jaques-Dalcroze )48;/*, the

de"elopment o! Jaques-Dalcrozes philosophy to%ards music education 're% !rom his

concerns as Pro!essor o! harmony and sol!<'e at the conser"atory o! music in =ene"a+

Chos9y )4856* indicates that Jaques-Dalcroze %as alarmed to disco"er many o! his

students %ere unable to !eel and e&press music adequately e"en thou'h they

demonstrated ad"anced technical s9ills on their instrument+ >urthermore, they displayed

di!!iculty %ith e"en the simplest problems o! rhythm, and o!ten their sense o! pitch,

tonality, and intonation %as inaccurate+

Labuta and Smith )488;* concur %ith Chos9y )4856* su''estin' that Jaques-Dalcroze

%as amazed at the technical s9ills displayed by his students, ho%e"er %as deeply

concerned on their lac9 o! music e&pression+ (ar9 and =ary )488/* a'ree %ith Labuta

and Smith )488;* statin', Jaques-Dalcroze stressed the importance o! trainin' %hat he

called the musical !aculties, as opposed to the common practice o! his time o! teachin'

technique but not emphasisin' musicality+ Labuta and Smith )488;* continue to su''est,

that Jaques-Dalcroze %as increasin'ly troubled by se"eral problems %ith the music

instruction o! the day+ Jaques-Dalcrozes primary concern accordin' to Labuta and Smith

)488;* !ocused on the idea that music history, theory, and other aspects o! the discipline

ne"er came to'ether in a comprehensi"e %ay durin' a students course o! study+ The

student tended to approach harmony, theory, and per!ormance in much the same %ay


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they approached academic sub?ects as a set o! rules to memorize and symbols to

manipulate+ Students %ere unable to hear their harmonic e&ercise, and because

theoretical 9no%led'e %as not internalised their musical e&pression %as %ithout

sensiti"ity+

ccordin' to Chos9y )4856*, @eene )485/*, (ar9 and =ary )488/*, Labuta and Smith

)488;*, Spector )4880*, Jaques-Dalcroze )48;/*, Bachmann )4884*, and Juntunen

)/004*, Jaques-Dalcroze belie"ed the solution to o"ercomin' the problems %ith modern

music teachin', is that it must !acilitate the natural mo"ement o! the human body+

Jaques-Dalcroze came to disco"er a stron' similarity bet%een rhythm in music and the

natural rhythms o! the human body+

Labuta and Smith )488;* indicate Jaques-Dalcroze reasoned that music be'ins, or is

'enerated, %hen human emotion is translated into musical motion+ People sense or !eel

the dynamism o! emotion in "arious parts o! the body in the !orm o! muscular tension and

rela&ation, and they con"ey or e&press this !eelin' to others throu'h 'estures, !acial

e&pression, postures, and the li9e+ An addition, @eene )485/* and (ar9 and =ary )488/*

echo similar "ie%s that Jaques-Dalcrozes method in"ol"es a comple& system o!

e&pressin' music throu'h mo"ement %hich emphasises tone and rhythm+ An order to

implement Jaques-Dalcorzes philosophy his method must !ocus on three 9ey areas, 4*

#urhythmics, /* Sol!<'e, and 1* Ampro"isation+


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2.1 Eurhyth!"#

ccordin' to Chos9y )4856*, @eene )485/*, Labuta and Smith )488;*, and Jaques-

Dalcroze )48;1*, #urhythmics is an approach to music education based on the premise

that rhythm is the primary element in music, and that the source !or all musical rhythm

may be !ound in the natural rhythms o! the human body+ An eurhythmics the body is used

as an orchestra to e&press physical, "ocal, and instrumental rhythms+ Labuta and Smith

)488;* su''est the human body is the means by %hich inner !eelin' is translated into

musical responsi"eness and, consequently, the human body is the !irst musical

instrument on %hich students should recei"e instruction+ An addition, Jaques-Dalcroze

belie"es the elements o! rhythm and dynamics are entirely dependent on mo"ement in

time and throu'h space+ This mo"ement is represented %ith our muscular system,

enablin' us to e&press all rhythmic and dynamic aspects o! music physically+

ccordin' to Labuta and Smith )488;*, Chos9y )4856* and Jaques-Dalcroze )48;1* the

concept o! 9inesthesia became the basis o! this peda'o'y+ Students e&plore all aspects

o! musical sound "ia immediate physical response+ Thus they must learn to listen

intently+ Primary learner ob?ecti"es or eurhythmic trainin' are )4* de"elop attention, )/*

con"ertin' this attention into concentration, )1* de"elopin' a%areness or relationships

amon' personal responses to music, other peoples response s to music, and musical

or'anization and e"ents )i+e+, repetition, and contrast, melodic and rhythmic moti"es,

melodic contour, chan'es in dynamics or tempo* )* de"elopin' a%areness o! %hich

modes o! response are most appropriate in a 'i"en conte&t, and )7* de"elopin' ability to

respond to and e&press all nuances o! sound and !eelin'+ An addition, eurhythmics aims

to emer'e physical !le&ibility )easy and accurate mo"ement and ability to e&press onesel!

throu'h mo"ement* %ith musical ability )increasin'ly discriminatin' response to musical

sound %hether one is listenin' to, per!ormin', analysin', readin', %ritin', or creatin'

music*E )Labuta and Smith, 488;:408*+




Labuta and Smith )488;* continue to su''est the role o! Dalcroze peda'o'y see9s to

e"o9e ones inner hearin'E, to help students internalise ho% mo"ements !eel, loo9, and

sound+ This inner hearin'E also de"elops 9inesthestic ima'ination and memory as

students accumulate a "ocabulary o! mo"ement %ith their attendant sensations, sound,

and ima'es+ Students 'radually internalise musical concepts as a result o! e&periencin'

them, and this internalisation is as much physical and sensate as it is musical and

emoti"e+ Chos9y )4856* states, Jaques-Dalcroze called inner hearin'E the memory o!

muscular sensation+ =iddens )/001* a'rees %ith Chos9y )4856* indicatin' that Jaques-

Dalcroze became a%are that, %hile it %as inner ear %hich percei"ed sounds, it %as the

bodys neuromuscular system %hich responded physically to music+

Physical responses to music %ould include actions such as clappin', s%in'in', turnin',

conductin', bendin' s%ayin', spea9in', sin'in', %al9in', runnin', cra%lin', leapin',

slidin', 'allopin', and s9ippin'+ Jaques-Dalcroze )48;1* belie"ed the abo"e actions

could be associated %ith rhythm in music, there!ore, he ad"ocated that the most potent

element in music, and the nearest related to li!e, is rhythm mo"ement+ Fhythm, li9e

dynamics, depends entirely on mo"ement, and !inds its nearest prototype in our

muscular system+ ll the nuances o! time alle'ro, andante, accelerando, ritenuto all the

nuances o! ener'y, !orte, piano, crescendo, diminuendo can be realised by our bodies,

and the acuteness o! our bodily sensations+

2.2 S%&'()*

>or Jaques-Dalcroze sol!<'e embraced the elements o! phrasin', dynamics, timbre,

te&ture, style, and !orm+ At teaches the student to hear, and to reproduce mentally,

melodies in all 9eys )sin'le and simultaneous* and e"ery 9ind and combination o!

harmony to read and impro"ise "ocally to %rite do%n and use the material !or

constructin' music himsel!+ ccordin' to Chos9y )485/* sol!<'e is the unity o! the ear


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and body combined %ith the spea9in' and sin'in' "oice as the ideal instrument !or the

study o! musical tone, tonal combinations, and tonal relationships+

Chos9y )4856*, Labuta and Smith )488;*, Jaques-Dalcroze )48;1*, Juntunen )/004* and

.edden and oods )488/* and others, a'ree that sol!<'e acti"ities are al%ays a part o!

the Dalcroze class+ Jaques-Dalcroze employs sol!<'e to de"elop the "oice and ear-

trainin', %hich assists students to sin' and identi!y inter"als, sin' son's %ith syllables,

read musical scores, ta9e music dictation and impro"ise "ocally+ Dalcroze emphasised

that a !i&ed-Do solmisation system should be used in order to de"elop students sense o!

music pitch, a%areness o! tonal relationships, and tonal memory+ Learnin' melodic and

harmonic concepts %as achie"ed in much the same %ay they learnt rhythmic ones: by

associatin' mo"ement %ith sound and by respondin' to sound so that by the end o!

e&tended Dalcroze trainin' in sol!e'e some students de"elop near-per!ect relati"e pitch+

2., Ir%!#/t!%

The !inal sta'e to the Jaques-Dalcroze method in"ol"es impro"isation+ Ampro"isation is

!undamental !or all Dalcroze teachers, and accordin' to Chos9y )4856*, Juntunen )/004*,

Jaques-Dalcroze )48;1 G 48;/*, .eddens and oods )488/* and others, a teacher must

be able to impro"ise !reely at the piano in order to create a di!!erent mo"ement !eelin' !or

e"ery e&ercise used durin' a class+ >urthermore, teachers should be able to play piano

accompaniments spontaneously to speci!ic mo"ements impro"ised by the children,

impro"isation %ith the "oice, and %ith other melodic percussion instruments+

=iddens )/001* states, that encoura'in' students to impro"ise %as another means o!

promotin' music as the embodiment o! human !eelin's and emotions+ Ampro"isation %as

in a sense the unity o! sol!e'e and eurhythmics producin' a spontaneous composition,

thereby allo%in' rhythms and musical sounds to be e&plored %ithin the conte&t o! the

students indi"idual personality+ Labuta and Smith )488;* a'ree su''estin' students


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be'in learnin' to impro"ise on instruments and %ith their "oice !rom the be'innin' o!

instruction and the primary ob?ecti"e o! impro"isation is to de"elop s9ill in combinin'

mo"ement )rhythm*, sound )pitch, harmony, phrasin'*, and dynamics in ima'inati"e,

spontaneous, and personally e&pressi"e %ays+

lthou'h, it is at the piano %here the ultimate e&perience o! the Dalcroze method can be

%itnessed, the study o! piano!orte impro"isation )at one, t%o or more pianos* combines

the principles o! rhythm )eurhythmics* and sol!e'e, and teaches pupils to interpret on the

piano and use the musical thou'hts o! a melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic nature

)Jaques-Dalcroze, 48;1*+ =iddens )/001* su''est identical "ie%s statin', the techniques

o! sin'in' and listenin' )sol!e'e*, rhythmical 'estures )eurhythmics*, and spontaneous

creati"e per!ormance )impro"isation* are not discrete elements, but interrelated and

o"erlap as a 'lobal e&perience+ At is piano impro"isation, %hich truly synthesised the

techniques o! sol!e'e and eurhythmics+

,.0 JAQUES-DALCROZE IN A TRADITIONAL TEACHING PRACTRISE

doptin' Jaques-Dalcroze philosophy )eurhythmics* must e"o9e a shi!t in understandin'

!rom traditional teachin' methods )technical mastery* to an a%a9in' o! the human body

as the principle tool !or learnin' music, understandin' music, and musical e&pression+

Juntunen )/004* su''ests there are no sets o! rules in the application o! #urhythmics,

rather #urhythmics should be considered as an approach, an e&perience, or a

philosophy+

ccordin' to Juntunen )/004* applyin' eurhythmics must be'in %ith the student present

abilities, then proceed pro'ressi"ely accordin' to their subsequent responses+

>urthermore, Juntunen )/004*, Chos9y )4856*, Jaques-Dalcroze )48;1*, and others,

ad"ocate that students must not be tau'ht concepts and rules be!ore they ha"e an

e&perience o! the !acts behind them+ >or e&ample, students must e&perience a per!ect


;



cadence 9inesthesitically be!ore they attempt to play it on a piano or transcribe it on

manuscript+ Dalcroze himsel! stated, (y aim is !or students to say o! their studies not HA

9no%, but rather HA ha"e e&perienced, and to ha"e created %ithin them the desire to

e&press themsel"esE )Jaques-Dalcroze, 48;1:61*+

@eene )485/* states, Jaques-Dalcroze belie"ed that a person %as not completely

musical i! he could not respond physically to music+ The !irst steps traditional teachers

can ta9e accordin' to Juntunen )/004* is simply ac9no%led'in' and bein' a%are o! the

body in action and in"ol"in' a simple body mo"ement or 'esture durin' acti"e listenin',

such as conductin' or %al9in'+

$.0 CONCLUSION

An conclusion, current literature clearly indicates that eurhythmics, sol!<'e and

impro"isation are the basis !or Jaques-Dalcrozes philosophy+ Amplementin' his

philosophy requires the teacher to understand the 9inethesitic o! the natural rhythmic

mo"ement o! the human body and its association %ith the nature o! musical rhythm+ An

addition, the combination o! eurhythmics and sol!<'e must combine to e&press students

spontaneous )sound, phrasin', !orm, melody, harmony* and indi"idual artistic creati"ity,

impro"isation+ (odern music teachers ha"e a challen'in' tas9 ahead in applyin'

Jaques-Dalcroze philosophy+ Success in doin' so %ill rely on a shi!t in attitude !rom

ustralian music educators and the ustralian society+


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+.0 RE4ERENCES

Chos9y, Lois, bramson, Fobert (+, =illespie, "on G oods, Da"id )4856*+ TeachingMusic in the Twentieth Century. #n'le%ood Cli!!s, 2e% Jersey: Prenctice .all, pp+ /;-4G 70-68+

=iddens, J+ (ichael )/001*+ Dalcroze and Pianoforte Teaching and Performance:Searching for the Elusive U!eat" Paper !or: Piano!orte Peda'o'y Con!erence:(elbourne, /001+

.edden, @+ Ste"en+, and oods, =+ Da"id+ )488/*+ Students Iutcomes o! Teachin'systems !or 'eneral music, =rades @-5E in F+ Col%ell )ed+* #and!oo$ of %esearch onMusic Teaching and &earning : ' Pro(ect of the Music Educations )ational Conference+2e% or9: Schirmer Boo9s, pp+ 668-6;+

An'ham, #thel )484/*+ HLessons at .ellerau G HLi!e at .ellerau+ An %hythmics of *a+ues,Dalcroze+ London: Constable G Co+, pp+ 5-7 G 77-78+

Jaques-Dalcroze, #mile )48;/*+ Eurhythmics- 'rt and Education+ )Trans+ >rederic9Foth%ell*, 2e% or9: Ben?amin Bloom, pp+ 8;-44; G 4;6-4;8+

Jaques-Dalcroze, #mile )48;1*+ Fhythmic mo"ement, Sol!e'e and Ampro"isation )484*+An %hythm- Music and Education+ =reat Britain: Dalcroze Society, pp+ 60-;8+

Juntunen, (ar?a-Leena G resterlund, .eidi )/004*+ Di''in' Dalcroze, or, Dissol"in' the(ind-Body Dualism: philosophical and practical remar9s on the musical body in action+Music Education %esearch+ 1)/*, pp+ /01-/4+

@eene, + James+ )485/*+ ' #istory of Music Education in the United States+ .ano"er

and London: Kni"ersity Press o! 2e% #n'land+

Labuta, , Joseph+, and Smith, + Deborah+ )488;*+ Music Education: #istorical Contetsand Persectives+ Prentice-.all: 2e% Jersey+

(ar9, L+ (ichael G =ary, l+ Charles )488/*+ ' #istory of 'merican Music Education+Schirmer Boo9s: 2+

Spector, Ar%in )4880*+ %hythm and &ife: The /or$ of Emile *a+ues,Dalcroze+Stuy"esant, 2e% or9: Pendra'on Press, 77-78, 66-;;, G ;8-80+


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jaques-dalcroze - the basic principles

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