Posts by Michael Joviala
Quick Reactions with a Dalcroze Teacher: Stephen Neely
In this second in our series of teacher profiles, I caught up with Carnegie Mellon professor and director of the CMU Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Teacher Training Center, Stephen Neely. Michael Joviala: Hi Stephen! Give us your Dalcroze origin story in 50 words or less. Stephen Neely: Oh, wow. 50 words? Ok, I’ll try. I was…
Read MoreLesson Plan for 3rd-5th graders
This is a lesson plan I might use in the beginning of the year in a community music school. Where I teach, some students will be brand new to music lessons and Dalcroze, some will be experienced at both, but most will be in between. I try to plan activities that will allow me to…
Read MoreQuick Reactions with a Dalcroze Teacher
This is the inaugural edition of “Quick Reactions with a Dalcroze Teacher”, a new regular feature of the DSA blog. Each month I’ll interview a different Dalcroze teacher. For the premier, I interviewed myself! Q: Give your “Dalcroze Origin Story” in 50 words or less. A: My girlfriend (now wife!) was taking classes with Bob…
Read MoreImprovisation in the Dalcroze Classroom
Along with eurhythmics and solfège, improvisation is one part of Jaques-Dalcroze’s tripartite description of his system of music education. Often associated with on-the-spot instrumental creations, Michael Joviala illuminates how this subject reaches beyond the instrument, the exercise, and the notes. In this article, you will find diverse manifestations of improvisation within a teaching environment, as…
Read MoreSpatial Orientation and Awareness
For many years of my own eurhythmics practice, I focused mostly on trying to coordinate my arms and legs through ever more complicated rhythms. Only recently have I become entranced by one of the very things that makes movement possible—space. It seems obvious: How can you move if you are not aware of the space…
Read MoreMusical Explorations into Meter
Part of a series of posts on the ‘musical subjects‘ I am working with in my classrooms and thinking about as a musician and teacher. You can find more of my writing on music and teaching from a Dalcroze perspective on my blog at https://joviala.com. I often turn to Walter Piston when I want some…
Read MoreGuest Editor’s Letter
Participating in a good eurhythmics class can be a bit like watching a great movie. The director’s filmmaking technique, when it is masterful, disappears once you are swept up in the flow of the movie. It’s only when we emerge from the film that we can marvel at the way it was put together: the…
Read MoreImprov Corner: Fourth Ree to One
This is a kind of two-for-one composition. In addition to the “disappearing division” rhythmic construction, there is an association at work here. Do you see it? Half notes are played as fourths, dotted quarters as thirds and quarters as seconds. The metric system may be interesting for the eurythmics classroom, but a little too restrictive…
Read MoreGeneva Notebook
In the fall semesters of both 2018 and 2019, I lived in Geneva to work toward the diplôme supérieur, which I earned in June of 2020. In this article, I’ll share my experiences and reflect upon a memorable period of my life. The IJD Geneva holds mythic status in the minds of many in the…
Read MoreThe 2020-21 Publications Committee
Over its forty-plus year history, the DSA has consistently released publications that document the activities of its members, generate interest in Dalcroze Education and Dalcroze Studies, and embody its members’ high standards for relevant content—in print, and more recently, online. Today, all of the organization’s publications are overseen by a newly formed—and highly energized—team. It’s…
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