Association, Dissociation, Automatism, and Quick Reaction

“Clap the beat.” “When I say change, change between your hands and feet.” 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…

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Is the Baby Improvising?

Is the baby improvising when it’s crying? Cynthia Lilley says this is a koan (a question for meditation). Might be, but I want to consider it as a real question—that is, an invitation to an answer. Certainly the baby is vocalizing, and certainly the product is unscripted and urgent. But is it improvisation? In order…

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Plastique Animée: The Dalcrozian Analytical Technique

“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…

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Group Activities in the Dalcroze Lesson

Perhaps the most enduring negative side effects of the recent pandemic were caused by the social isolation. Families were segregated during illnesses, schoolchildren were separated from their peers, and communities suffered permanent losses of their members. I found myself missing even the most basic, mundane tasks like grocery shopping, taking my children to local playgrounds,…

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Lesson Plan: Dalcroze with Ages 3-6

Overview This is a lesson adaptable for ages 3 to 6, mid-semester. The subject is Phrase & Form. This lesson is centered around the song “The Birdies Fly Away” (adapted from Humperdinck’s “Hänsel und Gretel”). The musical goals include: The materials one needs for this class includes: Lesson Sequence Opening Circle 1. Trace rainbows in…

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Editor’s Letter

In what may be already obvious to others in this community, Dalcroze work is starting to feel for me like a lifelong journey where the experiences, the creativity, and the people we encounter help us evolve into greater musicians and humans. Dalcroze experiences always leave me with a lot to think about, oftentimes in the…

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Developing Aural Skills with Card Games

Introduction by Aaron Butler 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,…

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Spatial 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…

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Improv Exchange: Aaron Morrison

Welcome to the Improv Exchange, a new regular feature in Dalcroze Connections, the official magazine of the DSA. In this column, you’ll find inspiration to help kick-start your own improvisations at home or in class. The upcoming issue of Dalcroze Connections (vol. 7, no. 2; to be released digitally on May 9, 2023 and in…

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Improv Exchange

Welcome to the Improv Exchange, a new regular feature in Dalcroze Connections. In it, we’ll provide inspiration to help kickstart your own improvisations at home or in class.  Composer Aaron Taylor Our inaugural column features the work of Aaron Taylor, whom Publications Committee member and editor-extraordinaire Michelle Li met during the 2022 CMU Marta Sanchez…

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