“Dalcroze Connections”
Improv 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 MoreDalcroze Pedagogy: Motivating Repetition and Improving Movement
(adapted from Dittus’s Embodying Music) In each lesson, Dalcroze students will need to engage in a fair amount of repetition until they achieve mastery or automatization of the required skill. This takes time and energy for the student and requires the instructor’s watchful eye to ensure that the students are sufficiently challenged and engaged. Furthermore,…
Read MoreIrregular Measures and Unequal Beats in the Work of Dalcroze and Martin
I. Irregular Measures The rhythmic concept of irregular measures appears in Frank Martin’s 8 Préludes pour le piano. It is also a commonly used subject in Dalcroze education. The term “irregular measures” may be used interchangeably with the term “mixed meter,” and is defined here as metrical changes with a constant, unchanging beat. “Unequal beats”…
Read MoreBehind the Scenes of the Dalcroze Lab
Jeanette Wong in Conversation with Bill Bauer The first Dalcroze Lab was launched in January of 2021, led by Silvia Del Bianco, director of the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva. The idea behind the Dalcroze Lab is to revisit workshop sessions taped at past DSA National Conferences, such as the one held in Miami in January…
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 MoreA Note from the Board Chair
What appeals to me most about the Dalcroze practice is our long history and the degree to which we’ve maintained our connection to the origins of the method for over a century. These traditions have survived world wars, economic catastrophes, the Industrial Revolution, and political upheaval. I can see how our current challenges are fueling…
Read MoreBook Review: Kids, Music ‘n’ Autism: Bringing Out the Music in Your Child
AUTHOR: DR. DORITA S. BERGER PUBLISHER: JESSICA KINGSLEY PUBLISHERS YEAR: 2015PAGES: 261 Before I begin, I must confess: I discovered Dr. Dorita S. Berger’s work by accident — but a great accident nonetheless. While working towards my Dalcroze Certificate, I had the good luck to also be working with a group of occupational, physical, and…
Read MoreConversation with Fabian Bautz
In March of 2017, Fabian Bautz was the featured presenter at the annual Tri-Chapter Workshop for the Dalcroze, Kodaly, and Orff societies of the New York City area. I first met Fabian at the Longy School of Music’s Dalcroze Summer Intensive in 2007. Based in Zurich, Fabian teaches both Dalcroze Eurhythmics and TaKeTiNa, a movement-based…
Read More40 Years of the “American Dalcroze Journal”: A Look Back
It’s humbling to see what our predecessors accomplished with the limited means they had available to them, especially as compared to what we now have at our disposal, what with conference calling, “Skype,” the Internet, etc. No doubt each step in the publication process took longer, with phone calls and “snail mail” instead of email.…
Read MoreBuilding Global Connections: A Conversation with Silvia del Bianco
This conversation took place in November 2015. Director of L’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze since 2006, Silvia Del Bianco holds a singular position in the global community of Dalcroze practitioners. Yet many of us in the United States know precious little about her or the institution she heads. So I’m excited that we are featuring a conversation she…
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