Nuance: The Missing Link?

In the 1960s, the renowned Dalcroze teacher Robert (Bob) Abramson had traveled to Geneva to take exams for the diplôme superiuer at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze. He reported to his class in the 1980s (of which I was a student) that for his solfège exam he had taught a lesson from Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s book solfège rythmique.…

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Incitation and Inhibition: A Means to Internalize

by Jeremy Dittus and Eiko Ishizuka The Dalcrozian strategy/technique of incitation and inhibition exists in virtually every reaction exercise we do in eurhythmics, solfège, and improvisation. Simply put, incitation describes the desire to do something while inhibition describes the feeling of suppressing or denying that desire. Because of their symbiotic nature, incitation and inhibition typically…

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Canons in the Dalcroze Classroom

When I was 8 or 9 years old, my mother had me listen to Franck’s Violin and Piano Sonata – she had just bought the LP and she thought I’d be interested in the 4th movement. We were the sort of family that was always singing rounds, but this was the first time I’d heard a…

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Musical 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…

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