A Qualitative study of Dalcroze Eurhythmics Classes for Adults

Abstract

Dalcroze eurhythmics is an approach to music education which is grounded in music and natural movement; from these elements arise concerns with process, measuring and personal expression which endow the discipline with a qualitative feel.

Emile Jaques-Dalcroze did not give complete directions for promulgating his methods; Dalcroze teachers acquired skills in the classroom as students. The lack of written information about eurhythmics classes is a refrain which appears in many writings on Dalcroze. Using qualitative methods of research, my goal in this study was to distill some of the essential qualities of Dalcroze eurhythmics lessons as experienced by its students and teachers.

At the outset of this study, I observed and video-taped four Dalcroze eurhythmics lessons for adults, each given by a master teacher. Chapters IV through VII are devoted to descriptions of the lessons, followed by my reflections on each lesson. Chapters VIII and IX are based on interviews with teacher and student respondents; in each chapter are presented analyses of significant themes which emerged from the data.

Through the analysis and synthesis of themes which emerged from the interviews and from my theory observations, three over-arching themes emerged. These meta-themes are discussed as characteristics of the four Dalcroze lessons; they are seen against similarities and differences in observations made by teacher and student respondents and by me, and are considered in light of related literature, including works by Dalcroze.

The three over-arching themes that head the following sections are: Theme I: Teaching in these Eurhythmics Classes Was Student-Centered, Indirect, Supporting the Independence of the Students; Theme II: The Eurhythmics Lessons Were Characterized By a Cyclical and Spontaneous Flow From Idea Into Action Into Idea; Theme III: The Educational Ideal of Aesthetics Was Realized in these Classes.