Expressive Singing: Dalcroze Eurhythmics for Voice

Also includes an introduction to Jaques-Dalcroze’s rules of nuance, phrasing, and accentuation to enhance expressive performance with an emphasis on the singer but applicable to any musician.

From the Publisher

All music begins with a physical motion, therefore the first instrument to be trained is the body. J. Timothy Caldwell is internationally recognized for his work in combining principles from Eurhythmics, neurology, and educational psychology in his teaching. For over 30 years, his influence has guided students to professional careers on operatic, Broadway, and concert stages throughout the United States, as well as England and Germany.

In Expressive Singing, he explains that merely hitting the right notes at the right time produces lackluster results. But the rhythmic movement between the notes brings life to performance. Using lively “games,” musical definitions, and pedagogical advice, he shows how easy and rewarding it is to:

• Learn and teach new skills efficiently
• Combine music and movement to develop a rhythmic unity between our hearing, body, and voice.
• Discover ways to feel the musical gestures in the score and transform them into sound that moves the listener.

Caldwell focuses on teaching music, not just vocal technique. Expressive Singing goes beyond a simple framework for the essentials of Eurhythmics. From concept to execution, he shows singers how effortlessly Eurhythmics concepts can inspire each and every performance.

“Caldwell’s ideas will stimulate controversy and independent thinking in terms of vocal pedagogy…[The book] is both provocative and challenging, providing new insights for teaching and performing that should render sterility in both of those spheres a thing of the past. Journal of Singing, November/December 1995.”

While the entire book is relevant to the work of choral directors, those sections that challenge conductors to examine how they think about the approach the fundamental components of music and text as they relate to each other to form an expressive unit are of particular benefit…One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is Caldwell’s gentle but pointed wit, which he uses to prod musicians to reexamine the way they think about music.” Choral Journal, April 1996.