Dalcroze 101: Introduction to Eurhythmics

Conventional wisdom holds that meters of five are somehow inherently more difficult than meters of two, three, four, or six. In this session, participants will experience a series of games and songs that connect young children to uneven meters and encourage them to groove naturally with these patterns!

During this demonstration class, Dalcroze students from the BW Community Arts School demonstrate a variety of activities from their studies. Students range in age from 6–12.

Experience a Dalcroze education class from the 2012 National Conference.

Experience a Dalcroze education class from the 2010 National Conference.

Using embodied approaches to ear training, we’ll learn “Che Gusto” by Antonio Caldara, which employs the harmonic progression of descending 5ths. We remember beloved Dalcroze teacher Lisa Parker in this class, who adored this canon.

In this 75-minute collaboration, we will explore the idea of a personal inner tempo and then consider the challenge of “being music” that is at tempos more-than and less-than our authentic selves. How am I to feel the reality of another? With examples from Bach, La Bottine Souriante, and Satie, we will consider the difference between playing the notes of and being the music of another.