Dalcroze Eurhythmics

For the musical group, see Eurythmics. For expressive movement art, see Eurythmy.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze Method or simply Eurhythmics, is one of several developmental approaches including the Kodaly Method, Orff Schulwerk, Simply Music and Suzuki Method used to teach music education to students. Eurhythmics was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze. Dalcroze Eurhythmics teaches concepts of rhythm, structure, and musical expression using movement, and is the concept for which Dalcroze is best known. It focuses on allowing the student to gain physical awareness and experience of music through training that takes place through all of the senses, particularly kinesthetic.

Important Influences on the development of Eurhythmics

Before taking a post teaching theory, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze spent a year as a conductor in Algiers, where he was exposed to a rhythmic complexity that helped influence him to pay special attention to rhythmic aspects of music.

Jaques-Dalcroze also had an important friendship with Édouard Claparède, the renowned psychologist. In particular, this collaboration resulted in Eurhythmics often employing games of change and quick reaction in order to focus attention and increase learning.

Effectiveness of Dalcroze Eurhythmics

A group of 72 pre-school children were tested on their rhythmic ability; half of the children had free-play (35-40 min.) twice a week for a 10-week period while the other half had rhythmic movement classes for the same amount of time. The group that had classes (experimental group) did significantly better than the group that just had free-play (control group). The experiment group scored four or more points better in every area tested than the control group in the final test. This shows that eurhythmic classes can benefit a child’s sense of rhythm (Zachopoulou, Evridiki).

It is hard to find empirical data on Eurhythmics, never mind compare it, since the styles that teachers use differ greatly.

See also

• Rhythmic gymnastics
• Eurythmy, the art of articulating movement originated by Marie von Sivers and Rudolf Steiner in the early 20th century. The word derives from Greek roots meaning beautiful or harmonious rhythm.
• Gurdjieff movements, a system of movement developed by G. I. Gurdjieff and Jeanne de Salzmann in the early to the late 20th century.

External links

• Dalcroze Society of America
• Dalcroze Council of Australia
• Musikinesis has a few pieces of music by Jaques-Dalcroze that can be freely downloaded in PDF format
• Dalcroze Society UK

References

• Hansen, Kristen S., A Musical Game for Every Age-Group. Teaching Music, Vol. 9 Issue 1. EBSCOhost. UWEC McIntyre Library Eau Claire WI. Dec. 1 2006
• Mead, Virginia Hoge, More than Mere Movement: Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Music Educators Journal Feb 1986 v72 n6 p42-46 ERIC EBSCOhost. UWEC McIntyre Library, Eau Claire, WI. 1 December 2006
• Johnson, Monica Dale, Dalcroze Skills of All Teachers, Music Educators Journal. ERIC. EBSCOhost. UWEC McIntyre Library, Eau Claire, WI 1 December 2006
• Swaiko, Nancy. The Role and Value of a Eurhythmics Program in a Curriculum of Deaf Children. American Annals of the Deaf Jun74 119, 3, 321-4. ERIC. EBSCOhost. UWEC McIntyre Library, Eau Claire, WI. 1 December 2006.
• Zachopoulou, Evridiki, Vassiliki Drri, Dimitris Chatzopoulou, Theordoros Elinoudis. The Application of Orff and Dalcroze Activities in Preschool Children: Do They Affect the Level of Rhythmic Ability? Physical Educator; Spring2003, Vol. 60 Issue 2, p51, 7p. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost, UWEC McIntyre Library, Eau Claire WI 1 December 2006