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Education 129 (Principles and Methods of Teaching )

MODULE 4-EDUC 105Ma

Welcome to module 4!

We will now learn about this next teaching methodology- The Dalcroze Method.

Sources: https://dalcrozeusa.org/about-dalcroze/what-is-dalcroze/

https://thevault.musicarts.com/what-is-the-dalcroze-method/

DALCROZE METHOD

The Dalcroze method, also known as Dalcroze Eurhythmics, is another approach music educators use
to foster music appreciation, ear-training, and improvisation while improving musical abilities. In this
method, the body is the main instrument. Students listen to the rhythm of a music piece and express
what they hear through movement. Simply put, this approach connects music, movement, mind, and
body.

Who Created This Method?

This method was developed by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, a Swiss composer, music educator and music
theorist who studied with Gabriel Fauré, Mathis Lussy, and Anton Bruckner.

Dalcroze was born on July 6, 1865, in Vienna, Austria. He became a professor of harmony at the
Geneva Conservatory in 1892, by which time he started developing his method of teaching rhythm
through movement, known as eurhythmics. He founded a school in Hellerau, Germany (later moved
to Laxenburg) in 1910, and another school in Geneva in 1914, where students learned using his
method. Dalcroze died on July 1, 1950, in Geneva, Switzerland. Several of his students, such as ballet
teacher Dame Marie Rambert, used eurhythmics and became influential in the development of dance
and contemporary ballet during the 20th century.
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What Are the Key Elements of the Dalcroze Method?

This method has 3 facets:

 Eurhythmics (Greek for "good rhythm") - Musical expression through movement;

developing musical skills through kinetic exercises. Students learn rhythm and structure by
listening to music and expressing what they hear through spontaneous bodily movement. For
example, note values and rhythms are represented by stepping and clapping.
 Solfege (fixed-do) - Helps develop ear-training and sight-singing skills.
 Improvisation - Using instruments, movement, and voice.

What Are the Key Concepts Learned?

The Dalcroze Method helps foster imagination, creative expression, coordination, flexibility,
concentration, inner hearing, music appreciation and understanding of musical concepts.

The Dalcroze method teaches students concepts of rhythm, structure, and musical expression through
movement. The idea is that students can develop a physical awareness and experience of music using
all of their senses, especially their kinesthetic sense. For this reason, teachers who use the Dalcroze
method in their lessons often teach students through full-body movements before teaching them to
read music. Instructors who use the Dalcroze method believe that using movement reinforces the
concepts they are teaching, with the goal of heightening the students’ awareness and association of
rhythm in the music that they’re learning to play.

History of the Dalcroze Method

The Dalcroze method was developed in the early 20th century by a Swiss musician and educator
named Émile Jaques-Dalcroze. Dalcroze was appointed the Professor of Harmony at the
Conservatoire of Geneva in 1892. He noticed while he was teaching his music lessons that students
learned music more effectively when he included a kinesthetic component. Learning to play music
through physicality was unusual at the time. Similar to the Suzuki method, which would be developed
later, Dalcroze believed that students should be exposed to music early on.

What differentiated Dalcroze’s method was the idea that students should experience music with their
minds and their bodies. Dalcroze, while developing his method, discovered that students weren’t
always coordinated enough for his lessons. For this reason, he prioritized the coordination and muscle
development of the whole body, as early as possible. Once a young student’s body was trained,
Dalcroze believed, they were able to learn music more effectively. Dalcroze’s students physical and
musical training would come to yield faster progress later on in their musical training.
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Philosophy of the Dalcroze Method

The central concept in the Dalcroze method is the relationship between music and body movement.
Dalcroze believed that students who are taught to appreciate music through physicality would
develop a greater sense of rhythm, harmony, and melody. The Dalcroze method provides a multi-
dimensional approach to music learning, which is readily applicable to young students. Dalcroze
found that students, particularly younger students, responded well to a more physical music
education. Their increased engagement meant that they enjoyed learning and playing music more,
which in turn made them better musicians down the line.

Improvisation in the Dalcroze Method

Another central concept of the Dalcroze method is improvisation. Unlike other popular musical
methods, students in programs based on the Dalcroze method are encouraged to improvise, based on
their intuitive knowledge of rhythm. Improvisation is thought to bring together all of the elements of
a child’s understanding and experience of music. Improvisation is especially important for children,
as it is meant to be closer to the nature of childhood play. Improvisation allows a child to interact
directly and spontaneously to music within a range of musical knowledge. Improvisation helps
children to internalize complex elements of music, such as rhythm, pitch, and tone without having to
read a musical score. Children enjoy the improvisational element of the Dalcroze method as it
encourages them to find their way to enjoy and express themselves through music. This increased
enjoyment, especially for younger children, enhances their engagement with their musical education.

How Does the Dalcroze Method Compare to Other Musical Methods?

Because Émile Jaques-Dalcroze did not actually like his approach to be labeled as a method, there is
no set curriculum for music programs based on eurythmics. Many teachers are taught principles and
techniques developed by Dalcroze, but they are free to adapt their programs to the individual needs of
their students. This lack of structure, combined with the emphasis on physicality sets the Dalcroze
method apart from other popular musical methods. For young students, the Dalcroze method is often
effective at engaging them and encouraging them to enjoy the process of learning and playing music.

The Dalcroze method is also different from other contemporary musical methods because of the
emphasis on improvisation. Again, because improvisation encourages children to play with the music
that they are learning, it often increases a student’s enjoyment and development.

Benefits of Dalcroze Education

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The Dalcroze approach can provide benefits for:

 Performers
 Teachers
 Dancers
 Actors
 Young children
 Seniors
 People with disabilities or special needs

Dalcroze Education is a key part of the curriculum at leading institutions, K-12 to collegiate,

around the world. It is so intuitive, from an early age children in Dalcroze classes develop critical
listening, motor, and social skills without even know they’re learning. Yet it can also inspire
musicians to reach for higher levels of performance in their professional development.
No matter what level of training you bring to Dalcroze, you can deepen your musical
understanding and improve your body awareness. 
For musicians:

 Develop a stronger sense of rhythm and harmony

 Unlock easier, more expressive performance
 Heighten listening skills and intuition
 Understand music through the body

For dancers:

 Refine non-verbal expression

 Learn essential musical concepts
 Encourage aesthetic development

For seniors:

 Improve coordination and balance

 Enhance cognitive skills
 Strengthen memory function

Experience musical concepts in a playful manner and use your entire body as a musical
instrument. When paired with private music lessons, Dalcroze Education promotes deep learning
in all musicians.
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Scientific research supports many of the benefits experienced by participants. The Dalcroze

method has even been applied to many diverse fields, including music therapy, team building, and
in mitigating the negative effects of aging.

Dalcroze is joyful and purposeful. Participants develop connections with those around them.
A Dalcroze Eurhythmics Class
In a Dalcroze Eurhythmics class, students are moving in some way: in traveling around the room,
or in gestures with hands, arms, heads, or upper bodies. Their movements are responsive to the
music in the room. The teacher is probably improvising this music at the piano or on another
instrument. (Sometimes recorded or composed music is used.)
The task is typically to move in space using certain guidelines, specific to the musical piece. For
example, the teacher may ask the students to walk around the room, stepping the beat. Then, when
the students hear a specific cue, they should clap the beat instead. The game continues, with the
students challenged to find new ways to express the beat with their body.
The teacher shapes the music not only to the rules of the task, but to what they observe the
students doing. The students, in turn, shape their accomplishment of the task to the nature of the
music – its tempo, dynamics, texture, phrase structure, and style. Change is a constant in each
lesson.

Dalcroze call on us to use expressive gestures to give shape to music.

In a Dalcroze class, the instructor combines these elements through rhythm games, songs, gesture,
and movement.
Certified Dalcroze teachers work in conservatories, universities, public and private schools, early
childhood programs, and private studios. Due to the intensive training process and the many
sophisticated skills required to be a Dalcroze educator, the number of certified teachers remains
small but their impact on music education is significant.
No Dalcroze educator is alike and no class is like any other. The Dalcroze approach allows for
incredible variety in teaching styles and methods. There are many different and unique ways that
Dalcroze educators have used this approach to lead students to discover how they can embody
music.
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