Do You Dalcroze?
I advocate for the Dalcroze approach to music education, and there are many reasons I have found it to be a powerful and meaningful practice for my students. My curriculum is probably 90% traditional Dalcroze at this point, but that might be extreme! Deciding what percentage of your teaching practice comes from this approach takes some reflection. In this post I’ll offer some perspectives and examples. But first…
Housekeeping:
Make sure you’re upgraded to the TEAMM Subscription so you can attend this meeting! I’ll go IN DEPTH on this idea and give all sorts of philosophical and practical thoughts on the utility of numbers in a music curriculum. The TEAMM is growing each and every week and I’m glad to welcome new members all the time! Aside from access to the substantial archive of posts you get tons of content reserved for TEAMM only, as well as individualized coaching from YOURS TRULY and invitations to the workshops/meetings every month! It’s the best $10 you’ll ever spend. (Many of the TEAMM members get their admin to pay for it…)
From the Archive:
Getting Started
Many of the people who subscribe to this SubStack are DEDICATED to the Dalcroze approach and see it as the center-of-the-bullseye for their teaching practice. I can make a strong case for the full embrace of Dalcroze principles, but it is not at all necessary! Dalcroze methods work well as a complement to ANY teaching practice and you should dedicate whatever proportion of time is appropriate for your goals.
Dalcroze activities can really be useful for students as a PART of an array of techniques. You don’t have to abandon all your great Orff Metallophone work or your beautiful solfege sequence. You can simply ADD a Dalcroze-inspired movement component to your teaching and SEE INSTANT RESULTS as well as long range growth.
Dalcroze inspired teaching can bring the following benefits:
A more natural feel for rhythm
An intuitive instinct for meter
Improved behavior and engagement
Natural expression of phrasing and dynamics
Improvisation and Composition skills
When we just sprinkle in a Dalcroze lesson, there are a few considerations. Firstly, you might have to spend a bit more time reinforcing expectations and routines that support this kind of movement. The benefit of doing this work consistently is that the procedures and habits are solidified in a way that allows for more effective movement. I recommend activities that don’t require as much in the way of full-movement routines. Try this one:
The Four Poses
Activities like this can be executed in limited space without practiced procedures and engrained habits for movement.
This activity works really well to bring Dalcroze principles to classic scarf games.
If you are just tinkering around with Dalcroze techniques, I think that’s fantastic! Adding a few movement lessons to your curriculum, encouraging students to connect physically to musical concepts (in a meaningful way) is great no matter WHAT your experience or commitment level is to the approach. Perhaps you’ll find that the approach is a great complement to what you’re already doing, or perhaps you’ll turn into a Dalcroze-4-Lyfe devotee like yours truly and the hundreds of people who are on the TEAMM. In either case, welcome to MusicXT and spread the word!