One of my strongest recollections of my childhood Eurhythmics classes involved stepping rhythms. Something about moving your whole body through space and time creates an unforgettable memory! The body WANTS to move in time. Harnessing this natural inclination to establish a “groove” with the body and WILL the feet to establish the groove of your intention is a primary goal of any Dalcroze practice. Managing weight and momentum makes rhythms feel more expressive and connects them to sensation, rather than simply to abstract ideas like “counting” or duration. If you’ve been following me for very long you know I have an aversion to counting music, and lately I have been making an effort to scrub my lessons of ANY numbers. In this post I’ll lay out a CLASSIC Dalcroze sequence that results in students performing a rhythm in a highly assessable format. But first:
Housekeeping:
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If you believe in the kind of work I’m doing, spreading the powerful techniques of Dalcroze education to mainstream music educators, please consider upgrading your subscription NOW to the TEAMM (Totally Effortless Approach to Musical Movement)