In this post I summarise the book chapter The Approach of Emilie Jaques-Dalcroze in Lois Chosky’s book Teaching Music in the Twenty-First Century. This research has been prompted by my PhD studies and any feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to comment in space below.
In her book Teaching Music in the Twenty-First Century, Lois Choksy, a Canadian music educator, collaborated with Robert Abramson, a professor of music at the Julliard School of Music, to write a chapter summarising Emilie Jaques-Dalcroze’s approach to teaching music. This book chapter covers, in detail, Jaques-Dalcroze’s educational philosophy, techniques of Eurhythmics, Solfége-Solfége-Rythmique and Improvisation.
In her book Teaching Music in the Twenty-First Century, Lois Choksy, a Canadian music educator, collaborated with Robert Abramson, a professor of music at the Julliard School of Music, to write a chapter summarising Emilie Jaques-Dalcroze’s approach to teaching music. This book chapter covers, in detail, Jaques-Dalcroze’s educational philosophy, techniques of Eurhythmics, Solfége-Solfége-Rythmique and Improvisation.
At the outset, Choksy and Abramson establish that Jaques-Dalcroze’s approach to music education, commonly referred to as Dalcroze Eurhythmics, puts rhythm as the primary element of music. Jaques-Dalcroze argues that the natural rhythms of the human body are the source for musical rhythm. As such a great deal of the Dalcroze Eurhythmics method centres on movement as a way of embodying musical rhythm and developing a deeper sense of musical expression. Jaques-Dalcroze posed the following questions:
What is the source of music? Where does it begin?
Where do we sense emotions?
How do we feel emotion?
How does the body express these internal feelings to the external world?
By what instrument does a human being translate inner emotions into music?
What is the first instrument that must be trained in music?
(Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 43-44)
These questions are in essence the objective of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Choksy and Abramson answer each of these questions in turn and they establish that the human body with all its internal rhythms is the main source of musical expression. This kinaesthetic approach is crucial to the success of Jaques-Dalcroze’s approach. Through Eurhythmics training, Jaques-Dalcroze intended for each student to grow in three areas: Mental and emotional (awareness, concentration, social integration and realisation and expression of nuances); Physical (ease of performance, accuracy of performance and personal expressiveness through performance); and Musical (quick, accurate, comfortable, expressive personal response to hearing, leading to performance, analysis, reading, writing and improvising) (Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 48). To achieve these desired outcomes, Jaques-Dalcroze developed a series of activities based on movements.
The use of movement in Eurhythmics should not be confused with dance, which is an art form designed to portray images and ideas. Movement in light of Eurhythmics is considered as improvised and unstylised. It was Jaques-Dalcroze’s intent that the student be able to feel the musical rhythm and express it using their own gestures and movements. Jaques-Dalcroze classified movement into two categories:
Movement in Place Movement in Space
Clapping Walking
Swinging Running
Turning Crawling
Conducting Leaping
Bending Sliding
Swaying Galloping
Speaking Skipping
Singing
(Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 49)
This list creates an infinite amount of possibilities for students to engage with musical rhythms from simple to complex. Movements in place and space can be combined with high, low, or middle body positions to show melodic contour and changes in dynamics. Using different parts of the body in isolation and in combination can establish varying tone colours in the music as well as elements such as harmony, polyrhythms and phrasing. These movements are further utilised in the Thirty-Four Jaques-Dalcroze Elements of Rhythm. The thirty-four elements of rhythm are different ways that rhythm (including rhythmic notation) can be outwardly expressed. Here Jaques-Dalcroze clearly defines a systematic approach to rhythmic interpretation.
The second aspect to Jaques-Dalcroze’s approach is concerned with the melodic and harmonic elements of music (Solfége-Solfége-Rythmique). It is in this phase of the method where students are introduced to staff notation. Jaques-Dalcroze starts by using a one-line staff and calling it do. Notes are then placed either on the line, just above it or just below it. Students then sing what they see and learn relative pitch concepts. Further lines are added and the amount of notes increase. Jaques-Dalcroze maintains that do is C (fixed do) and introduces clefs as:
From this introduction of clefs, Jaques-Dalcroze then establishes scales as the source of melody and develops sight-singing skills at first with no rhythmic variation, then with. Jaques-Dalcroze emphasises the expressive singing of scales, that is that an ascending phrase should crescendo while descending phrases should decrescendo. This type of expression combined with the movements from the previous phase further enhance the expressive performance to which this method aims.
What is the source of music? Where does it begin?
Where do we sense emotions?
How do we feel emotion?
How does the body express these internal feelings to the external world?
By what instrument does a human being translate inner emotions into music?
What is the first instrument that must be trained in music?
(Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 43-44)
These questions are in essence the objective of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Choksy and Abramson answer each of these questions in turn and they establish that the human body with all its internal rhythms is the main source of musical expression. This kinaesthetic approach is crucial to the success of Jaques-Dalcroze’s approach. Through Eurhythmics training, Jaques-Dalcroze intended for each student to grow in three areas: Mental and emotional (awareness, concentration, social integration and realisation and expression of nuances); Physical (ease of performance, accuracy of performance and personal expressiveness through performance); and Musical (quick, accurate, comfortable, expressive personal response to hearing, leading to performance, analysis, reading, writing and improvising) (Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 48). To achieve these desired outcomes, Jaques-Dalcroze developed a series of activities based on movements.
The use of movement in Eurhythmics should not be confused with dance, which is an art form designed to portray images and ideas. Movement in light of Eurhythmics is considered as improvised and unstylised. It was Jaques-Dalcroze’s intent that the student be able to feel the musical rhythm and express it using their own gestures and movements. Jaques-Dalcroze classified movement into two categories:
Movement in Place Movement in Space
Clapping Walking
Swinging Running
Turning Crawling
Conducting Leaping
Bending Sliding
Swaying Galloping
Speaking Skipping
Singing
(Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 49)
This list creates an infinite amount of possibilities for students to engage with musical rhythms from simple to complex. Movements in place and space can be combined with high, low, or middle body positions to show melodic contour and changes in dynamics. Using different parts of the body in isolation and in combination can establish varying tone colours in the music as well as elements such as harmony, polyrhythms and phrasing. These movements are further utilised in the Thirty-Four Jaques-Dalcroze Elements of Rhythm. The thirty-four elements of rhythm are different ways that rhythm (including rhythmic notation) can be outwardly expressed. Here Jaques-Dalcroze clearly defines a systematic approach to rhythmic interpretation.
The second aspect to Jaques-Dalcroze’s approach is concerned with the melodic and harmonic elements of music (Solfége-Solfége-Rythmique). It is in this phase of the method where students are introduced to staff notation. Jaques-Dalcroze starts by using a one-line staff and calling it do. Notes are then placed either on the line, just above it or just below it. Students then sing what they see and learn relative pitch concepts. Further lines are added and the amount of notes increase. Jaques-Dalcroze maintains that do is C (fixed do) and introduces clefs as:
From this introduction of clefs, Jaques-Dalcroze then establishes scales as the source of melody and develops sight-singing skills at first with no rhythmic variation, then with. Jaques-Dalcroze emphasises the expressive singing of scales, that is that an ascending phrase should crescendo while descending phrases should decrescendo. This type of expression combined with the movements from the previous phase further enhance the expressive performance to which this method aims.
Further expression is found in the varying tonalities music has. Jaques-Dalcroze introduces this by encouraging students to sing the C-major scale (fixed do) and altering notes to establish the new keys.
In this way students can hear modulations and very quickly establish the new keys. Following on from this study, Jaques-Dalcroze furthers the development of melody by establishing that certain combinations of tones create melodic cells. Two-note cells are called dichords (do-re, re-mi, mi-fa and so on), trichords are three-note cells (do-re-mi, re-mi-fa, mi-fa-sol and so on), four-note cells are tetrachords (do-re-mi-fa, re-mi-fa-sol and so on) and pentachords are five-note cells (do-re-mi-fa-sol, re-mi-fa-sol-la and so on). Once the student is confident in these melodic cells in a variety of keys, Jaques-Dalcroze introduces harmony as combinations of notes within certain cells.
The final phase to Jaques-Dalcroze’s method is Improvisation. “Its goal is to produce skilful ways of using movement materials (rhythm) and sound materials (pitch, scale, harmony) in imaginative, spontaneous, and personally expressive combinations to create music” (Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 73). Jaques-Dalcroze breaks improvisation into eight areas in which musicianship is trained. Jaques-Dalcroze uses keyboard improvisation as the main focus. It is important to note that it is not expected (at this stage) that a student has proficient keyboard skills. Rather, the keyboard is being used as a tool of experimentation with regards to pitch ranges, dynamic contrasts, harmonic and tonal possibilities. Jaques-Dalcroze recognises that improvisation can be confronting for students so he encourages that collaborative improvisations where students create musical dialogues either with themselves or the teacher. To successfully complete the improvisation phase, students need to have a very secure foundation in rhythm, pitch, melody and harmony. Jaques-Dalcroze also addresses the creative value in improvisation surrounding notated music. He writes that “no written notation of music tells the performer everything about the playing of a piece. The notation in a printed composition cannot be read literally” (Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 79). The improvisational techniques practised in this phase, when applied to notated music, can make for a highly engaging and exciting interpretation of a composer’s intent.
The combination of these three phases, now known as the Jaques-Dalcroze Method has had a great influence on music education. Jaques-Dalcroze’s kinaesthetic approach encourages music students to develop an inner understanding and appreciation of music and allows a high degree of outward expression.
Thank you for reading this summary. I freely admit that I am no expert on the Jaques-Dalcroze method and would welcome any feedback on this summary and suggestions for further reading.
Reference
Choksy, L. and R. M. Abramson (2001). The Approach of Emilie Jaques-Dalcroze. Teaching Music in the Twenty-First Century. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall: 40-80.
In this way students can hear modulations and very quickly establish the new keys. Following on from this study, Jaques-Dalcroze furthers the development of melody by establishing that certain combinations of tones create melodic cells. Two-note cells are called dichords (do-re, re-mi, mi-fa and so on), trichords are three-note cells (do-re-mi, re-mi-fa, mi-fa-sol and so on), four-note cells are tetrachords (do-re-mi-fa, re-mi-fa-sol and so on) and pentachords are five-note cells (do-re-mi-fa-sol, re-mi-fa-sol-la and so on). Once the student is confident in these melodic cells in a variety of keys, Jaques-Dalcroze introduces harmony as combinations of notes within certain cells.
The final phase to Jaques-Dalcroze’s method is Improvisation. “Its goal is to produce skilful ways of using movement materials (rhythm) and sound materials (pitch, scale, harmony) in imaginative, spontaneous, and personally expressive combinations to create music” (Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 73). Jaques-Dalcroze breaks improvisation into eight areas in which musicianship is trained. Jaques-Dalcroze uses keyboard improvisation as the main focus. It is important to note that it is not expected (at this stage) that a student has proficient keyboard skills. Rather, the keyboard is being used as a tool of experimentation with regards to pitch ranges, dynamic contrasts, harmonic and tonal possibilities. Jaques-Dalcroze recognises that improvisation can be confronting for students so he encourages that collaborative improvisations where students create musical dialogues either with themselves or the teacher. To successfully complete the improvisation phase, students need to have a very secure foundation in rhythm, pitch, melody and harmony. Jaques-Dalcroze also addresses the creative value in improvisation surrounding notated music. He writes that “no written notation of music tells the performer everything about the playing of a piece. The notation in a printed composition cannot be read literally” (Choksy and Abramson 2001 p. 79). The improvisational techniques practised in this phase, when applied to notated music, can make for a highly engaging and exciting interpretation of a composer’s intent.
The combination of these three phases, now known as the Jaques-Dalcroze Method has had a great influence on music education. Jaques-Dalcroze’s kinaesthetic approach encourages music students to develop an inner understanding and appreciation of music and allows a high degree of outward expression.
Thank you for reading this summary. I freely admit that I am no expert on the Jaques-Dalcroze method and would welcome any feedback on this summary and suggestions for further reading.
Reference
Choksy, L. and R. M. Abramson (2001). The Approach of Emilie Jaques-Dalcroze. Teaching Music in the Twenty-First Century. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall: 40-80.