Juntunen, Marja-Leena, Embodiment in Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Juntunen, Marja-Leena, Embodiment in Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences and Teacher Education, University of

Oulu, P.O.Box 2000, FIN-90014 University of Oulu, Finland

2004

Oulu, Finland

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to interpret and understand the manifestation and meaning of

embodiment in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Dalcroze Eurhythmics is an approach to music education that

builds on the ideas of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and aims at developing musicianship in a broad sense.

Following Maurice Merleau-Ponty's philosophy, in this study embodiment refers to experiencing and

knowing the world subjectively through the living body-subject. The perspective of embodiment

accounts for how human beings think and act holistically and how the body can be considered a

constitutive element of cognition and creativity. The research questions were formulated as follows:

1. What aspects of embodiment can be found in Dalcroze Eurhythmics? 2. What are the theoretical

accounts in support of the practice of applying body movement in music education from the

perspective of embodiment?

These questions have been approached through research material drawn from the essential

writings of Jaques-Dalcroze, commentary books, articles and studies about Dalcroze Eurhythmics,

and the talk of some selected Dalcroze master teachers. The dissertation is an overview of four

substudies. In the theoretical substudies, the research questions have been examined in relation to the

philosophical question of the body-mind in practical music education, and in dialogue with Merleau-

Ponty's notions and recent literature on embodiment.

From the perspective of embodiment, Dalcroze Eurhythmics primarily teaches habits of musical

action or, more generally, 'a bodily way of being in sound', rather than a conceptual, or abstract

knowledge of music. Equally, the study sheds light on the meaning and importance of consciously

reflecting on 'lived experience'. It illuminates how Dalcroze teaching engages embodiment in ways

that aim to reinforce the mind-body connection and facilitate personified, holistic involvement and,

thus, embodied learning. The study discusses how Dalcroze Eurhythmics offers a ground for

examining music's felt qualities and their relation to musical knowledge and how it turns our attention

and interest towards students' lived experiences in relation to musical practices. It challenges music

educators to consider that musical learning can profitably make use of holistic bodily experiences and

that bodily involvement can facilitate developing a wide range of kinds of musical knowing.

Furthermore, the study offers a critical viewpoint and new vocabulary in music education for

explaining the practice of Dalcroze teaching.

Keywords:

body-mind, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, embodiment, experience, knowing,

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, music, music education, phenomenology,

Émile Jacques-Dalcroze

herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9514274024/isbn9514274024.pdf

Comments

[Coline]

Quel pouvoir a la musique sur notre corps et quelle influence provoque-t-elle sur nos mouvements, le poids et l'espace?
Film- documentaire traite de l'histoire de la Rhytmique, méthode pédagogique élaborée par le compositeur suisse Emile Jacques-Dalcroze
Ce film a fait l´objet d´une attention spéciale au Dance Screen Festival 2000 de Monaco.
+ et photos sur :
http://www.film-script.net/startf.htm

[Coline]

Toute sa vie durant Gerda Alexander (1908 – 1994) s'est intéressée au mouvement naturel du corps humain : la manière – propre à chaque personne – de se mouvoir, de se tenir, de se relaxer, d'habiter son corps, de s'exprimer à travers lui.

Issue du milieu de la rythmique Emile Jacques-Dalcroze en Allemagne (Wuppertal), douée pour la musique et la danse, elle doit renoncer à une carrière scénique pour des raisons de santé . Les difficultés rencontrées dans son propre corps se révèlent cependant source de découverte et d'approfondissement de sa propre conscience corporelle.

De 1933 à 1988 elle vit à Copenhague. Une riche expérience avec des enfants, des adultes de tous âges, bien-portants et souffrants, lui permet de développer une méthode originale basée sur la prise de conscience sensorielle du corps : l'Eutonie.

Pour en savoir plus, sur le site : http://www.institut-eutonie.com