When we lose our bodies in space, how do we retrace our steps? How does the body move in response to a constantly changing environment? Can we use music to communicate or even initiate a true, embodied experience?
To all three, Swiss pianist and composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950) thought it was impossible not to. As a professor at the Geneva Conservatory, Dalcroze devised a course called Eurhythmics to explore music, movement, creative and social abilities, and the sensation of perception–what we know today as our eighth sense, interoception. This spring we’ll be exploring interoception and its role in deepening our music making. What can groove teach us about entraining to the rhythm of others, about that human pull towards synchronicity and togetherness, and about the self-integration that can lead to flow?
As musicians, we enmesh ourselves in sound, but even more in the deeply felt movements within. As Dalcroze said, “To live life fully, both the mind and the body must be free.”
Learning Outcomes:
The students will:
-Create gestures that express their experience of those rhythms.
-Analyze and imitate the rhythm and structure of their favorite music.
-Improvise and compose for their voice or instrument.
-Discover and deepen relationships between sound and musical gesture.
-Work closely with their classmates to witness a diversity of experiences.
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 2
W 10:00AM - 11:50AM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Course Frequency: One time only
Categories: 2000 , All courses , Fully In-Person , Fundamentals , Two Credit
Tags: awareness , barefoot , beat , conducting , creativity , Csikszentmihalyi , embodiment , interdisciplinary , listening , meter , movement , Music Fundamentals , proprioception , Rhythm , self-knowing