Early Childhood

Dalcroze Eurhythmics Fall 2010

Music and Movement for Babies (5 - 12 mos.)
Thursday. 1:00 - 1:45

Music and Movement for Toddlers (12 - 24 mos.)
Tues. 10:30 - 11:15
Wed. 10:30-11:15
Thurs. 9:30 - 10:15
Sat. 11:45 -12:30

Early Beginnings (24 - 36 mos.)
Wed. 9:30 -10:15
Thurs. 10:30 - 11:15
Sat. 9:30 - 10:15

Stepping Stones (3 - 4 yr. old)
Tues 9:30 - 10:15 NEW TIME
Wed 3:00 - 3:45
Thur 2:15 - 3:00
Sat. 10:15 - 11:00

Musical Gateway (5 - 6 yr. old)
Tues 4:00 - 4:45
Thurs. 3:00 - 3:45
Sat. 11:00 - 11:45

What is Dalcroze Eurhythmics?
Dalcroze Eurhythmics is an integrated approach to learning music that nurtures the total development of the child. The goal of our Dalcroze curriculum is to develop a lifelong love and understanding of music and to make it an integral part of the child's life.

Emile Jaques Dalcroze (1865 – 1950; a Swiss composer and educator) called his approach to music education, Eurhythmics meaning "good rhythm." This class is wonderful preparation for later instrumental study.

In Dalcroze Eurhythmics, the joy of moving the body fosters the learning of musical concepts such as beat, dynamics, durations, melodic direction, meter, form, and phrasing.

• Listening games and activities are designed to allow the students to “find” a concept in the music, for example, high/low pitches, faster/slower rhythm patterns, loud/soft tones.
• Through movement activities, such as walking, running and galloping, children: experience beat, meter, and rhythm. As the year proceeds, children are able to describe their rhythmic movement, and, at older levels, are able to identify note values as well as effortlessly read and notates simple rhythms.
• Specific ear training games allow the students to develop their inner hearing as well as their singing voices. When singing, they use their hands and arms to show the shape of the melody or phrase. Just as the walking and running movements help children feel and internalize rhythm, arm movements help children feel and internalize the relationships of pitches while tuning the voice and ear to each other.

Musical material is presented in age-appropriate ways for each age group. Comfortable clothing should be worn. Please note that classes are usually held barefoot; if your child does not like to be barefoot, please have him or her wear non-slip socks.

Music and Movement for Babies - Spring (5 - 12 mos. with parent)
Wed. 1:00 - 1:45

In this course, teachers foster the musical development of infants through singing, rhythmic taps and claps, tickles and wiggles, and bouncing and rocking. Small percussion instruments, engaging props, and stuffed animals are integrated into the curriculum. Babies are exposed to a wide range of song and movement experiences as they get an early start on tuning their ears to the joy of music.

Music and Movement for Toddlers - Spring (12 - 24 mos. with parent)
Wed. 10:30-11:15
Thurs. 9:30 - 10:15
Sat. 11:45 -12:30

This class gives the adult and very young child the experience of making music. The children will keep the beat with shakers; stop and go with the music; follow simple signals to learn the musical concept of high/low, and rhythm patterns. The instructor will foster the improvisation of rhythm or melodic patterns using her voice. Folk songs, small percussion instruments, engaging props, and stuffed animals are integrated into the curriculum.

Early Beginnings - Spring (24 - 36 months with parent)
Wed. 9:30 -10:15
Thurs. 10:30 - 11:15
Sat. 9:30 - 10:15 AM

Movement becomes a way to explore music. The movement exercises guide the children into active listening, exploring the many elements of music: pitch, melody, tempo, duration, rhythm, and phrasing. The class is structured by the use of songs to guide the activities. Small percussion instruments and props are included to enrich the class. Children are also encouraged to start to improvise following simple melodic patterns and songs. Classes have an enriched environment of music, movement and rhythm.

Stepping Stones - Spring (3 - 4 years old without parent)
Tues 2:15 -3:00
Wed 2:00 - 2:45
Thur 2:15 - 3:00
Sat. 10:15 - 11:00

Children explore all the qualities of music through movement. Body movement is used to explore phrase, pitch, phrasing, accent, and all of the richness of music. Musical concepts are then presented in a visual manner, using a variety of visual aids to create a mental image of music in the child's brain. This will lead to musical notation. One of the focal points of this class is ear training and is a means to internalizing music; the instructor will often be heard saying "the music will tell you what to do." A wide range of songs are selected to guide the improvisation activities in the class, creating a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.

Musical Gateway - Spring (Pre-K 5 - 6 years old without parent)
Tues 4:00 - 4:45 with recorder
Thurs. 3:00 - 3:45 with recorder
Sat. 11:00 - 11:45

At this age, children will use movement to shape and internalize musical concepts. Solfege reading exercises are included to develop a keen sense of pitch, timing relationships and inner hearing. Students in the Dalcroze class sing with so-fa syllables, as the word "Solfege" implies. These types of exercises drive the students to an intense state of concentration, good listening and attention, and ear training development (which is always accompanied by movement, conducting, or gestures). Music notation is presented in order to connect the movements with the concept (the brain with the body). And this notation is developed even further as improvisation, composition and conducting. A wide variety of musical concepts are presented: beat and subdivisions, relationship of quarter and eighth notes, accent and groupings (leading to meter), rests, syncopation, phrase and form. This training guides the child on the path of any future instrumental or vocal studies the following year.

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