VOLUME 2
beat, subdivision & multiple
Volume 2 is based on the notion of pulsation and develops the concept of division and multiplication of the basic pulsation. This naturally leads us to different speeds, in precise relation to each other. These relations necessarily imply relations between the notions of time, space and energy, a central subject of Dalcroze pedagogy.
1. walk
What type of approach do the style and tempo of this piece suggest?
- Walk the pulse (one beat = one step). To vary the walk: change direction with each new phrase, or alternate forward / backward, or walk alone or in pairs (triplets are good indicators of change). Identify the structure of the piece and adapt the movements in space to the musical form: return to the starting place when the first theme returns. One could imagine two contrasting movements for the first and second theme.
- In a small space: clap the pulse or the first beat on the knees, shoulders, in the hands.
- This piece lends itself to a variety of responses according to the specific goals of the teacher; for example, one could ask students to walk twice as slowly as the beat.
- Otherwise, one could create a simple choreography on this clearly structured piece of music.
5-6 years and up
2. 4/4 quarter half whole notes
Listen to the piece and identify the three note values that you hear.
- Respond to the music as you wish, clapping or stepping the note value of your choice.
- The teacher says “hip” for half notes, “hop” for whole notes and “return” for quarter notes a) no matter what the piano plays b) the teacher learns the sequence and gives vocal signals according to the music. The piano always plays one note value at a time.
- Clap or step one of the values that the piano is not playing.
- Listen to the repeated patterns of the music several times and write them on the board.
- Associate each note value with a body movement and illustrate your own pattern with your movements.
- Groups of three students : 1 = quarter notes, 2 = half notes, 3 = whole notes. Superimpose the three values. Change roles: steal the value of one of your partners and she/he will have to either take yours or steal the one of the other partner.
- Finally, the students could add the fourth note value which is not represented in the improvisation.
6 years and up
3. 4/4 Sequence of fourth & eighth notes
Listen to the music and identify the sequence, which repeats three times. To use this music the teacher needs to have memorized the sequence, as it is firstly he/she who will announce the change of note value.
Here it is (in 4/4 time): two measures of quarter notes and two measures of eighth notes (twice); one measure of quarter notes and one measure of eighth notes (twice); half a measure of quarter notes and half a measure or eighth notes (4 times).
- Walk and/or clap beats and division of beats. Make a distinction between legato and staccato (quarter notes are generally legato, suggesting a calm smooth walk; eighth notes ask for running “staccato” with high knees).
- Pass the beat (clap either a quarter note or two eighth notes) or pass one note value (either one quarter note or one eighth note) in the circle. At a signal “now!” = stop, at the following “now!” = start again. The vocal signal can be given first by the teacher and later by one or two students.
- To internalize the sequence, the teacher says “now!” and turns off the volume of the music; students represent the sequence internally while the music is silent, and start clapping again at the correct place in the sequence when the teacher says “now!” again and turns on the volume.
6-7 years and up
4. quarter & eighth notes together
Pay attention to the soprano and the bass lines. Feel the continuity of the musical line, the constant relation between bass and soprano and the softness of the changes of note values (the transition is announced by 4 quarter notes in both voices). The linearity will result in movements of continuity, without accents and with a sustained legato.
- Follow the music:
a) Clap the soprano line
b) Walk the bass line - Then, follow the eighth notes only: clap if they’re in the soprano; walk if they’re in the bass.
Same activity, following quarter notes only: bass (walking) and soprano (clapping). - Two by two, “A” and “B” follow one or the other voice, and clap in their own hands, (always one sound = one clap) and show the musical line: clap transition parts in mirror and anticipate the change by giving a subtle impulse to the one who is going to take over the eighth notes.
- Two by two: step the eighth notes while the partner is staying in place and clapping the quarters, clap transition measures together; keep the feeling and the expression of the continuity and legato.
- Individually, step the bass and clap the soprano.
- If the space is very small, clap the bass line on the thighs with the left hand and soprano with the right hand.
7 years and up
5. modal suite
Listen to the suite and identify changes of locomotion; there are three speeds, including the initial speed; subsequent speeds are multiples or divisions of this initial walking speed.
- Start by clapping the different note values (one sound = one clap).
- Individually and freely in the room: walk, run (trot) and walk slowly while tuning into the music.
- Find various ways to identify through movement the different speeds; for example: walk in pairs, run alone, form small circles with a few friends, hold hands and walk slowly (half notes). Or run two by two, walk alone and find a gesture for the long notes (ex: lifting weight).
The shorter the locomotion sequences, the more important it is that vocal cues are anticipated by the teacher in order to enable students to effect the changes with the music. After having repeated the exercise several times, they will become more familiar with the changes and able to anticipate them themselves.
5-6 years and up
6. classical suite
- Follow the music firstly by clapping, then stepping what you hear; adapt to the changes of locomotion. In the first part, clap or walk the quarter note beats, despite the presence of eighth notes in the melody.
- One scarf per student:
- Walk the quarter notes with a partner, finding a way to hold the two scarves together like in a parade.
- Step the eighth notes by yourself, using a light running step, holding your scarf and making it fly above your head.
- During the half notes, toss (strong beat) and catch (weak beat) your scarf. Repeat this activity, finding a way to do it with a partner.
6-7 years and up
7. anapest & pulsation
This piece builds on earlier music in which students heard quarter notes and eighth notes, firstly, separately, and afterwards, superimposed. The anapest rhythm (2 short and 1 long) is accompanied alternatively by the basic pulsation (quarter notes) and by its multiple (half notes) to give the student the feeling of both the tempo and the overall rhythm.
- Find a way to show this rhythm through a body movement. One may clap the rhythm continuously until the end of the phrases, even if the piano stops earlier on long note values. The change of meter in the accompaniment is always announced, thus it can be anticipated in the body. As well, the piano installs the new meter before adding the anapest rhythm. So there is time for the body to adapt to the new walking speed, before clapping the anapest rhythm.
- Walk the basic quarter note tempo and sway for the half notes. For the sway sequences, you can make groups of 3 or 4 people in a line or in a circle, joining hands and swinging while saying/singing “a-na-pest”.
For 8 years and over, and adults
8. 3/4 continuous canon
- Listen to the music several times, walk the beats, beat time and identify the time signature. For the first time in this volume we are working in a measure of 3 beats. A measure of 3 beats changes the bodily sensation of walking, and it is important to become conscious of the difference between a “binary” walk compared to a “ternary” walk. Take the time to feel the sensation of regularity/alternance in the feet (walk) and hands (beat time), while being conscious that there is a rhythm unfolding above this regular bass.
- Perform the canon by clapping the rhythm one bar later, while continuing to step the beats.
- Walk the rhythm in canon, one measure later (each note value = one step).
- Advanced level: vocal improvisation on the rhythm in canon, following simultaneously the chord progression. This means that during measure two, one will sing the rhythm heard in measure one, but with the harmony of measure two. For adults.
For experienced children aged 8 and up
9. 4/4 syncopation twice as fast/twice as slow
The note values of the introduction are half notes; we are in 4/4 time. The first syncopated rhythm is slow (=hop!); it lasts 4 beats. The median speed (=return!) lasts 2 beats; and the fast syncopated rhythm (=hip!) lasts a single beat.
- Move around with the feeling of syncopation. Let the music and your listening spontaneously guide the body movement. At the beginning of the track, take the time to step or sway the half note tempo, while feeling the quarter notes.
- Dance with the music to instinctively identify the speed changes of the syncopated rhythm. You can dance with quarter notes, half notes and eighth notes, without stepping the syncopations.
For advanced level:
- The teacher is prepared to give vocal signals one beat before the changes: hip! = twice as fast, hop! = twice as slow, return! = basic tempo. In order to announce these hip/hop/return, the teacher needs to be very familiar with the music.
- Then the students learn the sequence themselves and step: half notes for the slow syncopated tempo, quarter notes for the normal tempo and eighth notes for the fast tempo, all the while clapping the syncopated rhythms.
- This piece lends itself to an amusing choreography for adults. While this music lends itself to more advanced activities, it can very well be used quite simply, since the sensation of the syncopation will induce a desire to move in a dancing way.
For experienced children aged 8 and up
10. irish melody
The melody repeats while the accompaniment is changing (quarter notes, half notes, eighth notes, whole notes).
- Sing and indicate through gesture the melodic contour which begins in the treble, descends and curves.
- Then focus on the bass: experience and identify the different speeds of pulsation (main tempo, division and multiplication) heard in the bass by moving with the bass (one sound = one step or one movement).
- Sing the melody while executing the following instructions:
➢ quarters = step forward
➢ eighth notes = walk fast on ball of foot
➢ half notes = swing forwards and backwards
➢ whole notes = sway side to side like a big bell (much easier than a very slow walk). Or, two by two, touch hands on the downbeat and fill the time of a whole measure with a long, slow gesture.
For experienced children aged 8 and up
