‘Through music and into music’, through music and into well-being: Dalcroze eurhythmics as music therapy

Abstract

Abstract. There is a longstanding relationship between music therapy and Dalcroze Eurhythmics, an approach to music education that had its beginnings in the reform pedagogy movement of the European fin de siècle. Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950, the founder of the approach, initially focused on educational aims, but was soon to include therapeutic ones as well. During the early twentieth century, Dalcroze teachers applied the approach to their work with disabled children. Such applications have continued to develop to the present day and have expanded to include palliative treatment in HIV/AIDS and gerontology.There are many theoretical and technical similarities between Dalcroze Eurhythmics and improvisational music therapy, including communication through musical improvisation and attunement in playing for movement. However, many of these similarities remain to be discussed in relation to the literatures on music therapy and communicative musicality. To address this gap, this article takes a transdisciplinary approach, making conceptual connections between the theory and practice of both Dalcroze Eurhythmics and music therapy. Implications for future training, practice and research in Dalcroze Eurhythmics are discussed.

Three Flute Players’ Lived Experiences of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in Preparing Contemporary Music for Performance

“…First, as a philosophy of music education, Dalcroze Eurhythmics works to overcome the dualism of mind and body (Juntunen and Westerlund, 2001), with practitioners choosing instead to emphasize and work with "the entire body of the living system (brain and body)" (Schiavio and Van der Schyff, 2018, p. 2). 2 Second, as a pedagogy, it is experienced not only as music education, but also a means to social integration, personal transformation and well-being (Habron, 2014;Van der Merwe, 2015;Navarro Wagner, 2016;Van der Merwe and Habron, 2018;Van der Merwe et al, 2019). Dalcroze Eurhythmics originates in the pedagogical experiments of composer, pianist, and conductor Émile Jaques-Dalcroze after he noted that students at the Conservatory of Geneva lacked inner hearing despite their high levels of technical proficiency, and that children, who nevertheless developed good listening skills, struggled to play or sing in time (Jaques-Dalcroze, 1921/1967.…”

The Relationship between Dance and Multiple Intelligences of Institutionalised Children: A Theoretical Framework for Applied Research

“…Another study (Habron, 2014) conducted on 112 children with back and neck problems, who had anxiety and stress, also demonstrated the efficiency of dancesport in optimising mental health. Half of the children attending dance classes every week improved their health status, but also their emotional state, thus overcoming depression.…”

A conceptual study of spirituality in selected writings of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze

“…Within the holistic experience afforded by eurhythmics, the balance between the different aspects of the self is important for Jaques-Dalcroze. He also speaks of restoring balance, a clear indication of the original therapeutic dimension of eurhythmics (Habron, 2014): "…idea and sensation may be united by a series of calm waves which create psychophysical balance" (Jaques- Dalcroze, 1930, p. 65).…”