What is eurhythmics?
Eurhythmics is a comprehensive and rational approach to music education, developed by the Swiss composer and music educator, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950). By combining eurhythmics (musical expression using body movement), solfege (ear training to foster aural skills) and improvisation, students experience the basic elements of music. Positioning these basic musical experiences at the starting point of music education, Dalcroze eurhythmics is designed to free the students’ self and cultivate their sense through the accumulation of experiences that deepen their understanding of music and utilize the kinesthetic sense acquired by body movement. Its goal is to enable their own musical expression.
Because eurhythmics is a very flexible and multifaceted approach, it has wide-ranging applications not only in music education but also in general education (particularly in preschool education). Moreover, it has also influenced performance arts (drama, opera, dance, etc.), music therapy and various other fields. Given that it has been physiologically demonstrated that auditory sense has a huge impact on brain development, developing body and auditory senses by taking eurhythmics lessons at an early age is extremely important for the development of preschool children.
When Jaques-Dalcroze was asked to explain his education method, he answered “While it is easy to explain the significance of eurhythmics based on the impressions and outcomes a student gains through the lessons, it is indispensable that you take the lessons and experience eurhythmics for yourself in order to obtain a deeper understanding of eurhythmics.
What he meant was that the only way to eurhythmics is by experiencing it repeatedly and accumulating deep experience for yourself. For anyone who aspires to become a musician, music educator, general educator, performer, music therapist, or almost any other profession, we are convinced that experiencing eurhythmics will offer new insights into whatever field you are engaged in.
