The Dalcroze Approach to Music Education

Abstract

The methods of the Dalcroze approach to music education—eurhythmics, solfège, and improvisation—have had a profound influence on modern music education. In particular, the overt training in kinesthetic abilities, and the assertion that the relationship between music and movement is an intimate one, is at the heart of Dalcroze’s approach to instruction. The empirical research on kinesthesia in education and on the Dalcroze approach to music education is only starting to explore the many facets of this way of teaching, but the existing research is encouraging. This article will provide accounts of eurhythmics, solfège, and improvisation, giving emphasis to what types of activities might occur in these three facets of the Dalcroze approach to music education. Following this, the sense of kinesthesia will be discussed in relation to Dalcroze’s approach. Finally, empirical and philosophical studies of the Dalcroze approach will be briefly summarized.