BYU’s keyboard pedagogy class had the amazing opportunity to learn from Dr. Thomas Parente, a leading expert in Dalcroze Eurhythmics and author of highly acclaimed book, “The Positive Pianist: How Flow Can Bring Passion to Practice and Performance.” He is a former Associate Professor of Piano at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and has presented workshops, courses, and clinics both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Parente lead the class through a series of exercises aimed at experiencing rhythm in the body, a great tool for music teachers who are helping their students learn about and apply rhythm in their pieces.
Dr. Parente’s instruction involved the students walking around the room, walking to the beat of music, adjusting the pace of their movement to the tempo of the music, making quick changes of direction on accented beats (which typically happened at the end of phrases), and singing along to a piano piece while moving to the beat. This allowed the students to experience phrases, subdivisions of the beat, feeling the full value of longer notes, and musical expression - all by using their body to convey the music.
The primary lesson Dr. Parente invited the students to take to heart was that students (especially those of a younger age) should experience before diving into theory. A six-year-old won’t have a great understanding of math, fractions, subdivisions, and complex counting. But a six-year-old will be able to move his or her body in line with the music. That young child has the potential to feel rhythm, to hear it, to understand it, all without knowing the technical terms for what he or she is experiencing. When it comes time to learn rhythm on paper it will be so much easier as it will already be a familiar experience to the student. Experiencing Dalcroze eurhythmics isn’t meant for just younger children. As the keyboard pedagogy class will tell you, adults can find so much meaning in the exercises and experiences as well. This is a practice anyone can be involved in who is wishing to connect to their music in a more tangible way.