To warm up for this one today I let a gesture or movement unfold as slowly as possible until it reached its limit. I tried to wait until I was really ready to begin a new one. I sometimes resisted an impulse or two so that I could really listen to what my body wanted to do. You might find some spacious or interesting music to open up new possibilities. Don’t worry about matching the music just yet. I am on a Muhal Richard Abrams kick, and that really worked for me today. He has just the right balance of mind/body/spirit for this! Experiment with speed, length of gesture, spatial planes… or anything else that feels right. The sky is the limit.
When you are ready, you can use the track below. You’ll hear a very slow measure at first. Find your large gesture or movement inside this measure. I begin by dividing it into two very large and slow beats; eventually the two become three, then four and then six. Don’t worry about counting at first, just investigate it through movement. Eventually, I bring in the division in the left hand. There are 12 per measure, but you can just continue moving in the same way. I enjoyed finding a way to divide the large gesture into 2 parts, then 3, then for, then 6. There’s no warning as to when I change the grouping, so you’ll probably have to catch up a measure or so later, but that’s not a problem. Enjoy the cross-rhythms!
In fact, for a more advanced challenge, try moving a different grouping then the one you hear. You can also experiment with combining two with hands/feet, left/right, body/voice, etc. I would recommend that you try to keep the spirit of open, free, curious and investigative movement, though, even if you up the challenge level.
Happy dividing (and conquering if you so choose)!
We’ll work with this in the Open Level Drop-in class (online) tomorrow. If you’re not on the list yet and would like to be (this will run through the end of March 2021), just let me know via the form on the “Dalcroze Annex” page in the left menu.
Also, new Eurhythmics, Improvisation, Solfège and Pedagogy classes are starting a new semester as we speak at the Lucy Moses Dalcroze School in New York City.