{"id":17137,"date":"2024-06-01T16:30:26","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T20:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/?p=17137"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:56:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:56:57","slug":"its-all-a-charade-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/its-all-a-charade-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s All a Charade (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was first attracted to the educational practices of \u00c8mile Jaques-Dalcroze because they seemed to turn everything on its head, allowing a fresh perspective on music and teaching. What can you learn from singing every scale from one pitch? What could moving precise rhythm patterns tell us about the very nature of rhythm? But even revolutionary approaches can become rigid. Here\u2019s part 2 of the story of a 3rd<\/sup>-5th<\/sup> grade class which encouraged me to think outside of a box that was already outside of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

******<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believe it or not, 9-12 year-olds love rules. They have a burning desire to \u2018be right\u2019, with an often cool exterior that can barely keep the lid on an absolutely goofy interior. (Sometimes is it is the exact opposite!) Over the years I\u2019ve worked with groups this age that seemed to have an innate understanding of the connection between movement and music, and how movement can be put to use to discover the \u2018musical truths\u2019 that reside in the body, as Meredith Monk<\/a> put it. This year? Not so much. In a previous post<\/a>, I described how I used the timeless party game of charades to demonstrate how almost anything related to human experience could be expressed solely through movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They loved playing the game and they continued to ask for it all year. We had many follow-up classes in which I attempted to steer the experience more overtly to musicianship training. I felt that they understood the point of playing, but it still didn\u2019t seem to spark too much curiosity about music as a physical experience. Music, at school at least, seemed for them to be more about learning notes and then playing them from memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is anything like a dogma in Dalcroze education, it is that students should experience music before analyzing it. With some groups, I can simply give a direction like, \u201cStep the beat and clap the division.\u201d Once this has been mastered, I can add, \u201cChange hands and feet at the signal.\u201d Assuming terms \u201cbeat\u201d and \u201cdivision\u201d have been well defined and are basically understood, once most have mastered the skill I can then ask them questions about their experience. I might start with a precise question like, \u201cHow many steps for each clap?\u201d If, for example, we are comparing simple and compound meters (beats with two and three divisions respectively) the answers will be \u20182\u2019 or \u20183\u2019. But to move beyond the math, we can compare how it felt to move the 2\u2019s as compared to the \u20183\u2019s. (If I keep the division of the beat constant, when written as 2\/4 and 6\/8, the eighth notes will be played at the same tempo, expressed usually as \u201cdivision=division\u201d.) Did one feel more linear and the other feel more curvy? Did one feel more \u2018flowy\u2019 and the other feel more angular? Why might that be? Their physical experience becomes their teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I tried my usual experience-first approach with this particular group and asked them to compare the feeling of the two meters, instead of using words like \u201ccurvy\u201d vs \u201cangular\u201d they answered with words like \u2018shorter\u2019, \u2018longer\u2019 and \u2018faster\u2019 or \u2018slower\u2019. These are relative words that can point to a significant aspect of the experience, but only if we can compare them directly to physical experience. But these students couldn\u2019t discern basic movement data such as the three divisions of 6\/8 which lead to opposite footing every beat, and the two divisions of 2\/4 leading to regular footing every beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I needed a different \u2018different\u2019 approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the next week in small groups, I gave them separate challenges. One group had to demonstrate the difference between simple and compound meter, and the other was asked to show the pattern of whole and half steps in a major scale. Both had to use movement alone. They would be successful if the other group could explain the concept back to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally this kind of activity would come somewhere towards the end of a class. The students would have had enough experience of the subject to accomplish it without too much input from me. They would simply be putting their own spin on it. But by this point in the year, I knew this group well. If I tried my usual approach, I expected that at some point I would look up from the piano and see them listlessly trudging around, dutifully doing what they were told, but doing it mechanically and without making any strong connections between their movement and the music they were hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I decided to simply tell them right away what the difference between the two meters was rather than giving them experiences that would allow them to discover it. \u201cThe beat in simple meter has two divisions; in compound meter the beat has three,\u201d I said and sat down to watch them work. They blinked at me (they knew me well, too), surprised that I would just come out with a fact like that, unearned. For those working on the scale, I brought them up to the piano and simply showed them the pattern and then stepped out of the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This goes against the cardinal Dalcroze pedagogical principle that class activities should lead students to discover facts like these rather than be told them from the outset. But I needed a way to get them to want<\/em> to \u201cdiscover\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The groups divided themselves into boys and girls (at their request). The girls got to work pretty quickly. They needed help focusing and paring down their ideas, but they came up with something that effectively signaled the pattern of whole and half steps mostly on their own. The boys needed quite a bit of coaching, but mostly because they were having trouble working together. Eventually they, too, succeeded. The efforts of both were very mechanical even though I insisted that they use the whole body in their creation, but they were accurate and successfully communicated at least the \u2018math\u2019 of the concept. It took the entire period for them to accomplish this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the next week, they were able to piece together the mathematical difference between simple and compound meters relatively quickly and we were able to focus on what the physical experience of moving them felt like. (I used a list of words describing movement in place and movement from place to place  from Barbara Metler\u2019s \u201cMaterials for Dance\u201d. Perhaps the subject of another article\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the lesson? The lesson was for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Composer John Cage<\/a> used to say \u201cget yourself out of whatever cage you find yourself in.\u201d No matter how effective a teaching method, system or principle is most of the time, it won\u2019t be effective all of the time. I don\u2019t know how far I got in connecting their minds to their bodies this year, but it reminded me that every once in a while it can be useful to turn upside-down things right side up. Then guess what: they become upside-down again! (Assuming, as in this case, that \u201cupside-down\u201d is a good thing!) These shifts of perspective helped me stay focused on what I am really trying to do in the classroom: engage with my fellow humans through sound and movement in an effort to express something meaningful and maybe even beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s not just a charade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even revolutionary approaches can become rigid. Here\u2019s part 2 of the story of a 3rd-5th grade class which encouraged me to think outside of a box that was already outside of the box.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[128],"tags":[103,113],"class_list":["post-17137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dalcroze-reference","tag-3rd-5th-grade","tag-children"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9ohMj-4sp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":488,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/7-9-year-old-dalcroze-22817\/","url_meta":{"origin":17137,"position":0},"title":"7-9 year-old Dalcroze: 2\/28\/17","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"March 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This was an unusual class in many ways. The girls\u2019 love for dramatic story telling prompted almost an entire class devoted to the development, rehearsal and enactment of one story. The class loosely followed some goals I had already set up, which was to work with 3 different rhythm patterns\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15829,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/its-all-a-charade\/","url_meta":{"origin":17137,"position":1},"title":"It’s All a Charade","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"October 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Classic Party Game as Music and Movement Portal for 3rd-5th Graders Last week, I came across a passage in a book by Elizabeth Vanderspar that stopped me in my tracks. (The book was originally published as \u201cPrinciples and Guidelines for Teaching Eurhythmics\u201d and is now available as Dalcroze Handbook:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8875,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/letter-to-1st-and-2nd-grade-families\/","url_meta":{"origin":17137,"position":2},"title":"Letter to 1st and 2nd Grade Families","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"June 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"note: here's an end-of-the-year summary for the families of my 1st and 2nd grade Dalcroze classes. I refer to a list of skills and experiences. It's a bit long for a post, but if you are intersested, I'm happy to send you a copy. Dear 1st and 2nd grade families,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":529,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/7-9-year-old-dalcroze-april\/","url_meta":{"origin":17137,"position":3},"title":"7-9 Year-old Dalcroze: April","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"May 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Life caught up with me in April, so this is the first update for class activities in over a month. Here is a brief list\u00a0of some of the things we have explored and games we have played over the past several weeks: Toss the bean bag on the high note.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":472,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/7-9-dalcroze-121416\/","url_meta":{"origin":17137,"position":4},"title":"7-9 Dalcroze: 12\/14\/16","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"January 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here\u2019s what we did: All move freely; I choose one person\u2019s movement to play after which the class guesses who I was playing. This was by request. I like this game because it encourages the kids to move in their own way. Make a shape with 3 or 4 people.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":452,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/a-class-for-5-6-year-olds\/","url_meta":{"origin":17137,"position":5},"title":"A Class for 5-6 Year-olds","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"January 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"So many things can happen over the course of a Dalcroze semester that you can often get a better\u00a0idea of what a class has been doing by simply describing a single class in detail. Here\u2019s a description of a recent class of exceptional 5-6 year-old girls that I am fortunate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17137"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17144,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137\/revisions\/17144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}