The Eurhythmics of Jaques-Dalcroze | Page 6

the relation existing between gesture and
music, and the absolute ignorance regarding plastic expression which
characterizes the lyric actors of our day is a real profanation of scenic
musical art. Not only are singers allowed to walk and gesticulate on the
stage without paying any attention to the time, but also no shade of
expression, dynamic or motor, of the orchestra--crescendo, decrescendo,
accelerando, rallentando--finds in their gestures adequate realization.
By this I mean the kind of wholly instinctive transformation of sound
movements into bodily movements such as my method teaches.
Authors, poets, musicians and painters cannot demand from the
interpreters of their works knowledge of the relations between

movements in time and in space, for this knowledge can only be
developed by special studies. No doubt a few poets and painters have
an inborn knowledge of the rhythms of space; for instance, Hugo von
Hofmannsthal, the stage mounter of "Electra" at the Vienna Opera, who
constructed a huge staircase, on which, however, the actors, having
little acquaintance with the most elementary notions of balance, moved
with deplorable heaviness; or again, the aesthetician Adolphe Appia,
whose remarkable work Music and Stage Mounting ought to be the
guide of all stage managers. But the majority of composers write their
plastic music without knowing whether it is capable of being
practically realized, without personal experience of the laws of weight,
force and bodily movement.
My hope is, that sincere artists desirous of perfection and seeking
progress will study seriously the grave question which I raise. For my
own part, relying on many experiments, and full of confidence in ideas
carefully thought out, I have devoted my life to the teaching of rhythm,
being fully satisfied that, thanks to it, man will regain his natural
powers of expression, and at the same time his full motor faculties, and
that art has everything to hope from new generations brought up in the
cult of harmony, of physical and mental health, of order, beauty and
truth.

FROM THE LECTURES OF EMILE JAQUES-DALCROZE
(LECTURE AT LEIPZIG, DECEMBER 10, 1911)
The objection is often raised that under my system the technique of an
instrument is acquired too late. But this objection has no foundation in
fact. A child who begins rhythmic gymnastics as I would have it in its
fifth or sixth year and a year later ear-training, can certainly have piano
lessons when eight years old, and I can state from experience that the
finger technique of the child will then develop much more quickly, for
the musical faculties in general will have been far better developed,
more thoroughly trained and become more part of the child's life owing
to the preliminary training.

* * * * *
Lessons in rhythmic gymnastics help children in their other lessons, for
they develop the powers of observation, of analyzing, of understanding
and of memory, thus making them more orderly and precise.
* * * * *
The effect of rhythmic training on the time-table and life of a school is
like that of a hot water heating system which spreads an equal warmth
through all parts of a building. Teachers of other subjects will find that
such training provides them with pupils more responsive, more elastic
and of more character than they otherwise would be. Therefore, the
study of rhythm, as well as education by means of rhythm, ought to be
most closely connected with school life.
[Illustration: The College.]
* * * * *
(ADDRESS TO THE DRESDEN TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION,
MAY 28, 1912)
From many years' experience of music teaching I have gradually
produced a method which gives a child musical experiences instead of
musical knowledge.
I expect much from education in rhythm in elementary schools,
provided it be given regularly, completely and sufficiently. The
exercises should be begun at the age of six, with half an hour's lesson
three times a week, but these lessons can quite well be taken from
playtime. By the age of twelve two lessons a week are sufficient. This
training will not only develop the feeling for beauty and form by
accustoming the eye to distinguish beautiful movements and lines from
those that are ugly, but also render the children susceptible to musical
impressions.
There are always children who are not able to sing in time, or even to

beat time, to walk in time, or to graduate the strength and rapidity of
their movements. Such children are unrhythmic, and it will generally be
noticed that these children are stiff and awkward, often also
over-excitable. This lack of rhythm is almost like a disease. It is caused
by the lack of balance between the mental and physical powers, which
results from insufficient co-ordination between the mental picture of a
movement and its performance by the body, and these nervous troubles
are just as much