Fac. of Grad. Studies, Mahidol Univ. M.M.

(Conducting)/ 1

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Information

Over a century ago, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (July 6, 1865 – July 1, 1950) began
experimenting with pedagogy that would give students access to their musical
expressive voice. According to Jaques-Dalcroze, music education had lost sight of the
key qualities of exceptional musicianship such as flow, nuance, and imagination.

One day, while walking with a student through the courtyard at the Geneva
Conservatory, Jaques-Dalcroze noticed that although this student struggled to beat time
accurately with his hands in the context of a music lesson, he was more than able to
change the pace of his gait to match his teacher’s quickening and slowing steps. This
discovery led Jaques-Dalcroze to wonder about the role of the body in musical
understanding.

He proceeded to do a variety of experiments at the Geneva Conservatory, giving

his solfège students experiences of musical concepts such as pulse, meter, tempo, and
phrase. With the opportunity to feel the weight of a quarter-note, walk the moving
contour of a melody, and feel the crescendo, Jaques-Dalcroze’s students began to build
an individual physical response related to sound.

Jaques-Dalcroze’s work makes a substantial contribution to the conducting art,

including performing, conducting, ensemble music-making, the preparation and
performance of repertoire, and strategies for teaching and learning. Dalcroze’s
pedagogical ideas emerged in part from his early experiences as a conductor. As a young
child, Émile surprised both his parents, and the audience by sneaking up on stage to
shadow-conduct Eduard Strauss, brother of Johann Strauss, during performance. In
1886, he took a position as assistant orchestral conductor at the Théâtre de Nouveautés
in Algiers, where he discovered in his conducting duties the importance and necessity
of clear gestures to communicate his musical ideas to the performers, which eventually
evolved into the eurhythmic principles of expressive music through bodily movement.
Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri Introduction/ 2

Therefore conducting itself became an essential component of Jaques-Dalcroze’s

pedagogy, and a means for students to develop both musicianship (conducting oneself)
and musicality (conducting others).

A concert band, also called wind ensemble, symphonic band, wind symphony,
wind orchestra, wind band, symphonic winds, symphony band, or symphonic wind
ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and
percussion families of instruments, along with the double bass or bass guitar. On rare
occasions, additional non traditional instruments may be added to such ensembles such
as piano, harp, synthesizer, or electric guitar.

A concert band's repertoire includes original wind compositions,

transcriptions/arrangements of orchestral compositions, light music, and popular tunes.

In the traditional

In this research, I

1.2 Objectives

This study aims to investigate the applications of the Dalcroze approach to the
wind ensemble context, including the ways Dalcroze training shapes the musical
outcomes of wind ensemble pedagogy and practice.

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1. To perform music analysis

2. To apply Dalcroze method to

1.3 Scope of Study

This study begins with a review of literature on the content of Dalcroze

approach in wind ensemble context, present sources on wind ensemble instructional
Fac. of Grad. Studies, Mahidol Univ. M.M. (Conducting)/ 3

technique, musical analysis of a wind ensemble composition, conductor training and

ensemble training.

As the Dalcroze approach focuses on experience based learning, and

instructional procedures to be passed from instructor to participant, for the purpose of
this study, a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research design will be used.

In order to provide a philosophical and pedagogical basement for this study,

the original writings of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze is used as a primary source information
on Dalcroze pedagogy. As for the wind ensemble pedagogical method, interviews
were conducted among the experts in wind ensemble pedagogy in Thailand. The
method of application of Dalcroze approach in wind ensemble are formulated from the
crossed topic among the Dalcroze pedagogy and wind ensemble pedagogical method.

The study participants are students in school band with at least one year in
experience. Those students will be given a musical piece to perform and a musical
activity to be use in this study. In each week, the activity and the rehearsal will be
recorded and send to experts in wind ensemble field and Dalcroze field to evaluate.

1.4 Benefits

This study will suggest the awareness about the Dalcroze approach and the
pedagogical and practical ways for its inclusion in the wind ensemble context.