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Should a musician which is just starting to learn how to play his instrument specifically look for classes which call out Dalcrose Eurhythmics concepts as part of their curriculum?

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I don't follow the localization comment. I believe there are experts on this site which will have heard of Eurhythmics and can properly answer the question. Also, open ended discussion questions ("which methods should I look for") are probably discouraged? – blueberryfields Apr 29 '11 at 6:28
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Although I'm new to StackExchange, I also don't agree that this is too localised - unless my question on Kodaly was also too localised. I've certainly heard of Dalcrose Eurythmics in the context of music education and conducting, and would be able to provide a brief answer. I do agree that the title could be shortened - again, I'm new to how StackExchange does things, but perhaps simply "Is Dalcroze Eurhythmics appropriate for beginner performers?" and then check for typos as ogerard says. – Mich Sampson Apr 29 '11 at 11:29
@Mich Sampson: I like your version of the title and after reading you and blueberryfields, I agree that this may not be too localized. I would suggest the Original Poster to add a reference link for Dalcroze Eurhythmics. – ogerard Apr 29 '11 at 12:35
I think this is too subjective, not too localized. You need to provide some criteria for good answers. "Is is appropriate?" and "Should one study it?" is just asking for opinionated answers with no evidence. Check out http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/09/good-subjective-bad-subjective/ – Matthew Read♦ Apr 29 '11 at 13:54

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The preparatory school at one of the music schools I attended offered this for children learning music. I can't point you towards any studies, but there are two things that come to mind why I think that this is a great idea.

  • Learning good rhythm from the start by feeling it in your whole body makes a lot of sense. This way, as you a learn an instrument you will be able to focus son the instrument more.
  • I saw some of these classes being done with kids and everyone was having lots of fun. They are fun for adults as well :-)
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+1, my kids take Dalcroze Eurhythmics classes at their Suzuki Institute summer program and it's one of their favorite things because it's so fun. – Nathan Apr 29 '11 at 21:51
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I've come across Dalcroze Eurhythmics as part of a class on Kodaly - our teacher gave us a taster of some DE exercises. My impression is that (rather like Alexander Technique) it could be extremely useful to beginner musicians/performers because it embodies good habits before you have a chance to develop the bad ones!

Internalising pulse and rhythm in the body is essential for later playing. Musicians who have trouble with this often exbibit problems such as speeding up, over-intellectualising (e.g. only being able to play rhythms through counting rather than feeling them), or over-controlling the body (a problem I experience in conducting).

As Kyle says, the exercises are also massively fun - so a beginner player struggling with various technical and mental challenges might find these very helpful in keeping the momentum and joy going!

(Your question made me look up DE again, so I might now have talked myself into giving it a go - alas, to fix the bad habits I already have!)

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