“Learning odd meter in contemporary jazz through Dalcroze eurhythmics"

Brad Mehldau is undoubtedly the most influential jazz pianist of the past three decades. Building upon the heritage of traditional jazz, he has also integrated elements from classical composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, as well as rock musicians like the Beatles into his solo piano and trio performances, leading the trend of contemporary jazz. In my opinion, the various elements that Brad Mehldau uses for improvisation and composition can correspond to the various eurhythmic themes in Dalcroze's approach.

One of the important elements Brad has brought to contemporary jazz is his exploration of playing odd meters, such as 7 or 5 meters, with a particular emphasis on 7 meters. He not only uses these odd meters to rearrange American classic jazz standards, such as "All the Things You Are," but also incorporates them into many of his original compositions.

In this course, I will guide everyone to experience and learn about the odd meters and harmony found in Brad Mehldau's most important original composition, "Resignation," through Dalcroze eurhythmics.

April 22/23, 2023 with Cynthia Lilley (USA)

A Journey through Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn

In my workshop we will be working with the theme and variation form, zeroing in on Brahms’ wonderful work.  Through movement we will examine the theme, particularly for its structure, which will be constant throughout the variations.  Then we will move through the entire piece, experiencing the myriad ways the theme is treated.

February 11/12, 2023 with Toru Sakai (Japan)

"Subdivision and Rhythm"
“Rhythm”.  We hear this word often, but rarely have the opportunity to consider what it really means.  Rhythm is a combination of long and short notes. People usually focus on timing only,  but it is also very important to consider different weights and how energy flows. Where the mathematical values of specific rhythm is set and does not require a performer/composer/listener to be “correct”, the actual music of rhythm is found in the motion of that music, as experienced in the feeling participant. There is only one way to feel and understand rhythm. That is to move to the music.  In this masterclass, we will explore this through Dalcroze Eurhythmics.

March 18/19, 2023 with Anetta Pasternak (Poland)

"Plastique Animée workshop – Musical form and its image in motion and space"
Plastique Animée in Dalcroze's method is an artistic way of embodying music expressed in movement. This idea, based on creative action, develops musical sensitivity, imagination, and musical and movement expression. As a result of this process, an image of a musical work is created based on a thorough analysis and interpreted through the author's movement. The interpretation of music in Dalcroze's concept of Plastique Animée reflects the musical form through expressive movement in space. This expressive form requires the use of spatial-movement arrangement to show the internal structure of the work and its individual elements. The essence of interpretation is the expression of movement resulting from the emotional feeling of music.

This workshop will be related to the form of variation, which is a particularly interesting material for the creative process. Participants will explore the nuances of expressive movement in space in relation to form variation.

October 15/16, 2022 with Ruth Alperson (USA) 

September 17/18, 2022 with Lauren Hodgson (USA)