Incorporating Movement into High School Choral Classrooms: A Practical Approach
Location
King Building 127
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-27-2019 5:00 PM
End Date
4-27-2019 6:20 PM
Abstract
Integrating kinesthetic movement into the choral classroom yields more sophisticated musical understanding. As music education scholar Hilary Apfelstadt notes, “the body quite literally supports the vocal mechanism” (1985). While there are several existing studies on the effects of incorporating movement into musical spaces, their theoretical or technical frameworks can act as a barrier to their application in actual classrooms. My project offers a practical approach to incorporating movement into the high school choral classroom. Based in extensive study of the leading philosophies and practices for using movement in music rehearsal (e.g. Dalcroze eurhythmics, Laban movement analysis, etc.), this capstone presents an example curriculum, which includes musical pieces specifically chosen to exemplify the strategies and objectives of each method. The curriculum also includes detailed, accessible explanations of connections between the vocal work and movement activities as well as recommendations for implementation in a high school classroom.
Keywords:
Movement, movement in music, education, secondary education, choral music, choir/chorus, curriculum
Recommended Citation
Leavitt, Peri, "Incorporating Movement into High School Choral Classrooms: A Practical Approach" (04/27/19). Senior Symposium. 2.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2019/panel_23/2
Major
Musical Studies; English
Advisor(s)
Jody Kerchner, Music Education
Laura Baudot, English
Project Mentor(s)
Kathryn Metz, Ethnomusicology
Jody Kerchner, Music Education
April 2019
Incorporating Movement into High School Choral Classrooms: A Practical Approach
King Building 127
Integrating kinesthetic movement into the choral classroom yields more sophisticated musical understanding. As music education scholar Hilary Apfelstadt notes, “the body quite literally supports the vocal mechanism” (1985). While there are several existing studies on the effects of incorporating movement into musical spaces, their theoretical or technical frameworks can act as a barrier to their application in actual classrooms. My project offers a practical approach to incorporating movement into the high school choral classroom. Based in extensive study of the leading philosophies and practices for using movement in music rehearsal (e.g. Dalcroze eurhythmics, Laban movement analysis, etc.), this capstone presents an example curriculum, which includes musical pieces specifically chosen to exemplify the strategies and objectives of each method. The curriculum also includes detailed, accessible explanations of connections between the vocal work and movement activities as well as recommendations for implementation in a high school classroom.
Notes
Session VII, Panel 23 - Music | Education
Moderator: Jody Kerchner, Professor of Music Education and Director of the Division of Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement