Glossary of Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary. If the term you are looking for starts with a digit or symbol, choose the ‘#’ link.
arrhythm
an erratic, unsteady pulse.
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backbeat
term used by some musicians for “syncopation.”
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crusis
from Greek crusoic- to strike. Often used in reference to the first beat of a measure.
crusic
a quality of sound and beat that feels as if it were moving downward, toward the earth.
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dactylic
From Greek poetics. Corresponding to the musical pattern of “long-short-short.”
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errhythm
A performance that is correct, mechanical, and dull.
eurhythm
From Greek: (eu) good /(rhythm) flow
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game(s)
Structured musical activities. Jaques-Dalcroze referred to the activities as games because the brain learns more at rest and games have inherent rules that are both interesting and challenging to learn and master. Pedagogically, the game becomes the authority for the student, rather than the teacher. This circumvents the problems inherent in the typical student-teacher relationship. The student is also able to measure her/his success by how well s/he was able to master the rules, rather than waiting for the teacher’s evaluation.
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kinesthesia
from the Greek terms, kines- motion or movement, thesia- awareness of. Thus kinesthesia would literately “awareness of motion.”
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Pestalozzi, Johann Heinrich (1746-1827), the Swiss educational innovator. See http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-pest.htm for more information.
Pasting
John has run into trouble in a particular section of music. The teacher has worked with him and helped him make some changes. There is an improvement. However the teacher decides s/he wants to make some additional changes, again with the intention of helping John. John’s performance deteriorates, his eyes lose their sparkle, his body loses energy or the movements become mechanical. This is a prime example of “pasting.” As teachers, we have probably all “pasted” our concerns and solutions onto the students, and we have probably experienced pasting when we were students.
Is there a difference between the performance deteriorating because the student is attempting to make changes and pasting? I think so. When the student is struggling to make changes, his/her physical energies are still involved and her/his eyes are alive. In pasting, the student has given up and energy is drained from the body.
Neurologically, what might be occurring in pasting is “downshifting.” That means the brain is perceiving the situation as threatening and retreating to a safer, more comfortable place.
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rhythm
The varieties of flow through time and space (Emile Jaques-Dalcroze). The term is derived from the Greek, rhythmos, meaning “river” or “flow.”
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