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Which Kind of Music Is Best?
There seems to be two diverse opinions on the subject of whether transcriptions and arrangements of classical literature offer the preferred choice of musical material for use in ballet classes.
The Arguments
People who favor it point out that ballet music is precisely what the ballet students will ultimately be dancing to, so it's an obvious choice of music for use in training them. People who disagree say that the requirements of learning ballet have little to do with the discipline of performance, and therefore the music should be written for and tailored to each individual ballet exercise.
I Changed My Mind
I was enthusiastically a proponent of using adaptations until I came across the First Class Albums which were created following the foundations of the Motosonus Method. The concept behind this strategy is clear and straighforward, but quite powerful.
The Motosonus Method
The Motosonus Method outlines an approach to composing and improvising ballet class music that focuses on supporting the lessons being learned in class. This is accomplished by constantly providing the dancers in class with musical signals that ultimately communicate directly with their muscles. The music creates states of rhythmic and phrased consonance and dissonance that correspond to the tension and relaxation that takes place in the dancers' muscles when the exercise is being executed in the correct manner. This is a simplified version of it, but it will serve for this post.
What's more, the music extracts more out of the dancers by manipulating tempo, rubato and beat placement. For example, the completion of phrases can be prolonged to maximize a stretch or to cause the dancers to hold a position just a bit longer. These methods, which perhaps seem small in themselves add up over time to an increased rate of learning and an increased level of dance technique in significantly less time.
Does the Music Matter?
If you ever wondered if the music employed in ballet class truly makes a difference in the effectiveness of the teaching and the progress of the students, you need to try out music written following the Motosonus Method.
The Arguments
People who favor it point out that ballet music is precisely what the ballet students will ultimately be dancing to, so it's an obvious choice of music for use in training them. People who disagree say that the requirements of learning ballet have little to do with the discipline of performance, and therefore the music should be written for and tailored to each individual ballet exercise.
I Changed My Mind
I was enthusiastically a proponent of using adaptations until I came across the First Class Albums which were created following the foundations of the Motosonus Method. The concept behind this strategy is clear and straighforward, but quite powerful.
The Motosonus Method
The Motosonus Method outlines an approach to composing and improvising ballet class music that focuses on supporting the lessons being learned in class. This is accomplished by constantly providing the dancers in class with musical signals that ultimately communicate directly with their muscles. The music creates states of rhythmic and phrased consonance and dissonance that correspond to the tension and relaxation that takes place in the dancers' muscles when the exercise is being executed in the correct manner. This is a simplified version of it, but it will serve for this post.
What's more, the music extracts more out of the dancers by manipulating tempo, rubato and beat placement. For example, the completion of phrases can be prolonged to maximize a stretch or to cause the dancers to hold a position just a bit longer. These methods, which perhaps seem small in themselves add up over time to an increased rate of learning and an increased level of dance technique in significantly less time.
Does the Music Matter?
If you ever wondered if the music employed in ballet class truly makes a difference in the effectiveness of the teaching and the progress of the students, you need to try out music written following the Motosonus Method.
About the Author:
This is brought to you by Gaylord Pannitron. For more details about how to play the piano for ballet class, there are examples at this link: ballet class music, which is an internet site for ballet class teachers and pianists. The First Class Albums, mentioned in this post can be found in Amazon's ballet class music listings.