The history of Creative Motion work finds it’s most prevalent application in the field of music performance and music education. However, Creative Motion students have learned that studying the principles of how energy works within the body can have energizing benefits for the whole person - body, mind and spirit - regardless of the endeavor.
Creative Motion principles can be applied
to any aspect of your life!
The study of Creative Motion can lead you to:
•a greater understanding of emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental traits of energy
•a greater awareness of your body’s responses to that energy
•better understanding of the internal pathways that lead to outer expression
•elimination of barriers that will help you become happier and more productive
•improved expressive skills, through music, verbal communication, and other artistic means
•a profound sense of balance and well-being in all areas of life Click the links to the left to learn more about how studying Creative Motion might help you!
CREATIVE MOTION for PRIVATE STUDIO TEACHERS:
Many people instinctively "know" if a piece of music has been effectively performed. Teaching a performer to "be expressive" is sometimes, however, a real challenge. Creative Motion provides alternatives to traditional forms of instruction, which seem to assume that expression marks are an external addition to the music. These strategies help you to involve your students in allowing their own music to flow naturally. Dynamics become a natural, integral part of the music.
The whole person - body, mind and spirit - is the primary instrument in all music-making. By internalizing the motion of music through movement, another layer of experience is added for the musician. The piano, cello, or trumpet can only produce music which has already been experienced within the musician's body.
The interrelated elements of pitch, interval, melody, pulse, note value, rhythm, meter, harmony and phrase are explored through movement exercises. Creative Motion helps you guide your students as they learn about balance and movement through space, they gain a deeper understanding of the relationships of time within music
Some of the first teachers who studied Creative Motion were those who fit this category. The private studio provides the perfect setting for finding nuance in the score, and bringing a heightened sense of artistry to the performance. Young students and those students with attention issues find Creative Motion exercises and experiential games quite stimulating.
"I have started holding group lessons for my students once or twice a month in order to explore Creative Motion with my students. It really has made a difference in my teaching and in my student's performance." -Susan McGuire, private piano teacher, Iowa City, Iowa.
For more information about how Creative Motion might enhance your studio, contact Dr. Robert C. Smith at rcsmith@ftw.com "Creative Motion...[is] a guide to teaching musicianship from the inner experience."
-Evelyn P. Walker
CREATIVE MOTION for GENERAL MUSIC CLASSROOM TEACHERS:
Creative Motion’s origins lie in part as a result of Martha Russell’s study with Jacques Dalcroze. Teachers who use Creative Motion principles within their classrooms recognize that the whole person - body, mind and spirit - is the primary instrument in all music-making. Creative Motion activities help the student internalize the motion of music through movement, adding another valuable layer of experience. The student is better able to describe, analyze, and produce music which has already been experienced within the body.
Through Creative Motion work, the interrelated elements of pitch, interval, melody, pulse, note value, rhythm, meter, harmony and phrase are explored through movement exercises. Creative Motion helps you guide your students as they learn about the energy at the source of the music, and are better able to connect with a composer’s intent. As students learn about balance and movement through space, they gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between the various musical elements, as well as their relationships and/or the relationship of their part to the whole ensemble or piece of music.
"Creative Motion...[is] a guide to teaching musicianship from the inner experience."
-Evelyn P. Walker
From a curricular content standpoint, Creative Motion's attention to the areas of rhythm, melody and harmony is a great fit for the general music classroom. Creative Motion provides the classroom teacher with tools to improve student performance, and even helps with classroom management. Attending Windswept can also help you earn 3 graduate credit hours for a very reasonable cost.
"When I use Creative Motion with my students in the classroom, the lessons run more smoothly, we accomplish more in less time and we have fun! Everyone is focused on the common goals, and the class is more harmonious. It has really made a difference in my teaching." -Phyllis Pasley, music specialist, St. Louis, Missouri.
Creative Motion begins with your talent, then builds around it a cohesive union of body and mind techniques. These techniques, when efficiently and unselfconsciously engaged, enable you to move beyond the limitations of your talent. It is not unusual to hear a Creative Motion student perform with unexpected maturity. In fact, it is the norm!
The whole person - body, mind and spirit - is the primary instrument in all music-making. Music must be experienced with the body first. By internalizing the motion of music through movement, another layer of experience is added for the musician which can produce a more satisfying performance.
The interrelated elements of music (melody, rhythm, harmony, phrase etc.) are explored through movement exercises. Creative Motion application classes provide specific instruction in how the principles discussed may be applied to the voice, piano, or other instruments. By helping students find ways to experience the music inside, their level of artistic expression can become greatly enhanced.
Music students also frequently find themselves in competitive situations. Whether auditioning for ensembles, roles, festivals or just preparing for the next jury, Creative Motion frequently gives them a performance "edge" as it releases much of the tensions within the body which can inhibit optimal performance. It also can help bring them closer to discovering the composer's intent and the hidden joy and beauty of the music. Creative Motion helps them develop the tools to understand how the different musical elements and traits of energy within the music work to bring their artistry to a whole new level. "When I came back from workshop, I played for my teacher at home. He said to me 'What have you been doing?' Creative Motion really made a difference in how I played and it was obvious right away!" -Brent Ballard, trombone performer and teacher, Charlotte, North Carolina
For more information about how Creative Motion might help you improve your musicianship, contact Dr. Mary Ann Fritz at mfritz616@aol.com "[Students] learn techniques... to help them function with wholeness in any situation or activity."
- Florice Tanner
•Do your ensembles sometimes seem to lose energy in the middle of a piece?
•Do you find your rhythms and pitches are not quite as accurate as you’d like?
•Want help with shaping phrases?
Creative Motion can help!
"Creative Motion...[is] a guide to teaching musicianship from the inner experience."
-Evelyn P. Walker
Conductors who use Creative Motion principles with their ensembles recognize that the whole person - body, mind and spirit - is the primary instrument in all music-making. Using Creative Motion techniques will help your members internalize the motion of music through active listening and movement which results in greater rhythmic accuracy, improved intonation, and an enhanced aesthetic experience for performer and audience alike.
Creative Motion explores the interrelated elements of pitch, interval, melody, pulse, note value, rhythm, meter, harmony and phrase through analysis, active listening, and movement. Creative Motion helps you and your ensembles learn about the energy at the source of the music, and can provide a stronger link with a composer’s intent. Ensemble members gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between the various musical elements within the piece, as well as their personal relationship to the larger whole.
For more information about how Creative Motion might enhance your conducting, or your ensemble’s performance, contact Frank Heller at fahiii@aol.com or Ty Magsig Miller at mtwila@hotmail.com “Once my singers become truly connected to the inner listening and inner feeling level of the music, then the art begins.” -Ty Magsig Miller, conductor - Jacksonville Children's Choir and Certified Creative Motion Instructor
The whole person - body, mind and spirit - is the primary instrument in any endeavor. Unlike simple movement for movement’s sake, Creative Motion uses music as a tool to help students awaken the body and the mind for any activity. Teachers in classrooms where Creative Motion is practiced find that students are more productive, calm, centered and focused.
Early Creative Motion researchers found a correlation between Creative Motion practice and an improvement in IQ scores, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, and academic performance. Anecdotal records indicated that their social skills and level of self-confidence improved and photographic evidence reviealed improved posture. One research study revealed a significant improvement in penmanship and additional opportunities for more action research in applying Creative Motion to other curricular areas abound.Although the data these studies generated comes to us from the 1920’s, the ideas they discuss are fresh in our time as well. By eliminating the barriers that inhibit performance, students are better able to perform any task.
Attending the Windswept Workshop is a wonderful way to blend a love for music, and a desire to help students succeed. No performance skills are necessary; all you need is an open mind and a love to music. Attending the week-long Windswept Music Workshop can also help you earn 3 graduate credit hours for a very reasonable cost.
For more information about how Creative Motion might help you better serve your students, contact Phyllis Pasley at ppasley@psdr3.org
"[Students] learn techniques... to help them function with wholeness in any situation or activity." - Florice Tanner
“Learn techniques for helping clients to experience increased social connectedness and a personal sense of wholeness.” Dr. Lora Little, liscensed counselor, Certified GIM Therapist (Bonny Method)
Creative Motion provides you as a therapist with additional music analysis skills through a unique process that allows you to experience music on many different levels - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Based on universal principles that define the movement of energy through the music, Creative Motion provides an opportunity to get "inside" the music and thus better understand how it effects the listener/experiencer/performer.
Participants frequently voice how certain Creative Motion exercises have helped them not only in their musical performance, but also in gaining a new perspective on issues involving personal development. In addition, since 1996 an Expressive Arts component has been featured at workshops. Learn techniques for helping clients to experience increased social connectedness and a personal sense of wholeness.
GREAT NEWS: Some Creative Motion workshops have been accepted by the MTNA as CBMT Credit for Continuing Education.
For more information about how Creative Motion might help you better serve you and your clients, contact Dr. Lora Little at Loramysteries@fastermac.net
"Everything we do we do with our bodies." -Ann Niles
Experience wholeness through the study of energy and the ideas at the source which govern our actions. Creative Motion helps you learn about balance and movement through space in response to music, and helps you check the balances in your everyday life as well. Frequently, participants voice how Creative Motion musical experiences help them learn about an issue in their “real world.”
The whole person - body, mind and spirit - is the primary instrument in any endeavor. Creative Motion helps you experience that sense of wholeness through music and provides tools which can help you when the complexities of the music, or the complexities of your life, have you in a state of confusion. People report that their study of Creative Motion and interaction with music finds them feeling more balanced, and calm and yet energized at the same time.
For more information about how Creative Motion might help you, contact Mary Hannah Klontz at mhsongbird@comcast.net
"[Creative Motion students] learn techniques... to help them function with wholeness in any situation or activity." - Florice Tanner
