Methods and Effectiveness of Implementing Body Expressions in Music Appreciation Lesson of 'Yagibushi' : From the Perspective of Synchronised Movements

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the methods of implementing body expressions in music appreciation lessons of Japanese folk songs from the perspective of synchronised movements, and to clarify the effectiveness of such methods. First, the author has clarified the significance of learning Japanese folk songs through the perspective of synchronised movements by examining previous works. Next, the author has conducted a music appreciation lesson on 'Yagibushi' that incorporates the creation of 'Bon Odori,' which is conceived by the author as a traditional Japanese body expression used by a particular community of people. The author has analysed all video recordings taken during the lesson from the perspective of bodily synchronisation. From the results of the analysis, the author has examined the method of implementing bodily movements in the music appreciation lesson on 'Yagibushi', and has discussed the effectiveness of such method. The author has drawn the following conclusions: 1. When learning 'Yagibushi', the fourth-grade elementary school students were made to imitate the basic steps of Bon Odori, treating those steps as the 'mould' for their movements, and to use those as the base for creating the dance movements to the accompanying rhythm. 2. When creating the dance movements to the accompanying rhythm, many groups moved in synchronisation. 3. Through the bodily synchronisation, the movements to the beat and the corresponding images had a continuous reciprocal influence on each other. 4. As a result, the images became more diversified and the children's feelings became deeper. 5. The above implies that the method of having students imitate the steps of Bon Odori and using it as the base for creating dance was effective because it easily enables synchronised movements and thus deepens the children's feelings. Further research on testing these results in lessons on different Japanese folk songs is suggested.