This article aims to describe the phenomenon of spirituality in music education by means of a model derived from the academic literature on the topic. Given the centrality of lived experience within this literature, we adopted a hermeneutic phenomenological theoretical framework to describe the phenomenon. The NCT (noticing, collecting, and thinking) model was used for the qualitative document analysis. Atlas.ti 7, computer-aided qualitative data analysis software, was used to support and organize the inductive qualitative data analysis process. After data saturation, we used Van Manen’s lifeworld existentials (corporeality, relationality, spatiality, and temporality) to help organize the many quotes, codes, and categories that emerged from analyzing the literature. The model that results assigns codes to quotes and codes to categories, which in turn appear within one of these four lifeworlds. This article not only offers a working conceptual model of spirituality in music education but may also help to foster an awareness of spiritual experience in pedagogical contexts and thus contribute to what Van Manen calls “pedagogic thoughtfulness and tact.”

For some time now, urban settlements in the rural areas of South Africa have experienced considerable problems relating to municipal water and sanitation service delivery. In September 2013, as part of a larger investigation in the town of Brandfort in the Free State Province, a transdisciplinary research team, Cultural Dynamics of Water (CuDyWat), conducted a workshop using Dalcroze-inspired activities based on music and movement to generate insight into local water-related problems. The objective was to come to an understanding of the lived experiences of a random group of community members and to contemplate potential solutions to the conundrum. This article reports on a novel application of Dalcroze, with non-musician participants, for the betterment of a social group in crisis. It is argued that Dalcroze-inspired activities are useful to encourage people to express themselves and gain better insight into the problems they face. This approach also serves to strengthen relationships in highly diverse groups.

Several authors have noted that one of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze's i aims was to dissolve the mind-body dualism, typical of Cartesianism. However, there has been little research on the spirit-body connection, as it appears in Jaques-Dalcroze's writings. The purpose of this document analysis is to understand how a hermeneutic phenomenological model for spirituality in music education (Van der Merwe & Habron, 2015) can inform our understanding of spirituality in selected writings by Jaques-Dalcroze. In the adapted model holism, balance, aesthetic experience, and movement in time, space and with energy emerged as core concepts. We conclude with suggestions for how we might teach for spirituality in Dalcroze Eurhythmics contexts, based on the findings.

This phenomenological study investigated the meaning of Dalcroze-inspired activities for first-year Baccalareus Musicae (BMus) students during a music education module and describes the essence of this experience for them. In the first semesters of 2011 and 2013, these movement activities were concurrently facilitated during workshops by a licensed Dalcroze teacher and during the semester by a senior lecturer in music education. In the first semester of 2012, a Dalcroze student in her final year presented workshops and another music education lecturer facilitated the activities. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews, reflective essays and reflective descriptions until data saturation was reached. Data were organized using Atlas.ti 7 and analysed by means of coding, categorizing, and the identification of themes. The following main themes have been identified: social integration, joyful experience, bodily experience, easier understanding, and musical expression. This article will provide a deeper understanding of what it is like for first-year BMus students in South Africa to experience Dalcroze-inspired activities. Their experiences can inform the use of Dalcroze-inspired activities in music education at tertiary level and support advocacy for the embodied and enactive view of music cognition. This study was shaped by my first extraordinary experience with Dalcroze Eurhythmics during a workshop 1 by a licensed Dalcroze teacher from Sweden. 2 I can still remember it very clearly. As we moved through the room I could feel how my muscles relaxed, mind cleared, heart opened and ears became more aware. I stood in a new, open, uninhibited relation to my colleagues and students. Without words we shared the wonders of musical expression and understanding. The experiences I had in these workshops correlated with the way I feel when School of Music, North-West University Potchefstroom campus (MASARA), RSA

The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is to understand the lived musical experiences of three individuals living with Williams syndrome (WS). We are interested in their lived musical experiences because the musical abilities of WS individuals are similar to those of normal control groups despite their severe cognitive impairments. Although there is literature on the medical manifestations of the syndrome, there is no research on their lived musical experiences. Their musical experiences need to be explored as a possible way to help them to cope with their unique challenges. In this IPA we used semi-structured interviews and the six steps of data analysis for IPA suggested by Smith et al. (2009). Four superordinate themes emerged from data analysis, namely, that: a) the participants have a passion for performance; b) music allows the participants to foster friendships; c) music allows them to cope with challenging situations; and d) they display musical dependency. The findings of this study can be used to advocate the importance of music in the everyday lives of individuals with WS.