 About
My Suzuki Program
Individual Lessons
All students will receive
one individual lesson per week. It's called "individual"
because I'll work with one student at a time. However, the
Suzuki parent will attend all lessons, take notes, and sometimes
participate. Other students and teachers may also be present
as observers. I'll work with you to determine the appropriate
lesson length based on the age and attention span of your
child.
Group Lessons
All students attend group
lessons every other week. In these classes your child will
be motivated by playing music with friends, and by hearing
more advanced pieces. Students learn the special skills required
to play in and ensemble, as well as ear training, music reading,
music theory, and music history. Parents attend these classes,
and sometimes participate. These lessons are an essential
part of every Suzuki program, and are as vital to the student's
motivation and learning as the individual lesson.
Recitals and Group Performances
Many students consider the recitals their
favorite part of playing an instrument. With frequent performance
opportunities, even young children develop poise and confidence
through careful preparation of their pieces in anticipation
of a public performance.
Your child will perform a solo piece in
a recital at least once every semester. In addition, the group
class will perform periodically for parents and friends, and
at community events and nursing or retirement homes.
Many children are motivated by performing for family members,
whether it's an impromptu demonstration of a new piece for
Dad or Grandma, or a more formal performance at a holiday
gathering. You may also look into scheduling performances
for your child's school talent show, church service, or anyone
else who will listen and provide compliments.
Listening
Although Suzuki students learn to read music, they learn
most of their performance repertoire by ear, in keeping with
Dr. Suzuki's philosophy of learning music in the same way
that babies learn to speak. Babies will listen to their parents
speech for months before they attempt to imitate those sounds,
and they don't learn to read until they're speaking fluently.
Suzuki students listen daily to recordings of the music they'll
learn to play. As a result of this listening, they often show
an impressive ability to perform with characteristic phrasing,
articulation, expression, and a beautiful sound. New students
should begin listening to the recording of book I of the Suzuki
Violin or Viola School as early as possible--ideally several
months before beginning lessons.
Your child will begin reading music without using the instrument
soon after starting lessons, and will read with the instrument
whe he or she is able to play in tune, with a straight bow
and a good sound, and with fluent, relaxed movements, all
while concentrating on the new skill of reading notes.
Home Practice
Most of your child's learning will take place during home
practice, not at the lessons. Much of performance is a physical
skill. I'll teach you what needs to be learned, then your
child will develop muscle memory by repeating the skills many
times at home.
You and your child should practice together daily for about
the same amount of time as your lesson length. Even more important
than the length of the practice session, however, is the frequency--every
day. If you skip days, your child will forget some of what
was learned during the last practice session. Relearning those
skills can be frustrating, and cause your child to resist
practicing the next day. This can become a vicious cycle!
To avoid this, set up a routine, and don't allow exceptions.
While you may need to use fun activities to provide motivation
at first, with productive daily practice, your child will
become motivated by his or her success and a desire to learn
new skills.
As a parent, you should devote your entire attention to the
practice session, without trying to do household chores or
other activities during practice.
For mor information about the Suzuki Method, and
about Shinichi Suzuki, visit the Suzuki Association of the
Americas website at www.suzukiassociation.org.
Phone: 804-915-7463
e-mail: teresa@suzukiteresa.com
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