suzuki violin method?

[noralucille]

Anyone have any experience with the Suzuki violin method? Our daughter is three and quite outgoing and we are have begun investigating this music teaching method. Teaching her to play any instrument (other than the radio!) is not possible for hubby and I as neither one of us learned. We have some friends who have used it and loved it but want to get other opinions.

thanks!

[SunRise]

My 3 year old son started suzuki violin method a month ago. He is taking a group lesson, once a week, for 45 minutes per class. It is called the pre-twinkle course. The kids learn the parts of a violin and bow, learn clapping and rhythm. They learn how to bow. The feet positions, fingering, violin placement and we sing twinkle twinkle little start a lot. The kids are given a cardboard violin. Occassionally the teacher plays her real one, or uses a real one to go over the parts. My son loves it when she pulls out the real violin. All the kids perk up. We have done 4 or 5 classes out of 10.

One parent must attend the class - that is part of the method. Practicing once a day for 10 minutes is the challenge. In a book written by Suzuki, he claims that it is much better for a child to learn from someone else, rather then the parents, as the parent might teach the child the same "deficiency" they have. The method is largely based on the same way a child learns its own language and how to speak - Its not a talent that a child is born with, but one that a child learns. Get a violin cd and play it everyday, so the childs ear will train. etc.

There are 2 four year old girls and one 5 yr old girl in his class.
The girls love it and are eager to participate.
My son loves it too, but the lesson occurs right after his nap, so most times he is still drowsy.

So far we are happy with it. My son mostly sits on my lap and does not participate. He does observe and takes everything in, which is good. And he is learning with practicing. A child absorbs soooo much, I thought it was a good opportunity to start something like this.

You might check out Suzukis' book ... Nurtured by Love by Shinichi Suzuki

[3for3hb]

i learned to play both the violin and cello with this method as a child. didn't read what the pp said but it was really easy to learn because they taught love for the instrument and music before introducing note reading and theory.
i will have my sons take lessons when they are old enough (currently 2 and 3months)

[MindfulBirth]

My mom, who is a doctor of musicology (don't ask!) likes to say "Suzuki is for people who only want to play violin as a hobby!"

I don't think she is a fan.

[Ellien C]

Originally Posted by theatremum

My mom, who is a doctor of musicology (don't ask!) likes to say "Suzuki is for people who only want to play violin as a hobby!"

She says that like it's a BAD thing!

I've met 2 of the most delightful Suzuki violinists. Wandering musicians - they were outgoing, confident and willing to play anything asked. I was with a Cello player and she made the mistake of asking him what he knew. He demurred that he was a Suzuki player and could play anything he'd heard. It was very cool - kind of a Ren Faire thing.

I'd do Suzuki in a heartbeat if DD wanted to learn an instrument. What better gift than to give a "hobby" of making music.

[erykah343]

I learned to play on the Suzuki method and loved it. I reccomend it.

I was 4 when I started, and my parents told me if I was going to start playing the violin I had to make a 2 year commitment, and each year after that that I wanted to play I had to make the 2 year commitment.

[emdeecee_sierra]

My DC are involved with Suzuki. Our teacher was a Suzuki student and is now a very accomplished musician in the Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonic communities. Our local Suzuki group is fantastic and has produced more than a handful of the same, ie teenagers with paying jobs in the Phil. Not too shabby, I'd say. We don't have our children learning with the end goal of becoming accomplished, world-class violinists. If that happens, then great. In the meantime, they are developing tremendous skills that positively affect so many other aspects of their development. It is SUCH a wonderful method, I truly do not understand (and I've read them, just don't understand the venom behind it) the critics of the method. Suzuki's ideals are purely AP. Hands down, there is no other way to explain it. Gentle, AP. So this is a perfect fit for my family.

My DC#1 started at 3.5, and the others when they are ready, which has been consistently prior to that age. As a parent, it is fascinating to watch their progress and development in this context.

I really could just rave on and on about how wonderful we've found the Suzuki method Feel free to pm me if you have more questions for me!

[hxcmama]

My daugher (who turns 4 this month) started 3 weeks ago. We have a private teacher, and I found it to be much less expensive than the local music centers - we pay $15 a week versus about 45-50 a week with the programs. She goes very slow, but got to learn how to hold a bow the first lesson and the violin the third. The teacher is very gentle and uses extremely childfriendly methods. My daugher thinks it is very fun. The upside is that because I am there, I will be learning the basics of violin as well.

[Decca]

My mom, who is a doctor of musicology (don't ask!) likes to say "Suzuki is for people who only want to play violin as a hobby!"

That's just nuts. My MIL is a Suzuki teacher. My husband and all his four sisters grew up using the Suzuki method, and all are professional musicians, two playing in major US orchestras. It's a fun thing for little kids to do, and if they show aptitude and want to continue, Suzuki can be modified for more advanced students, plus the advanced students are usually finished entirely with the curriculum by the time they're eleven or twelve anyway.

[Liz]

My nephew (8 yrs) takes piano in the Suzuki method and my nieces (7 and 9 yrs.) take piano but not Suzuki. My nephew figured out how to play the Harry Potter theme all by himself, he can tinkle away without any music in front of him and is quite pleasant to listen to. When my nieces have no music in front of them they plunk away missing notes, starting over, and it is excruciating to listen to. They're not that much better with music.

Now I do think my nephew has a higher aptitude for music than my nieces and the suzuki method suits him really well. He started talking at 1 yr. and would collect words like a little magpie. You'd hear him quietly repeating words from our conversation to himself (his father and grandfather are mathematicians so it was really funny to hear him quietly saying "algorythm" or "eigenvalue"). He wasn't interested in what they meant just the sound. I don't know if it is a term but i would call him an "aural learner".

So I'm wondering if the suzuki method is more suited to kid's with a certain kind of learning style?

[DesertMommy]

I am sorry I can't remember where I read this, but I remember reading that the Suzuki method doesn't really translate as well to the western culture as it does the eastern one in which it originated. Something about students with a different attitude because of such a different culture... ??? sorry so vague, its all I can remember.

[Bekka]

Suzuki

I have a 7 1/2 year old who is playing violin and has since she was 3 yrs. 2 months. Suzuki. For the most part I LOVE the pedagogy of Suzuki, and especially his musical ideals and his acceptance of all children being able to learn and love music. Our goals are also that our children will learn to love music and appreciate it and have that outlet as they get older.

DH and I both have music education backgrounds, band, orchestra, piano, no Suzuki. I started dd #2 on piano non-Suzuki, and I'm finding it hard to stay motivated. It's cheaper (Suzuki has not been inexpensive in our experience/places we live), but after we stabilize after buying our house, I'm trying to convince dh to start dd with another (hopefully Suzuki) piano teacher. DS (3rd) is pretty much a preTwinkler now, 2 yo, loves the songs, can name parts of the violin, etc. I don't know for sure if he'll choose, and we may wait until he's 4 (current teacher accepts at 3) or 3 1/2, but we'll just have to see how it all goes together.

The 2 different programs dd has been in have made adaptations to the Western style of education/independence, such as learning note reading and theory sooner. Overall it is excellent. It can be done well or not well, so do a lot of research into the programs. I had 2 friends with Suzuki training when I did my research. Both our programs (diff. geographical areas) have been fairly traditional Suzuki. There are some Suzuki teachers who "take the students who none of the other Suzuki teachers will take." Depends on your kid.

[lobster]

I am a Suzuki violin teacher with several three-year-old students. This is a great age to start! Please be aware that if you begin lessons at this age, you will move very slowly in the beginning - it takes a lot to establish the basics and build an attention span with a child of 3, and your dedication to the program and willingness to let things unfold at their own pace are the most important factors. Show enthusiasm for every little step along the way, and establish a steady routine for practice, and you will be rewarded with a wonderful music experience to share with your child.

[spinspin]

Opinion from a music teacher

My SIL teaches trumpet to older (10yo) children, and she is in favor of ALL types of music education, but what she says is this: kids who began with Suzuki but then switch instruments often have a bit of trouble learning to think about named notes and chords. They have to re-learn to order musical thoughts in the traditional, sight-reading way. However, that is merely a hiccup for some of them, she says. If it successfully encourages an early competence in music, it is probably a perfectly good idea.

[K&JsMaMa]

Both of my children are in Suzuki music. Ds1 (age 11) plays cello. He's been playing for over a year. Ds2 (age 6) plays violin. He's been playing for 1 month. They both LOVE it!!! DH and I love to see them learn music and develop a love for their instrument.

I love the Suzuki philosophy. I think it's a wonderful program.