violining

Today I attended an introductory class to the Suzuki methood for parents and teachers. That's the methood of violin that I learned from age three and have taught for over 10 years. The reason I went was that it's now required for teachers who want to do further certification, but I am also curious about seeing things from a different perspective.

Suzuki depends on a high level of parent interaction - from attending classes with their kids, listening to the music constantly to being their teacher at home and practicing with them every day. I've been telling parents how to do this for years, but now that Solei is entering the age that kids are encouraged to begin - I'm suddenly feeling lost and terrified that I'll introduce it wrong and it will be a total disaster!

It was a HUGE help to attend the class. It talked about the main points of Suzuki and was a helpful reminder to me of what I already know.

In the method, violin is used as a tool to teach patience, confidence, discipline, cooperation, self-control, fine motor skills... well, you name it, it teaches it. The goal is NOT to grow professional musicians - but good people. The side product is they end up playing violin at a very high level.

I don't know how soon I will get Solei a teacher, but I'm already starting the framework - playing the CD for her, singing the songs, teaching her rhythms, and letting her try her "own violin" while supervised (it was the one I started on at 3).

But after all these years of smiling at the child and parent for 30 minutes a week and telling them what to do - it's now my turn to see if I can practice what I preach. Wish us luck!!