Suzuki Violin Method

[WildRosie]

If you learned the violin in school - or anywhere else - were you taught with this course ? I was, from 1977 to 1980. Whilst it made me a reasonably competent junior musician, it didn't teach me how to read music which, in hindsight, wasn't a good idea. Suzuki just taught me which fingers to put on which string in order to get the desired note. By the time I got to secondary school, I was still with the violin but I couldn't read a note, which put me at something of a disadvantage. I don't know how my fellow fiddlers managed but it seemed that the brass and woodwind players had been taught differently - a Tune a Day perhaps - and also played more interesting music. Many of the early tunes in the first Suzuki book were essentially variations of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. Luckily, I was never interested in the violin to begin with (I wanted to play the clarinet) and I packed it in in 1982.

Is the Suzuki method still used for violin tuition ? I think our viola players and cellists might also have taken that route but I can't be sure.

If the Suzuki method offered anything more than just fingering guides then I must have missed it.

I learnt the violin from 1991 ish, I remember sing, clap and play books initially. I remember having stickers on the fingerboard at first, but I could already read music from knowing the recorder.

I played the recorder (badly and nearly) before the violin. All done by ear which is never wise with the descant recorder. It's one instrument that needs to be played well otherwise it sounds terrible.

Dd learned Suzuki method from 3-5 them switched to standard European method. She's grade 8 and plays in a semi professional orchestra.

It's good for young kids but not to progress imho

I'm about the same age as you. The free instrument lessons at junior school were A Tune a Day for woodwind and brass, and Suzuki for strings. I already had lessons outside of school, learning by the traditional method though.

I am surprised that you didn't learn to read music at all in violin lessons, it's supposed to be introduced once you have mastered the basics. I seem to remember it being introduced in the school lessons after the first term or 2 for absolute beginners.

Although most of the kids gave up after the first year, the ones that continued were the children that weren't complete beginners or already played piano. Plus we all learnt to read music and play recorder in class, starting in infant school, using a method with coloured notes. Now I think about it though, in contrast, the drop out rate for the woodwind and brass students was almost zero.

There are still Suzuki teachers around, although I think it is better suited to very young children. My DC did a kind of Suzuki inspired music class as preschoolers, although that wasn't that recently either...

chesirecat99. I wonder if we went to the same school ? No, no theory or sight reading that I can remember. Fingers, bow and hope for the best. As a second violinist in the primary school orchestra, I totally winged (faked) it by playing the melody rather than whatever the second violinists were supposed to play! I was first violin by secondary school so it was slightly easier to get away with then. But at the same time, our peripatetic teachers all got moved around and the Eta Cohen books became our learning source. New teacher was a total battleaxe too so I decided to call it a day. I still have my violin - a Stentos Student, I think. It's a 3/4 size so too small for me to attempt to play. Fortunately!

Maybe, @WildRosie. Was the school orchestra conducted by the pipe smoking headmaster who played the euphonium?

No! He was a she. Not sure about the euphonium though.

I learnt the violin originally with the awful Tune A Day books. I was reasonably good but all it really taught me was good sight reading, I never really had an ear for it.
DD started off with Suzuki method and I would say definitely has a better ear for what she is playing as she was taught to listen instead of simultaneously reading the music. Took he a little while to get the hang of reading music and relating it to where to put her fingers but she's pretty good now. The added bonus was that her early playing definitely did not sound like a donkey being cut in half unlike me and my friends!

Both my dc have learned violin with the Suzuki method and both have excelled. The oldest passed his grade eight aged 13 with 143. They both can read music, they just didn't start with it.

It is a superb method IMO but obviously only as good as the person implementing it. They both have very good technique.

All those amazing six year olds playing concertos on YouTube have all been taught with Suzuki methods.

Perhaps I am doing Dr Suzuki an injustice. Clearly, there are at least some violinists who learned to read music with this course. Shame I wasn't one of them.