Suzuki, Viola, Teaching, Learning, Loving
Even for a very well-prepared student, Minuet No. 2 in Book 1 can present some new hurdles. In this post, I will give some of my tricks for teaching this piece. New Skills When first previewing Minuet 2, I start with two spots which are tricky for most students: measures 15-16 and 33-34. I... Continue Reading →
As you know, it's recital season, and I'm in the home stretch of helping to prepare my students for their solo performances. A few years ago, I also started adding a viola ensemble performance at the end of the recital. At the time, it was just a fun opportunity to showcase a few more advanced viola... Continue Reading →
Is it recital season for you too? April and May are prime time for studio and other end-of-year recitals and I’m gearing up for my own studio recital in a few weeks. It seems like some great cosmic joke that studio recitals occur when my students are most bogged down with schoolwork and counting down... Continue Reading →
Like many Suzuki teachers, I have read Dr. Suzuki's classic "Nurtured By Love" many times, coming back to Dr. Suzuki's reflections time and again for inspiration. This week I stumbled upon a detail which had been previously overlooked. In the Suzuki community, we talk about the "Suzuki Triangle", in which the teacher, parent, and child work together... Continue Reading →
