Comments

Patricia, where was this again?

Indeed, don't throw away anything you already are doing! Just take whatever good stuff you got from the training and make it your own, with what you do.

Hi Patricia,

I recently finished the Suzuki book 1 teacher training also. I began my violin career in Suzuki by refusing to play by ear, and at age 6 said "if I can't read it, I'm not going to play it." So, my poor Suzuki teacher decided that the best way to teach someone like me was to try something else. Looking back now, I think she may not have been a true Suzuki teacher, but I digress...

I don't know if this quote from Dr. Suzuki is in Starr's "The Suzuki Violinist", but it's what sold me on the idea. He said that you should not call yourself a Suzuki violin teacher. If you must, call yourself a Suzuki-______ (fill in your last name) teacher. To me, that means to take what works for you and your student, and add or subtract as necessary to teach the most effective way that you can.

My teacher-trainer was a traditional student and teacher before coming to Suzuki as an adult. I was pleasantly surprised at her frank way that she seemed to show me that the way I learned to play was not really all that different from the Suzuki method. She was really saying that this is a great way to teach, and she incorporated other more traditional ideas into the way she teaches the method as well.

So I guess what I'm saying is that no matter how you teach, you have to do what works for you and your students, whether it is strictly Suzuki, strictly traditional or some medley of both.

Personally, I like medleys!

Mellisa

I went to the Atlanta Institute.