From the Beginning: Suzuki Philosophy and Repertoire
In the early stages of string playing, students are able to play much more complex, interesting, and beautiful music by ear than that which they are able to learn from music notation (reading sheet music). While reading notated music is an important skill to learn, focusing on notation too early can be limiting for the student’s growth as a player. Listening and technique are better starting points than reading notation and memorizing facts. Students will learn notation and theoretical knowledge concurrently, but their playing will not be limited to that which they can read from notation. In the long run, their music theoretical understanding will actually be far greater because it will be learned systematically rather than learned as a prerequisite to play their instrument.
Beginning students will learn to play their first pieces by ear as in the Suzuki method. Students will progress through all of the solo pieces in the Suzuki books (and more: fiddle tunes, Bartok duos, canons).
Students will build their repertoire of memorized music, always reviewing old pieces as new pieces are learned. Their capacity and confidence to perform from memory will develop from this early repertoire building.
Listening
Beginning students are expected to listen to Suzuki volume 1 daily. To play by ear, they must be able to hear the music clearly in their mind as they are playing.
Theory and Musicianship
The starting point for musicianship is singing, which can be approached in a few ways: singing melodies with text/lyrics, singing melodies on a neutral syllable, and singing melodies with solfege syllables.
Solfege syllables are easily sung syllables which correspond to the steps of a scale. Learning solfege provides musicians with melodic and harmonic awareness and trains the ear without needing to be a fluent note reader.
The solfege syllables corresponding to the major scale are:
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
We will use the Kodaly gestures corresponding to those syllables.
Training in solfege begins by simply learning to sing a simple melody using solfege syllables.
When the student reaches “Lightly Row” in their solo repertoire, they can begin learning solfege syllables by singing that melody in solfege.
The student’s first experience in hearing and replicating rhythm will be the first of the “Twinkle Variations” rhythms. They will start by performing this rhythm on a drum.
Note reading
We will use Kerstin Wartberg’s “Step-by-step” and then Joanne Martin’s “I can read music.”
About
Philosophy
String Curriculum
Educational Resources
Classes
Testimonials
Dana Anex 