Violin lessons - Suzuki vs. Traditional

[Melissa B]

What have been the long term results of having your child take Suzuki (or Traditional) violin lessons?

 

I lean more toward Traditional - I do know the general differences. My eldest daughter has taken traditional lessons. But, now that we have moved I have found a violin instructor (homeschool mom) that only teaches Suzuki and will begin both girls (11 and 9) at the beginning level. I'm on the fence about this. Has anyone had great results using Suzuki - especially with older children? Or should I keep looking for a traditional instructor?

 

I'm off to do much more research, but would appreciate the thoughts of any who have BTDT. :)

 

Thanks!

[Danestress]

But that doesn't mean I think it's "better" than traditional would have been - I can't compare because we didn't do traditional.

 

My children are 11 and are still enjoying their violin study and they play very nicely (though not intensely - they are just not as interested in music as they are sports, so they play but not in the youth orchestra right now). When it was time for them to learn to sight read, the mastered it in about a month - it was amazing to me how quickly they were able to get it. I had had serious doubts.

 

However, I would want to make sure that this woman is a really good Suzuki teacher. I would want to know how she keeps up her training. Does she attend and teach at summer institutes every summer? I would call the national institute and ask them about how to make sure she really has the credentials you need. Because a method is really only as good as the teacher.

[Susan in IL]

(and he was 10 at the time) through the ps and it was traditional. Before he started private lessons, almost 2 years later, the teacher at school gave him suzuki music to do on his own since he picked it up quite quickly. Once he started with a private teacher, she just kept testing him on suzuki books until he got to a level where he needed help. None of it was done strictly by ear. I don't know if that is good or not. I was under the impression that the suzuki method is good for those starting very young and don't know how to read yet.

 

That probably wasn't too helpful.

[Melissa B]

Thanks for your thoughts. Do you still sit in on the lessons? I wasn't excited about that aspect of Suzuki. I really prefer music lessons to be something the kids take on as their own responsibility.

 

 

I do think she is up to date on her training. She taught Suzuki violin lessons at a local school until she had a new baby a few weeks ago. She gave me the school as a reference. It won't hurt to double check though.

 

 

But that doesn't mean I think it's "better" than traditional would have been - I can't compare because we didn't do traditional.

 

My children are 11 and are still enjoying their violin study and they play very nicely (though not intensely - they are just not as interested in music as they are sports, so they play but not in the youth orchestra right now). When it was time for them to learn to sight read, the mastered it in about a month - it was amazing to me how quickly they were able to get it. I had had serious doubts.

 

However, I would want to make sure that this woman is a really good Suzuki teacher. I would want to know how she keeps up her training. Does she attend and teach at summer institutes every summer? I would call the national institute and ask them about how to make sure she really has the credentials you need. Because a method is really only as good as the teacher.

[Kanga]

I would find a teacher that is well versed in both if possible (they do exist). I don't know how long your oldest took traditional lessons, but starting at the beginning could be frustrating for her.

[Catherine]

I agree that checking out her credentials is key. It's also very important for you to educate yourself about suzuki pedagogy, because it is rather demanding of parents.

 

If I could sum up suzuki philsophy, it is at least as much about character building and relationship-building with parents as it is about learning to play an instrument. That said, if your child is not a beginner, it might not really make sense, because with suzuki, children very gradually grow from having mom or dad as a "home teacher" to taking responsibility for themselves and their lessons. If the child is already doing lessons independently and practicing alone, changing course may not work very well.

 

ETA: results-wise, I am extremely pleased. My 15 yo can play beautifully now and loves music, and really appreciates beautiful classical music. 12 yo is getting there too. They are developing strong work ethic and an appreciation for beauty which really pleases me.

[Danestress]

To me, that's one of the things that makes Suzuki really good. I am not a violin player, but I do play the piano. My children take responsibility for other things in their lives and they do take responsibility for their music, but having a "home coach" during violin practice is so important I really don't understand how kids can really advance well without it (though some certainly do). Just like I don't expect my child to coach himself in tennis, I don't expect him to coach himself in violin.

 

But I understand other people have different approaches.

[iwka]

My dd 11 started Suzuki when she was 7. We've had a great teacher and great group experience. This method allowed her to progress very quickly in playing without being distracted on processing notes in her head. Rhythmical instructions were included from the beginning and then very slowly the whole music theory. She can play now in a traditional way and by ear. Suzuki is great if you have a teacher who knows what he/she is doing.

 

If I would be a Suzuki teacher I would take my pupil through the books from the beginning, just to make sure that the Suzuki method is implemented well. Depending on her skills, the first book might take only one or two months, the second maybe little longer, but the pieces in both books are really nice, so she will broaden her repertuar, if nothing else.

 

I love Suzuki, although parents have to be involved. I had to do lessons with her every day for the first three years. Now I just supervise, which means I listen to her playing, give suggestions, check her music theory etc. I have to sit through the lessons, that's Suzuki's way of kids progressing so fast - parent involvement.

 

Hope this helps.

[Beth in OH]

What have been the long term results of having your child take Suzuki (or Traditional) violin lessons?

 

My high school junior began Suzuki violin almost 13 years ago. The long term results have been excellent and built on our Suzuki foundation. As others have said, the family builds a culture of music in the Suzuki method. Your family may have already established its own, so that part of the philosophy won't affect you much, or you may find some new ideas about music that you like and choose to adopt.

 

 

Has anyone had great results using Suzuki - especially with older children?

 

DD's great results include playing well enough to be in a string quartet that has been accepted into prestigious national chamber music competitions and done very well. Although she doesn't plan to pursue a performance degree, she certainly could. She hasn't followed the prestigious conservatory preparation path throughout high school, but she is a good enough player to be accepted into a strong university program.

 

Or should I keep looking for a traditional instructor?

 

It is pretty typical for a Suzuki instructor to accept an older student and "begin at the beginning" in order to create the common skill sets and mastery of the repertoire that marks Suzuki teaching. Group classes depend on students having early pieces memorized, and if your dd's haven't been working from memory, this will be a non-threatening way to get used to it. In our experience, teachers move quickly through the early books with a non-beginner, and they often skip some pieces altogether.

 

I assume that your dd's are accustomed to learning by reading music, and I would expect that to continue--with the addition of a "listening" requirement. Now that I've said that, your teacher might want them to learn some pieces totally by ear so that they can work on their listening skills. Once a traditional student begins working on the standard violin repertoire (concerti, sonatas, unaccompanied Bach, etc.) their teachers usually want them to listen to recordings of the pieces they are working on--just like Suzuki. Suzuki recordings make it easy to do that at the earlier levels as well.

 

Finally, my dd went through all 10 Suzuki books, but she began adding in non-Suzuki literature at about the book 4 level. I think this is pretty common. Once dd finished the Suzuki books, the line between Suzuki and traditional completely went away. My dd has a regular teacher (not her original Suzuki teacher), but she occasionally takes lessons with different people. It has been our experience that each teacher has an emphasis (tone, technique, musical artistry, etc.), and that my dd benefits from working with people who are strong in the various area.

 

I am a believer in choosing the best teacher, not a method. If this teacher is good at teaching and is a good match for your dd's, give her a try. The only circumstance I can think of where I might modify that opinion is where a student has been playing for a number of years, knows music is her "thing", and would like to have a shot at a BIG conservatory (Curtis, Juilliard, Eastman, etc.) someday. Those dreams require some special handling, IMHO.

 

Good luck!

 

Beth

[HollyinNNV]

It does not matter which you choose. Make your decision based on the teacher. Choose the best teacher and then learn whatever system they are teaching. Both systems are equally good.