Chapel Hill Workshop Fall 2004—Notes for Parents
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Dear Suzuki Parents,
As part of the October Workshop with
Terry Durbin, I had an opportunity to gather with teachers and parents to
discuss some of the wonderful strategies that can enrich our music study. As I researched recent developments offered by Suzuki
Teachers for Suzuki Parents, my favorite comment was from Karen Moorman, violin
teacher. She said something like this:
“We KNOW that YOU are the Expert in your child.”
Keeping that in mind, I’d like to offer
you information gleaned from the years of experience that were in the room!
POSITIVE PRACTICE EVENTS: Edith Gettes, violin teacher, parent, AND
former Suzuki Student her own self, suggests we
1.
Read, reread or remember Nurtured By Love to remind yourself why
you chose Suzuki .
2.
Replicate as much as possible the process of learning a language
including listening, review, lots of exposure, a social context, modeling and
LOTS of excitement over very small steps. (Call grandma for the first twinkle,
first slur, first etc.)
3. Be Relentless in your
pursuit of the positive and truly Rejoice in whatever is going well, be it one
note, one song, one volume, or one less "no" than in the last
practice.
I offered: To augment your own positive approach, use
Carole Bigler’s idea of a Praise Book. Kept at lessons, the parent can write
out all the good and wonderful things the teacher says at lesson time. Read it
before each practice to keep that “special feeling” a positive teacher
provides! I’ve known of students to read
these books later in life, at difficult moments, just to feel good again…
And then there is… LISTENING: Playing
the music being studied, or other music, softly in the background, as much as
possible. Listening is the NUMBER ONE answer to any difficulty. Just as
children learn to “puzzle out” words and pictures, they can “puzzle” out the
music – if they have listened to it enough!
They need to have “sound pictures” or they are handicapped.
Ingrid Wieler helped us realize more
goals by speaking about:
TONE: What is tone?
Dr. Suzuki said that tone is the living soul. He encouraged his students to wish for a
beautiful sound and beautiful heart. He
compared tone study to polishing and smoothing a rough black dirty piece of
coal until you find the diamond inside.
To Dr. Suzuki, tone was both inspiration and the highest priority. How
then can we pursue this beautiful tone and beautiful heart?
And…
REVIEW
Dr. Suzuki emphasized that once you
have memorized the piece and it is perfectly correct and automatic, then you
can begin to make music. For this to
happen, a concentration of all the physical and psychic forces is needed. In her book, “The Magic of Matsumoto,”
Carolyn Barrett writes: As in archery, so with violin playing: concentration
may be one of the supreme goals. Dr.
Suzuki stresses concentration on the sound being produced. Technique must be so automatic as to be
effortless, but the sound is something the player should always be keenly aware
of. There is practice, repetition and
repetition of the repeated.
Our students love to get to the next
piece. But when focus is on what note
comes next, other things, including tone are neglected. Review helps develop technical ease, prepares
students for new pieces and concepts, maintains technical foundation, and
allows for the development of tone, musicality and a performance repertoire.
Notes, fingerings on the piano or
flute, and different bowings are only the first level of mastery of a
piece. Students also master tone,
intonation, dynamics, bow distribution, style, phrasing, ensemble skills and
performance skills. If your student is
not convinced, you might motivate them with group classes, workshops, many
performance opportunities and Suzuki summer institutes.
INSTITUTES: We thought attending workshops of any length
to be the NUMBER TWO motivator. I met a
parent the day after the Terry Durbin Workshop who commented
: “We’ve been hearing lots of violin today…” with a big smile.
Ingrid suggests: “Students enjoy Master
Classes with great teachers from around the country, group classes where
children from all over share the same repertoire, concerts and recitals, and
hearing music wafting from the dorm windows as you walk to the swimming pool or
cafeteria. The worries of the world melt
away and music is the focus for everyone.The importance of Tone, and how Review
can help one achieve a beautiful tone.”
Lots of other subjects came up, and for
many the best answer was: Can you believe? LISTENING.
Yup, many problems can be solved by listening.
Some of the questions are more
difficult:
1. If
your child is easily frustrated? Work in small sections, do the easy ones
first, try to do it right the first time, so you avoid saying NO, and most
important, let the teacher be the bad guy: support your child rather than
criticize.
2. When
is it time to change teachers? If there are concerns, the first step is to talk
with the teacher and try to work things out. Often teachers have MANY
strategies, and communicating will solve problems.
3. Is
it blasphemous to suggest no parent at the lessons?
4. A
good suggestion: Parents! Learn an Instrument! Let your child see YOU learning
– Be A Role Model
5. And
from a teacher: How can I remain positive if a parent complains, in front of
the student, about the student? JWell, it’s almost impossible. Parents, best
idea here is to PRAISE your child in front of others, and save the bad remarks for
private time with teacher. If you become the “bad guy” then your lessons will
struggle. After all, your child lives with you…If there is an issue, discuss
ideas with the teacher: let the teacher
be the critic if need be (your child can always find another teacher, but will
never have another parent!)
Your own teacher has lots of
strategies, too! We hope you will always bring up problems and questions, since
we have made it our goal to know the answers or to know how to find them!
Sincerely, Mary Ann Heym