Suzuki method

[babymama]

Hello all -
Does anyone know when kids can start the suzuki method? Also are there any drawbacks to Suzuki?

My DS talks about the violin, trumpet, banjo, and drum all the time (he talks about them like they're his friends), and we want to encourage his interest.

Thanks!

Lydia
Mama to Santiago, my 2 yr old monster
and new baby girl, Solana, born 12/26/05
I'll figure out how to update my avatar someday!

[Rachels]

I think we're going to do Suzuki with Abby, who is very musical. The downside is that they don't really learn sight reading, so that would be a thing to do later.

-Rachel
Mama to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

and Ethan James
10/19/05
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"When you know better, you do better."
Maya

[mmaimp]

Our local university starts Suzuki violin and guitar at 4 years old. I'm going to look into it next year for my older DS. He loves music too.

[KBecks]

I *think* it's around age 3. But check what's in your area!

You certainly can do things like Music Together, Musikgarten or Kindermusic classes at this age, too.

[juliasmom05]

I've been told you can start as early as 2-3 yrs with parent involvement. As Rachel said, the one drawback is that you don't learn to read music and this sometimes becomes a problem later on. DH is a musician and he said that if we go this route, we would probably find a more liberal suzuki teacher that incorporated sight reading later on. As with anything, the key is finding a good suzuki teacher.

Marci

Mom to Julia 4/05

[miki]

With Suzuki, no matter the age, the parent is supposed to attend the lesson with the music teacher and supervise the daily practice sessions at home.

I did not start violin until I was 9. I had lessons through school as well as a private teacher. The first private teacher used the Suzuki method and it just didn't suit me. It's a lot more playing by ear without an emphasis on sight reading from sheet music. Then I switched to another teacher and found it more comfortable. I am a very visual person and it helped me a great deal to see the notes and the notations on the sheet music.

There is a school of thought that advocates starting your child at an older age and only after they show very consistent interest over a period of time. I have heard 6 months. The reasoning being that at an older age, your child will experience a faster progression in learning the instrument and will feel rewarded by that. Whereas in a preschooler, the progression is much slower and they may just end up being discouraged or disinterested.

Supposedly with the Suzuki method you can start your kid between 3-5 years. Personally, I think 3 is kind of early, at least for violin. My DD is only 2.5 now but I know plenty of 3 year olds. I just think the physical coordination that a 3 year old has is rather limiting for learning violin. There's a lot to pay attention to--posture, fingering, hand position, arm position, bowing, etc. Because you need the coordination to produce the correct sound, it may be a while before it starts sounding good.

Maybe piano?

[mom_hanna]

I think it depends on your child. I started playing the violin at 3 1/2, and the piano at 6, but neither one was through the suzuki method. I learned to read music when I learned to play. I think it could be frustrating for some kids (and parents) to learn this way, but I am glad I did, because since I was so young, I never thought it was "hard" to learn. I think if I had been older, I would have been more likely to get frustrated. Piano might be easier though because you don't have to create the notes, just find the right keys. I think it's a huge advantage to be able to read music from the start. Just my 2 cents.

[HGraceMom]

My sister, brother & I all started Suzuki piano & violin at 2 1/2 (maybe my brother closer to 3) and we all kept music lessons up through college. We went to Suzuki music camps for several summers, and I even got to play on stage with Dr. Suzuki at a conference in Chicago in the 70's.

DD started closer to 4, and I wish I would've found a teacher to take her at 3 instead. At 4, she had (and is increasing) stronger reasoning skills to stall, procrastinate, be sillier & generally more difficult. At 2 1/2 - 3, she was much more interested in follow-the-leader, which a lot of beginning Suzuki is.

The main premise is that just as you learn to speak before you learn to read, you can play music before you can read music. It makes sense, and enabled all 3 of us to play tons of different instruments b/c you learn the instrument before learning how to apply notes on a page to the instrument. (Between us all we added oboe, tuba, french horn, trumpet, and double bass.)

Our teacher incorperated sight reading by supplementing other methods once we were older. Even if you don't stick with Suzuki through the life of music education, It's definitely a great place to start very young children.

[ctmom]

the Suzuki music school in my town starts at the age of 2. The preschool my dd goes to has a Suzuki teacher come in twice a month to teach music. After speaking to her music teacher, I plan on signing her up for music lessons starting this fall, after she is finished with preschool...

Mary
dd#1 2/01
dd#2 12/03

[wolverine2]

I started the cello at age 3... my mother started me and it was "sort-of" Suzuki at that point, and then I started full-on Suzuki at age 6. My mother is a trained Suzuki cello teacher.

I think the age to start depends so much on the child. Some children are so motivated and focused that they can start at 3. For others, it is way to early. Progress at such a young age is slow and involves LOTS of parent involvement (basically you learn to play the violin too).

I don't think learning by ear at a young age inhibits later music-reading, as long as you have a teacher who introduces reading at an appropriate age. It's all about finding a good teacher. Honestly, I think some of the best Suzuki teachers incorporate other musical education techniques and are well-rounded.

I can say from my experience that the reason I loved Suzuki growing up was the community that we got involved with. Some of my best friends were my group-class friends, and we are still close. It can provide for a wonderful peer group.

Carrie

[calebsmama03]

>I don't think learning by ear at a young age inhibits later
>music-reading, as long as you have a teacher who introduces
>reading at an appropriate age. It's all about finding a good
>teacher. Honestly, I think some of the best Suzuki teachers
>incorporate other musical education techniques and are
>well-rounded.
I agree 100%! WHile I am not a strings player, I majored in music and nearly decided on being a professional musician as a career. I started on flute in 5th grade and playing by ear was the *hardest* thing for me to grasp - even in college. I actually think it can be great to learn by ear then incorporate the reading once the child is older. By doing it the reverse you start out with the mindset of music being a more analytical thing (as opposed to pure creativity) and it's far more difficult to learn the creativity aspect later on than it is to teach the technical reading skills later.

Just my .02 :)

Lynne
Mommy to C 3/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif[/img][/url]
And Miss Purple, 5/05

[cilantromapuche]

Around here they start when they are potty trained. At the rate we are going it is looking like 4. OUr area has a strong program and DS is quite interested. We take him to concerts to get used to behaving. The parent involvement is quite high or they kick you out!

Christine

mama to A (7/03)

[daniele_ut]

>>I don't think learning by ear at a young age inhibits later
>>music-reading, as long as you have a teacher who introduces
>>reading at an appropriate age. It's all about finding a good
>>teacher. Honestly, I think some of the best Suzuki teachers
>>incorporate other musical education techniques and are
>>well-rounded.
>I agree 100%! WHile I am not a strings player, I majored in
>music and nearly decided on being a professional musician as a
>career. I started on flute in 5th grade and playing by ear
>was the *hardest* thing for me to grasp - even in college. I
>actually think it can be great to learn by ear then
>incorporate the reading once the child is older. By doing it
>the reverse you start out with the mindset of music being a
>more analytical thing (as opposed to pure creativity) and it's
>far more difficult to learn the creativity aspect later on
>than it is to teach the technical reading skills later.
>
>Just my .02 :)
>
>Lynne

Just wanted to second both of these posts. DH is a Suzuki trained cellist and now teaches Suzuki and other methods as well to his students. He can play by ear and sight read quite well.

[pixelprincess]

My sister's older DS is a talented musician and was taught using the Suzuki method. I know he started pretty early, not sure what age though.

[maestramommy]

Usually the start age is 3. Agree with pps about the parental involvement. You not only attend the lesson, you practice with your child. At such an early age they learn by imitation and rote. This is why they don't stress reading yet, besides the fact that most 3yo's don't read! These days most suzuki students do learn to sight read eventually and it all works out.

When I taught beginning to strings I used a modified suzuki method that also started out learning by imitation and rote. It's much easier to develop the muscles by doing the same thing the same way over and over. I'm making it sound tedious but it can be a lot of fun if you go about it the right way.

When I was ten my piano teacher invited me to peform on a concert tour in Europe. He was an accompanist for a troupe of suzuki violinists. They were amazing, and I mean AMAZING. I saw 5 year olds doing things I never saw again until high school. Of course these were the cream of the crop, but it still never ceases to blow me away what children can accomplish if they're so inclined and if they're well taught.

[KBecks]

I agree that learning by ear is valuable. I have a good friend with a music degree who reads music very well but finds it very difficult to improvise, etc. etc.

I'm not a music major, but I sing and I learn almost everything by ear (although I read, I'm not a good reader).

Both skills are important, but I agree with whomever said that learning the creative side and that being able to use your ear is valuable, and not a bad place for kids to start.