FAQ’s

Each pupil attends a weekly individual lesson (two short lessons each week for the youngest) as well as a weekly group lesson for pupils of similar age and level.  Individual lessons currently vary in length between 15 and 45 minutes, depending on the age and stage of the child.  Every lesson covers aspects of technique (exercises, studies, scales and arpeggios), sight-reading, polishing a concert piece, working on a new piece, and developing musicianship with an old repertoire piece. We often play duets together and two pupils with adjacent lessons will play a piece together at two pianos. Pupils’ parents attend each lesson and make written notes, often also videoing the lesson, to enable them to practise effectively with their child. The timetable encourages pupils to arrive early or stay on after their own lesson to observe another pupil who is slightly older and slightly more advanced. This has the added advantage that children in their lesson are used to playing in front of other people.

Group lessons are used to develop pupils’ concentration, their sense of community, musicality, ear training, visual reading skills and performing skills.  They are always a lot of fun!

As well as termly concerts, Book recitals are presented by each pupil on completion of each book of the Suzuki repertoire. These are usually hosted in the pupil’s home or a hired hall, and are followed by a tea party!  Pupils participate regularly in national Suzuki events.  

I rarely have vacancies and, other than in exceptional circumstances, I start pupils only under the age of five. For a list of trained Suzuki teachers look on the British Suzuki Music Association website.

Dr Shinichi Suzuki was a violinist from Japan who realised that everyone learns their mother-tongue flawlessly by listening, copying and repeating.  He applied these principles to his violin teaching and, later, turned his philosophy to other instruments and, indeed, to other subjects at primary school. 

Suzuki’s dates are 1898-1998.  He started teaching using his new ideas in Matsumoto in 1945.  His approach grew in popularity from the mid 20^th century as people came to understand its outcomes, in terms of both children’s musical ability and their personal development. 

Some of the main principles in Suzuki teaching are: 

• that every child has the potential to develop skills, 
• an acceptance that each child progresses at their own speed, 
• the full involvement of parents, 
• a focus on technical ability to make a beautiful sound from the beginning, 
• a common repertoire of pieces for all Suzuki students of each instrument. 

Children begin to learn their mother tongue before they are even born!  The earlier they begin to listen to music the more natural they will find it to express themselves in an artistic way.  Children learn best through their senses when they are very young – they are like sponges and absorb all that is around them.  Just as Dr Suzuki didn’t set out to form musicians but rather to enrich children’s lives, so parents are attracted to the philosophy for the same reasons. Not all children learn quickly. Each will progress at their own speed.

A common repertoire means that children can play together easily and this, along with a shared manner of playing, can make it appear as if their performances are robotic.  Indeed, early lessons in particular will involve lots of copying of technique, including the teacher’s sound.  A solid technical foundation is key to enabling the child’s musicality and their own sense of expression to blossom, just as in their spoken language a child first learns some words and then can choose how to use them.  Well-taught Suzuki students learn to listen well, and play musically and artistically. 

Children love learning together.  Suzuki children attend weekly individual lessons and fortnightly or monthly group lessons.  Group lessons help develop musicianship, co-ordination, listening, reading and social skills.  Individual lessons for children at the same level are often timetabled consecutively so that they may observe or participate in each other’s lessons. 

Young children can speak long before they can read and write, and young Suzuki children can generally play at a far higher technical and musical level than they can read.  In the early stages, group lessons include many pre-reading activities, and sight-reading becomes as much a part of each lesson as it is with any other teaching approach.  Suzuki children also develop an excellent ear which helps them understand the music they are reading.  By their early teens, well-taught Suzuki children are usually sight-reading extremely well. 

Children love routines.  The bow signals their readiness to learn, marks the start and end of the lesson, and communicates mutual respect between pupil and teacher.  It’s also great practice for the concert platform!