All posts by mrs.carlier

Mother Tongue method 2023

Suzuki Method

We live in a different time.  We are all so busy and there is technology everywhere.  Why learn to play an instrument when there is music available at the touch of a button everywhere?  Learning to play an instrument well takes a huge amount of time and commitment.  Precious minutes each day!  Are you a mother or father interested in having your young child play violin?  Are you interested in investing YOUR time with this child every single day to make the process go smoothly?  Your child will be able to take over the process of learning without you at about song ten in book 2:  Lully Gavotte.  It could take three years to reach that goal. 

Ten year old children can easily learn to play violin by THEMSELVES.  Perhaps it would be better to wait until THEN to start.  But young children who want to learn, five and six year olds, need a parent to sit beside them every day and to know how to help and guide little fingers along.  Can you and your child learn together to play violin?  It really all depends on YOU. 

Mother Tongue method, 1993

Suzuki Method

I was a Suzuki mother sharing the Mother Tongue method with my five year old.  I was a Suzuki mom before I was a Suzuki teacher.  For seven years I spent time with my daughter each day playing the violin.  I played the cassette tape every day.  I got the violin out of the case, tuned it and rosined the bow.  I had ideas of games to play to determine which review songs to play first, and I had rewards built in too.  I realized that by being hands on before and during each lesson that she usually came to join me quickly instead of balking at the idea of playing.  25 years later, we still both have great memories of the time we spent together, just the two of us, after I got home from work each day. 

Mother Tongue Method, 1940

Suzuki Method

Dr Suzuki realized that although Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn, most Japanese kids managed to learn to speak it.  They watched their parents and practiced until they could reproduce the sounds that they heard. 

At this time he also noticed that musical prodigies:  Young children who learned to play instruments beautifully, were for the most part from rich families.  Families that could afford to go to concerts or own recordings of beautiful music. He wondered: if all children were given the opportunities to hear great music every day and to have child sized violins to play on, if every child could learn to play the violin.

The long and the short of it #1

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When it comes to violin lessons, kids have a short term goal.   Learn more new songs.  Period.  If that was all I wanted for your children, I wouldn’t need to write this message.

Long term goals are what makes the difference between a kid scratching away at a violin and someone you want to listen to.  It takes a parent to make long term goals happen.

Lets start with an easy one this week.  This is for parents of kids reading music.  Make sure they bring their reading book to their lesson this week and every week.  I want to cycle through these books and teach these kids to read music.  Thanks.

Where are all the prodigies?

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50 years ago and more there were very few amazing, young violin players scattered around the world.  Prodigies.  Dr Suzuki realized that these were the kids with access to violins to play, parents with enthusiasm,  and the means to hear good music performed.

Dr Suzuki set out to make this available to everyone.   He is the reason why we have violins made to fit young children.  He collected the music we play and made it available on 33rpm records in the 1960’s so everyone can listen.  Because of Suzuki, if a child plays every day, reviews his polished songs correctly, has interested parents and plays with other children he will succeed at violin.

We don’t have prodigies anymore.  Every Child Can.

Play Every Day and WIN!

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Lessons start next week.  Are you ready to go?  Get your fiddle out and dust off the case and review so we can hit the ground running.

The challenge is to play every day from your first day of lessons till the final performance in June.  Christmas day . . . your birthday . . . Halloween . . . Saturdays and Sundays . . .  There are so many benefits to playing every day and it gets easier for everyone to keep it going.  No arguing about when or where to play.  Songs are learned more easily and quickly.  Take as much time as you need, play one song today or play an hour.  Review songs are quickly and easily played though because perfect practice makes perfect.

Simply start the challenge on the day of your first lesson.  Get out your fiddle again at home and play.  Yes.  Every day, even lesson days.  Then every day after that get the violin out and play something or everything that you know.

So talk to your kids this weekend before lessons start.  The rewards to you as parents and me as the teacher are HUGE.  The reward to your kid at the final performance is a gift card for $50 to whichever store they choose.

The catch is . . . you must play EVERY DAY.  If even one day is missed the challenge is lost.  Keep track on a calendar.  Utkarsh has done this.  Rhea and Uma too.  Holden and Molly,  Varun and Shruthi, Emerson and Violet and many more.

Play every day and win!

Why do we have group lessons?

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We are gearing up for a performance.

On that day we will stand together with all of our violin scrolls pointing at the leader.  All of our up-bows and down-bows will be together, and so will our bows.  Our play position feet will snap to attention together and our violins will move from rest position to play position all synchronized.  I also sneak in bits of technique that are easier taught in a group.

But to do that we need to practice together.  Each child needs to find out for themselves just what they know and don’t about the songs they review every day.  So at group lessons on scheduled Fridays from 5:30 till 6:45 I need everyone to give me at least half of an hour to work on these things.

Please find time to attend group lessons so our performances can be winners for everyone.  Thanks.

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Fun Facts

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* Stringed instruments evolved in size and shape and number of strings over hundreds of years.  The instrument we call a violin originated in Italy in the 16th century.

* treeAntonius Stradivari, a 16th century Italian also made harps, guitars, violas, and cellos–more than 1,100 instruments in all, by current estimate. About 650 of these instruments survive today. In addition, thousands of violins have been made in tribute to Stradivari, copying his model and bearing labels that read “Stradivarius.”