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Suzuki method fit CM style?
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I’ve started reading about this method for music instruction. Anyone with experience care to share your thoughts on how it fits with CM, how it benefitted (or didn’t) your kids and when to start?
TIA!!
One of my boys is instructed by the Suzuki method and it has been a blessing to us. It is slower on introducing note reading but that is not an issue for us, plus, you could add it in if you wanted to, I suppose.
When my ds was with another teacher for a different instrument and method, it was much more stressful for him. Not saying that that would be an issue for your family, just our experience. Obviously, many students enjoy traditional methods….maybe our issue was more the teacher, not the method. Who knows?
We are using another teacher for another instrument, and I believe she is traditional, but now that he is older, he is more confident with a different method.
Clear as mud?
Absolutely!!! My two younger boys study Suzuki violin with a husband/wife team who studied with Dr. Suzuki for three and a half years. We are so blessed to have them! Our private teacher and I constantly talk about how his philosophy and CM parallel. Dr. Suzuki’s belief about how children learn is very apparent in his method. Now I do understand that an individual instructor’s understanding of his philosophy will vary so some may not benefit from that. I was a music major (traditional) but a CM homeschool mom so I knew what I wanted for my boys.
When to start? My 12yo started shortly after turning 4. He was a typical (read busy) boy. It took him 2 1/2 years to finish book 1 but that was not the point. What he has received since beginning is priceless and he is now a fine violinist (which isn’t the point either) and is preparing a Vivaldi concerto for two violins to be played with a local orchestra. My youngest, age 11, began at age 6 just a few months after we adopted him from China. He is just finishing book 3. It brings our teacher to tears when she watches how far he has come. We drive an hour each way twice a week for lessons and more if we have performances. It has been worth every mile and every penny.
Feel free to ask specific questions if you wish.
I also wanted to highly recommend Dr. Suzuki’s book Nurtured by Love. Excellent in understanding how he came to his philosophy.
Suzuki done well can work well along side a CM education – they don’t agree with all things, but I think they mostly complement each other well. (Ie, things that don’t match – CM with the no formal lessons before age 5 or 6… things that match well – the respect of the child as a person.)
That said, my kids did Suzuki violin for a number of years with my 2 oldest kids…. and although the teacher(s) were Suzuki trained… overall it didn’t end up being a good experience. I wish it had. It ended badly.
So my main thing is be very aware what a good Suzuki lesson should look like (at various stages too). And it is a lot of effort for Mom as well….
We started a month before my oldest turned 4. It took him about a year and a half to be able to play Twinkle…. so know that the start can be long, especially if they are young. (I think was one of the ones that took the longest to Twinkle in his class – due to his perfectionism) And there are 6 variations of Twinkle (he learned them the 5 main variations all at the same time though) and you will hear it throughout.
Suzukimom makes a very good point which I tried to make, but not very clearly, above. The teacher and his/her understanding of Suzuki philosophy, not just methods, makes all the difference. There are many teachers who are trained in Suzuki who do Suzuki-y things, but do not have the heart of the philosophy. Just like there are many CM educators who do Charlotte Mason-y things, but do not understand her core principles. I was blessed in that, I already knew I wanted the philosophy first and that’s what I went looking for. And was also very blessed that we have our teachers who had to privilege to “sit as his feet” so to speak, and can give my boys what we were desiring. Their experience may have been what made the difference. I don’t know.
And yes, it’s a lot of work for mom. Dr. Suzuki the parent as one of the teachers, attending all lessons and groups, taking notes, working with students during practice. It’s definitely not hands-off. So know that going in as well.
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