Interview with Sue Hunt: Review - Making it Fun, Gets the Job Done

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about and discussing the importance of review. I thought I would talk to an expert. Let me introduce you to my friend Sue Hunt, from England. Sue and I spent some time talking in the middle of the summer on the eve of the Olympics. I found it interesting that Sue was leaving England just as the Olympics were about to start in her country.

Sue: I’ve been attending the American Suzuki Institute since 1999, and I had already registered and paid for flights before I heard the Olympics were happening in the same fortnight. Actually it was much healthier to be practicing, rushing to classes and using my brain, than lying slothfully in front of the telly, thinking, “If only I were younger.” Luckily I came back home in time for the Para Olympics, which I found really inspiring. These young athletes truly embody Suzuki’s belief that Every Child Can.

I try to get to the American Suzuki Institute at Steven's Point, Wisconsin every year for some teacher training.  This year I took another opportunity to review Book One.  As usual, the place was buzzing with enthusiastic families, so there were lots of opportunities to observe the dynamics in teaching and practice sessions.  A special treat for the trainees was a series of three Skyped lectures on how the brain learns by Robert Duke from his studio in Texas.  I can tell you, I've come home bursting with information.

Paula: You have come out with a new book recently that addresses the issue of review. What caused you to write about review as a topic?

Sue: I think that FRUSTRATION is the mother of invention. When my two children were small, I didn’t see the point of playing old repertoire every day. We did it, racing through the easy ones, avoiding Twinkle like the plague, and having tantrums (mostly parental ones) over the bits that always went wrong. Over the years, I have met many families who find review as difficult as we did, and after years of creating review charts that never got used, I decided to do something about the problem.  Review – Making it Fun, Gets the Job Done is the child of my frustration.

Paula: Where did you get your ideas about what to focus on concerning review?

Sue: I published a survey online, to find out what really bothered parents and teachers about review and was overwhelmed by the response. Teachers were bewailing the fact that parents didn’t understand the importance of review. Parents were just as upset that their children didn’t take it seriously. They both reported boredom, lack of focus, rushing, lack of motivation, and memory lapses. A lack of communication came into it. Teachers blamed parents for not paying attention during lessons, and parents blamed teachers for not giving adequate instructions.

It seems that both teachers and parents have done everything in the book from nagging to charts, stickers, games, and rewards. Nothing seems to work for any length of time. It seems that everyone is desperate for a quick fix.

We are often told that review is the cornerstone of the Suzuki Method because of all the benefits that it brings, but we are not told in simple terms how to do it. When I was helping my two through their practice, we were told to review everything every day, which meant, as far as I was concerned, keep the pieces up to scratch. This became more stressful as we progressed through the books and the repertoire became larger. Charts looked huge. I think that giving a review chart to a parent can be very daunting, and I know that some of my families have been totally fazed by them. When a child clearly wasn’t reviewing, this is the first thing I would do, and I was always disappointed by the lack of ticked pieces at the next lesson. Some parents even moaned, “Oh no, not another chart!”

Paula: I know some of your background as a Suzuki parent before you became a teacher may have had an impact on your teaching philosophy. Would you mind sharing some of that history with us?

Sue: I was fortunate to grow up in Bermuda.  The only fly in the ointment was that I desperately wanted to learn the violin and at the time, there were no teachers on the island.  By the time I came to school in England at the age of 17, I was told that I was too old and should learn the viola.  It was love at first sight and within 18 months, I got accepted into music college only to be given to the worst teacher I have ever met.  That was that, till my children came along and I wanted to give them the chance I never had.  This is where Suzuki came into my life with violin, viola, and cello lessons for all of us.  It took me many years before I understood that the Suzuki Method is not about producing virtuoso instrumentalists, but about nurturing the whole child. I must have made every mistake in the book while trying to help them practice.  Ooh, the tantrums and parental meltdowns!  Well, in spite of everything, we have all survived, and I am the proud mother of two lovely, kind, and capable young adults.

Once I began to understand the philosophy of the Suzuki Method, I started to take teacher training courses at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and with the British Suzuki Institute in Scotland.  I became fascinated with the way we learn and the ways in which parents can optimize their children's education.  You could say that my mission in life is to help other parents to avoid the mistakes I made and to help them to enjoy the musical journey they are taking with their children.

Paula: Tell us how your book about review came to be.

Sue: I'm insatiably curious about what works and what doesn't and why.  Yes, I'm always the one with my hand in the air, asking too many questions in class.  I love experimenting and finding out what makes things tick.  My new ebook Review - Making it Fun, Gets the Job Done is the product of this curiosity.  Why, when we are told that children like doing things that they can do well, are so many children and parents bored by review?  What can we do to make the job fun?

Paula: Who would benefit from your book?

Sue: I wrote my new ebook for:

• Parents who feel that they are progressing too slowly
• Parents and children who are bored with the old easy pieces
• Parents and children who don't understand the point of review
• Teachers who are having trouble with parents not understanding instructions
• Parents who need help with specific review tasks for each piece
• Anyone whose children rush thoughtlessly through review
• Everyone who is fed up with review charts
• Parents who don't understand what the teachers want them to practice

Paula: What kinds of topics or activities does your book cover?

Sue: My book contains ideas about why, how, and where to review along with ideas for fun focus. The operative words are focus, fun, and games, no matter how crazy. I'd like to quote Maria Montessori, who said, "Play is the motivation for the child's work."  Although we tend to think of work and play as opposites, they are most effective when they are brought together.  Games give lots of opportunities to practice lightning fast refocusing, as well as giving micro breaks in concentration.

The tools I included for getting review done include:

• Focus Cards for all pieces in books 1 through 3
• Review Priority Cards for all pieces in books 1 through 3 (so that parents can see how the bow circles in Song of the Wind lead to Gossec Gavotte and why Twinkle variation C is important for Allegretto and Andantino)
• Over 100 Variations on Twinkle and Perpetual Motion to use as previews for new pieces
• Review Challenge Games

Paula: Your new review ebook is not your first publication. Tell us what other books you have created.

Sue: When my children were learning music, my biggest challenge was how to make it fun and focused without forcing the issue.  We were inspired by a friend who turned everything into a game.  If you listen carefully to gifted teachers, they will use colorful metaphors and games to engage all of the senses.  It's enhanced deep focus that we are looking for. We learn more when we pay attention.  It is in human nature to engage with activities that are enjoyable.  We all need to cultivate the art of making practice fun. There is a wonderful sign up offer that will explain how to use games. You can find the offer at: http://www.musicinpractice.com.

Paula: If anyone wishes to contact you for more information, where should they email you?

Sue: I can be reached at info@musicinpractice.com.

Paula: Thanks, Sue, for taking the time to connect with us and tell us about your new book. I am sure that there are other teachers besides me and other parents who could use some help with a review program. Please check out Sue's new book: Review - Making it Fun, Gets the Job Done. For more information about the new book, visit Sue's website at: http://musicinpractice.com.

Aunt Rhody: Dessert Tastes Sweet!

After reading and working through my previous posts that discuss the teaching and learning of Lightly Row and Song of the Wind, I am willing to bet that you are ready for a break! I am certain that your students and their practice partners are ready to catch their breath.

Dr. Suzuki understood the need for a “breather” now and then when he put together his repertoire of Suzuki volumes. When I explain this concept to my student's practice partner, I use the analogy of hiking up a steep mountain. Along the way, we run out of breath from exerting ourselves. Periodically we stop and take a rest. We get out our cameras and take pictures of flora and fauna or the vista before or behind us. Maybe we have a snack or a meal. Then, after a brief refreshment, we push forward to the next resting place along the trail.

As it is with mountain trail hiking, so it is with learning the Suzuki repertoire. Dr. Suzuki arranged the material to challenge us with new left and right hand skills and ever increasing complex musical forms. After a few songs, we find a song that breathes a little easier for us. We quickly figure out the finger patterns, and there seem to be few new technical skills included in the song. We find that we can just relax and enjoy the view, catch our breath, and let our muscles and our motivation and enthusiasm for learning get a little bit stronger as we give them a chance to build and harden.

Dr. Suzuki arranged the repertoire to introduce new technical skills, but rather than constantly push us to the edge of the cliff, Dr. Suzuki allowed us to step back a wee bit now and then to enjoy the beauty of playing music and to celebrate how much we have learned about the instrument, music, and ourselves up to this point. I call this type of piece one of Dr. Suzuki’s "dessert" songs. “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” is a dessert song.

I spend very little time teaching my students how to play Aunt Rhody. I use the song to work on ear training skills and to show my students how to translate the musical sounds they hear into the notes and fingers they need to play to recreate the same sound. Occasionally a student has difficulty in this area because of perfectionist tendencies. This song is great for working through these issues.

Here is a basic summary of the skills found in the song:

Left Hand Skills

• The song is in A major and uses the same finger pattern as the previous book one songs (close 2-3 finger pattern).The song basically moves stepwise, either ascending or descending.

• There is a finger "tangle" spot in measure 4.

• The song is in A-B-A form (3 parts and the first and third part are the same).

Right Hand Skills

• There is a quick string crossing from the E string to the 3^rd finger “D” on the A string.

• There is a later opportunity to teach bow distribution concepts: long bow, 2 shorter bows, long bow, 2 shorter bows.

• There is a forte and echo place in measures 5-8 where the student can learn about using bigger bows for bigger sounds and smaller bows for smaller sounds.

Previews (How to Teach the Song)

• I preview the finger "tangle" spot in measure 4.

• I help the student to practice the string crossing place in measure 6 from the E string to the note “D” on the A string.

• If the student has not picked out the notes to the song on their own, I use the song as an opportunity to work on ear training skills.

• I ask them to turn around from me because we are going to play a game. I play the first note and ask the student to try and find it on his or her violin.

• I may have to guide the student a little bit by asking questions that direct the student, such as whether the student thinks the note is on the A or the E string.

• Students do not yet understand the progression of pitches up the scale to the next string. This will come later on.

• Parents do not understand this concept either. Women have a harder time grasping the concept of the pitch getting higher when the string length is shortened. Guys tend to get this right away.

• I play the first 2 notes of the song and ask the student whether the notes are different or the same. I am establishing the thought process for picking out a new song.

• I play the first 3 notes of the song and ask the student whether the new note is different or the same. If it is different, did the pitch go “higher” or “lower”? Students can have a hard time with the concepts of “higher” and “lower.” This will also come together with time.

• I continue working through the first measure, and maybe the 2^nd measure as well depending on the student. Once the student is able to play this small segment of the song, I will help the practice partner and student by writing down what we accomplished, e.g., 2A-2-1-A-A-1-1-2-1-A.

• I know about the discussion of whether to use numbers or note names. I have struggled to remember to use note names from the onset, but I keep forgetting.

• I find it helpful to enlist the practice partner’s help with this, and I ask them to remind me to stay with the note names.

• If I use finger numbers, I only list the string name when the string changes. My students understand that they are to play on the same string until I have designated a string change.

• This is the perfect time to work on those perfectionist tendencies or fear issues, if they exist. If a student suffers from these problems, the student will present in this way:

• The student will hesitate before playing anything.

• The student will hesitate for longer and longer periods of time until he or she becomes almost catatonic.

• I encourage the student to stop "thinking" and just play, because “sometimes the fingers and bow know just what to do and thinking about it will get in the way of the fingers and bow.”

• I help the practice partner observe the student’s behavior so that they see exactly what I see. A child who is having trouble in this way probably has trouble in other areas at home as well.

• Remember, a parent could be the reason behind this problem. E.g., sometimes a strong, confident parent could be squelching the student’s comfort about experimenting.

• Also, a perfectionist parent or overly critical parent may promote this problem in the student. If a student cannot play something “perfectly,” or the student is not sure that they can play perfectly or correctly, they will stand before me completely stymied.

• If I identify a perfectionist issue, I instruct the parent to “burn toast.” This is my expression for activities that I want the parent to engage in at home and present in a new way.

• If the parent makes toast, I tell the parent to burn the toast and then throw a “hissy fit” and threaten to never make toast again because it was not perfect.

• If the parent makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I tell the parent to smear the peanut butter or the jelly all wrong on the bread, throw a silly tantrum about it, and go through the routine of never making another PB & J sandwich again because it was not perfect.

• The student will quickly get the message. The student will recognize how silly the parent is acting, and this opens the door for great discussions about the whole thing.

• This also alerts the parent to recognize when the parent is behaving in a way that contributes to the student’s problem.

• Once I work through the ear training exercise with a student, I find that the process of picking out the notes of a new song by ear go much easier with the next song. I continue working in this way through the literature in book 1 until the student at some point “gets it” and can do it for him- or herself.

Later Problems (or Just Later)

• I do not have very many problems come up later with this song. 

• I do use this song later for introducing more advanced skills.

• I use Aunt Rhody as a review song for teaching whole bow distribution:

• Whole down bow

• 2 smaller bows at the tip

• Whole up bow

• 2 smaller bows at the frog

• I use Aunt Rhody to teach the low 1^st finger pattern by substituting a Bb for B natural on the A string and F natural for F# on the E string. We refer to this as Aunt Rhody goes to Saudi Arabia, because the song sounds like music from that part of the world.

• I use Aunt Rhody to teach the close 1-2 finger pattern on the A string. We substitute C natural for C#.

Group Class and Other Options

• We play the game where Aunt Rhody travels around the world.

• We go to Saudi Arabia: low 1^st finger on the A and E strings.

• We play sad Aunt Rhody. I tell the students that Aunt Rhody is homesick.

• We play Aunt Rhody with pizzicato and pretend we went to England.

• We play Aunt Rhody with our bows over the fingerboard (in the ditch) because we went to the rain forests in Brazil and our car got mired in the mud and ran off the road.

• We play Texas Aunt Rhody, which is a double string version, where we drone A or E string while we play the song.

• Aunt Rhody is a great long bow or legato review song.

• We use the song in group classes to practice making crescendos and echoes.

As you can see, the Suzuki repertoire and how we approach the teaching presentation of the repertoire are full of possibilities. We are limited only by our imaginations. Aunt Rhody is a dessert song in my book, but it is a great song for teaching many possible concepts. Most of my students love Aunt Rhody, so it is always popular.

I had a young student who started lessons at age 5. She was one of the brightest students I ever had. She is currently studying in the science field at the University of Texas. When she was 7, she told me that “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” was her favorite song. Whenever she was fearful about something at school, she would sing the song to give herself courage.

I have never forgotten that. That was the first time I recognized how powerful the Suzuki repertoire could be to a young child who is discovering the power and beauty of music for the first time.

Monday Morning Check In: Disappointments and Life Lessons

Written at the end of 2011, this article has been updated December 21, 2016.

Last week I focused on Jinny Ditzler's "Best Year Yet!" question number 1 concerning this past year: "what did I accomplish?" This week I want to consider Jinny's second and third questions:

• What were my biggest disappointments?
• What did I learn?

What were my biggest disappointments?

Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal;

it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it. -- Eliza Tabor (author)

One of the reasons I like Jinny's program is the way she frames her questions. Jinny asks us to list our biggest disappointments. Notice that she did not ask us to list our failures. The word failure drips negativity and finality, whereas disappointment sounds, well, disappointing and transient. I would have trouble facing a failure. I would have to wade through a lot of psychological swamps in order to make sense of a failure, if I could even get myself to the point where I could consider the failure. So much negative stuff accompanies a failure: the impact on one's self esteem, the sense of rejection, and our perceived self worth or value. To me the word failure looks remarkably like a closed door that says, "Stop! Don't go in here! Your worst self is in here, and it isn't pretty!" I do not want to deal with failure. I cannot take a failure in stride.

I can, however, face a disappointment. I can consider all sides of a disappointment. I can learn from a disappointment. To me the word disappointment resembles a door left ajar. I can close it, walk through it, or even poke my head around the open edge without ever taking a step beyond the door sill.

Sometimes what holds us back from achieving our full potential is our refusal or inability to let go of our disappointments and open the door all the way. By asking us to examine our disappointments in the full light of day, Ms. Ditzler asks us to "[s]top trying to drive with your hands on the rear-view mirror!" We cannot change the past. The past is done, finished, unchanged. If we look back at it and refuse to let go of it, we will keep ourselves tied to the past. We cannot live in the present or look to the future when we spend our time looking backwards.

Rather than look in the rear view mirror, Jinny asks us to consider our disappointments in order to change the effect our disappointments have on us. Jinny's question two is the next step to deal with the negative aspects of our past and to refocus on living in the present. Jinny gives us three possibilities to deal positively with negatives from our past:

• Forgive
• Forget
• Learn

To forgive is a difficult task for many people, whether it is to forgive others or to forgive oneself. To forget may be difficult too, although the act of acknowledging or naming a particular disappointment may be enough to release the disappointment's hold over us. Jinny suggests that the best way to deal with disappointments of the past is to learn from them, and this is Jinny's third question.

What did I learn?

Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the oracle process all begins. 

 -- Jim Rohn (entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker)

Now the fun begins. Look over your list of accomplishments and disappointments and reframe them as lessons you have learned or a lesson you could learn. In order to keep my focus on this task, I maintain a "Life Lesson" journal. My journal is merely a simple composition book with the title "Life Lessons." I see it every day but I do not always write in the book on a daily basis. Still, because I see the book every day, I am reminded to think about my life and my activities with this perception: what life lessons can I learn from my daily life experiences?

I actually enjoy sitting down for a minute while I wait for my morning coffee to finish brewing or dripping. I cast my mind over the previous day and look for a nugget to transform into a life lesson. Some people advocate writing a life lesson or a list of things to be grateful for at the end of the day when the activities are freshest in our minds. I have trouble remembering to do that at the end of the day when my energy level seems to be at its lowest. Instead, I enjoy contemplating a new day with the activity of transforming the previous day into a life lesson sound bite. The positive aspect of this activity sets the tone for the beginning of my day.

As we think about our accomplishments and the lessons we learned, we can be objective about the skills, attitudes, and behaviors we already have and what we might lack to achieve or improve ourselves in more ways. Jinny then provides us with some steps to help us turn our life lessons into personal guidelines and ultimately into instructions to follow in the coming year.

If you are interested in exploring more of Jinny Ditzler's program for the best year yet, click on the book link below (affiliate link):

Happy Practicing!

----- Paula -----

© 2016 by Paula E. Bird

Practice Tip: Building Tone with Open Strings

I think Dr. Suzuki hit on a brilliant idea when he suggested that we practice tonalizing on our open strings. I would like to share my experience with you on this matter.

For those readers who are unfamiliar with the term "tonalization," and apparently my spell checker is unfamiliar with the word, Dr. Suzuki coined this word to describe what we instrumentalists do in comparison to the vocalization that vocalists do. Just as singers work to produce good quality tone and volume, so too can we instrumentalists.

Tone is a broad topic, but we do not need to discuss what tone is in order to understand how best to produce it. Dr. Suzuki suggested plucking the open strings and listening to the resonance of the pitch and then recreating the "ringing" sound with the bow playing the same pitch. There is something special about the resonance of our open strings. There is a brightness, a clarity, and a lingering and shimmering vibration in the air. The open strings sparkle and emit an extra "umph" in their sound.

When I am working with a student to build a stronger tone, I ask the student to play open strings as much as possible. For example, when playing notes on the D string, I might ask a student to play the open D string as strongly as possible about 6-8 times before playing the D string passage. Similarly, I will ask for repeated A strings or E strings. I notice that once a student has played an open string numerous times with the aim of making the string vibrate back and forth as widely as possible with as slow a bow as possible, the student then works to make the passage live up to the tone level set by the resonating open strings. I also think there is a kinesthetic value to this exercise, as students learn how to "feel" the pitch as well as hear the pitch with all its resonant overtones. I find that playing this open string exercise on the G string is quite lovely; the vibrations I produce resemble the same variations used in meditation chants, which help to stimulate the internal organs.

I have a simple tune that I like to use for this purpose, called "Lullaby." Originally I found this little song in David Tasgal's "Family Violin Method" and used it as an open string song in my PreTwinkler classes. My students loved it so much, the song has become a regular feature in my classes. One young student even went so far as to secure Mr. Tasgal's permission to record the song onto his mother's folk song CD.

Mr. Tasgal has graciously given me permission to print the music for this cute little tune. I myself use this tune to get focused for a practice session or to test out the resonance in a new performance hall. I can feel my back muscles relax as I play the song and concentrate on getting the most resonance from each open string. I play the song through two times; the first time I start the piece with a down bow, and the second time I reverse the bowing by starting with an up bow. My young students like it so much, they spend a great deal of time and effort to learn to play the song. I notice that my students have to expend a lot of concentration and focus energy to change the strings correctly and to use longer, slower bows. For a young PreTwinkler student to spend the time and effort to achieve this ability is a tribute to Mr. Tasgal's composition. My students enjoy this tune.

I have printed out a copy done on Finale, because it was easier for me to put it on my blog in this manner.

&<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">lt</span>;<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">bgsound</span> <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">src</span>="NAME OF FILE">
The only way I could figure out how to add an audio recording to the blog was to make a "video" of the song while playing it on my computer. If anyone knows how to embed an audio player on blogger, please contact me. Meanwhile, here is the recording I made:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UrQ8u34laQo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Mr. Tasgal has gone on to publish a new series, "Strings Fun and Easy." I have not yet had a chance to look through those books, but I will write out my experience once I have looked through them. You can learn more about Mr. Tasgal and his new series at: http://www.stringsfunandeasy.com/. The previous series, "Family Violin Method" can be found at: http://www.familystringmethod.com/, although Mr. Tasgal is encouraging newcomers to try out the new series.

Have fun playing those open strings this week. And if you have not changed your strings in a while, or your students are playing with dull, lifeless strings, buy new ones! You will enjoy playing this song with bright, shiny, new resonating strings!

Quick Practice Tip: Releasing Tension in the Shoulder

The shoulder is a magnet for tension, especially as the student matures in age. Just about all of my older students or adults exhibit shoulder tension. Shoulder tension must be an adult person's most favorite way to "hold it in." I know that this was the case for me. I still work at it, and I have developed a few tricks to help me set my playing posture in a relaxed way.

Try these three simulations or games away from the violin:

• When driving your car, rest your hands on the steering wheel at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions (please make sure that you are still paying attention to the road!). While you are driving, notice how light your hands feel on the wheel. Now, let your shoulders relax and your arms hang down. If you do this exercise correctly, you will notice that your hands begin to feel fairly heavy and hang from the steering wheel almost enough to pull the wheel down. Your shoulders are now completely relaxed.

• When you are standing in church, rest your hands on the pew back in front of you. Or if you grocery shop instead, rest your hands on the handle of the shopping cart. Notice how light your hands feel on the pew back or shopping cart handle. Now let your shoulders relax and your arms rest downward. If you do this exercise correctly, you will notice that your hands begin to feel fairly heavy and hang from the pew or shopping cart handle quite strongly. Your shoulders are now completely relaxed.

• Spaghetti Arms Game: You will need a partner for this game. Have your partner make fists in both hands and hold up the thumbs like joysticks. You grab onto the "joysticks." Your partner will then swing your arms around wildly, trying to take you for a wild amusement park ride and shake you off. Your goal is to stay connected to the joystick but to allow your partner to flail your arms around wherever your partner wants to go. If you are completely relaxed with "spaghetti arms" and still hanging onto the "joysticks," then your shoulders are completely relaxed. Note that this game is the most similar simulation to that of playing the violin. The joystick is your bow hold, which must be turned on. Your relaxed arms are how your shoulder should be: aware, relaxed, and going wherever it is led.

Try these two simulations with the violin:

• Submarine Air Lock Game: Pretend you are on a submarine, but you need to explore outside the vessel. Go into the air lock chamber. Turn on the mechanism that lets the air out of the chamber. Now you are ready to go outside the vessel. Relate this to the violin.

• Set your bow on the string at the frog. Now, release the air from your shoulder.

• "Set, Sink" are the two commands I use.

• Flat Tire Game: Set your bow on the string at the frog. Now release the air from your tire (shoulder) so that it goes flat.

Carry this to the next level in review work or group class activities:

• Play "Song of the Wind" (violin book 1) and stop after every down bow circle. Recite "Set, Sink" before playing the next note. Make sure your bow hold is impeccable.

• Play "Allegro" (violin book 1) and add  "Set, Sink" after every down bow circle.

• Play "Perpetual Motion" (violin book 1) with a down bow circle after every note. "Set, sink."

• Play "Etude" with a down bow circle after every note. "Set, sink."

• Play "Chorus" (violin book 2) and add "Set, Sink" after every down bow circle.

• Play "The Two Grenadiers" (violin book 2) and note the three down bow circle places. Are you setting and sinking at those places?

• In violin book 4 and the Seitz concertos, there are several opportunities to set and sink the shoulder when placing down bows at the start of new sections. Play these concertos and ask the student to find places where the "set, sink" idea will be effective.

When I first realized how much tension I had allowed to creep into my shoulder while playing my violin, I also found many opportunities to address the issue. I used my teaching in the studio to allow me to practice the exercises I have outlined above. I also found opportunities in symphony rehearsals and concerts to remind myself to "set, sink" before playing The only adjustment I had to make was to get ready to play in symphony a little earlier than usual to allow myself enough time to actually "set, sink." To this day, I still remind myself to "set, sink" after every down bow circle or after I have set my bow on the string.

I also practice this exercise while driving, singing hymns in church, or grocery shopping.

Monday Morning Check In: Today Matters!

One day is worth two tomorrows; what I am to be I am now becoming. -- Benjamin Franklin

In our previous discussions about teacher character traits, I have discussed specific desirable and undesirable traits and ways to identify them and strengthen or eliminate them. Today I want to discuss how to structure a game plan to cultivate the kinds of habits, values, or traits that will positively serve us teachers for the rest of our lives.

I am a big reader. Now that I have an iPad and a Kindle app, I read constantly because of the convenience of syncing my place in my reading material between my iPad and my iPhone. I can read anywhere at anytime and pick up exactly where I left off on all of my electronic devices, and I am giddy as a result of the possibilities.

Lately I have been reading material written by John C. Maxwell. In his book "Today Matters," John Maxwell writes about 12 daily practices that are important to include and develop in our lives. I would like to summarize the 12 practices here and add briefly the importance of each practice as I have read of them in Maxwell's book.

• Attitude: choose and display the right attitudes daily because the proper attitude gives you possibilities.
• Priorities: determine and act on important priorities daily because priorities give you focus.
• Health: know and follow healthy guidelines daily because good health decisions give you strength.
• Family: communicate and care for your family daily because good family relationships give you stability.
• Thinking: practice and develop good thinking daily because right thinking gives you an advantage.
• Commitment: make and keep proper commitments daily because making commitments gives you tenacity.
• Finances: earn and properly manage finances daily because good financial management gives you options.
• Faith: deepen and live out your faith daily because the growth and exercise of your faith give you peace.
• Relationships: initiate and invest in solid relationships daily because good relationships in your life give you fulfillment.
• Generosity: plan for and model generosity daily because generosity gives you significance.
• Values: embrace and practice good values daily because good values give you direction.
• Growth: desire and experience improvements daily because continued growth gives you potential.

Maxwell discusses each daily practice in more depth with personal stories from others and lessons that Maxwell  personally learned during his life. At the end of each chapter are a series of workbook questions to guide the reader to identify his or her own decisions concerning the 12 daily practices.

Maxwell talks about the importance of having a game plan in our life, and I agree with the importance of this step. By game plan, I am referring to a plan for our own personal growth as teachers and individuals to strengthen our roles in a family, a network, and a community. As teachers we have the great potential to influence (or leverage if you will) our knowledge and expertise with students, parents, colleagues, and audience. Our personal growth is a crucial ingredient to what and how we choose to offer our influence and expertise gifts to others.This book is an excellent resource to help guide us to form our own concrete game plan.

If you have little time to include a more in-depth reading of the book "Today Matters," might I suggest that you get your feet wet with a John C. Maxwell book called "The Maxwell Daily Reader." This book sets out short daily readings about various topics that include many of the same topics addressed in the book I have reviewed here. I have enjoyed the daily reader and am fascinated that I can still be surprised each day when I open up to the assigned reading for that day and find that the topic is one that I sorely need at that very moment! The daily readings have certainly helped me to redirect my focus in much healthier and more positive ways, and the book "Today Matters" has guided me to focus on a concrete game plan to shore up my weak character areas.

Every little action of the common day makes or unmakes character, and . . . therefore what one has done in the secret chamber one has some day to cry aloud on the housetop. -- Oscar Wilde

NEW! Fingerboard Workbook Series! (Interview)

Diane Allen
http://www.myviolinvideos.com

In this post, I would like to introduce you to my friend and Suzuki colleague Diane Allen from Central Oregon. Diane has recently published a series of fingerboard workbooks, which she has developed and successfully used in her studio for over 20 years. I am excited about the possibilities of this new series. I was fortunate to get an advance copy of all the workbooks, and I know exactly which students I want to begin working on this series. I wanted to give Diane a chance to discuss her new workbook series in more depth. First, let me introduce Diane to you.

PBird: Diane, welcome to "Teaching Suzuki." You are a regular reader of the blog, I know, from the frequent comments that you make. Tell us a little about your experience as a Suzuki teacher. How long have you been teaching?

Diane: Yes Paula! I love your blog. You are such a prolific writer. You make blogging look easy! (I know it’s not.)

workbook 1 for violin

I’ve been teaching for 25 years. Life as a Suzuki Violin teacher has been an amazingly rich and rewarding experience. When a student gets through the beginning steps of just learning how to hold the violin and bow as well as play some songs, it’s just short of miraculous. Around the time Minuet 1 comes along I start looking for the magic -- the moment when a student connects with their violin music and their musicality shines through. It always brings a tear to my eye! And that’s just the beginning.

PBird: You mentioned to me that you had been using your workbook series in your studio for over 20 years. Something that I really relate to is that the workbooks approach the fingerboard mapping issue by using all the learning styles: visual, aural, and kinesthetic. Please tell us how you came to develop your workbook system.

Diane: Two profound experiences that occurred during my college years were the impetus of writing the Fingerboard Workbook for the First Position. The first stemmed from my studies with Burton Kaplan. He introduced me to fingerboard visualization through his book The Complete Music Sight-Reader Series. Until that time I was a “blind” violinist. I could imagine how the notes sounded and had great muscle memory. Learning to visualize the notes on the fingerboard completed what I had been missing. It truly enhanced my violin playing in a BIG way. The charts that you’ll find in The Fingerboard Workbook Series are not that much different than his.

The second experience came from attending a weekend workshop about neurolinguistic programming. In the middle of the workshop I had an epiphonal moment. We had been working with different learning channels: visual, aural, and kinesthetic (eyes, ears, touch). I suddenly had a complete flashback of my entire school career and everything fell into place. Why I played the violin. Why in grade school I felt dumb. Why in high school I would always chew on the crunchiest foods possible when reading. Why Burton Kaplan’s fingerboard visualizations filled the gap. I’m predominantly an aural and kinesthetic learner. My visuals were quite weak.


PBird: How are your visual skills now?

Diane: My visuals now? Fantastic! I’ve since done some specific therapies. But let’s save that for another blog post. I co-mingled my neurolinguistic programming information with Burton Kaplan’s charts. While Burton Kaplan introduced me to using fingerboard charts, he only used them as a visual reference. In the fingerboard workbooks you will use the charts to aid you visually, aurally, and kinesthetically.

PBird: Would you describe what the fingerboard workbook series is? How are the workbooks organized?

Diane: The Fingerboard Workbook Series: Map the Violin for Good Map the Viola for Good is exactly what the title implies. It’s a workbook series that teaches where the notes are on the fingerboard in a way that really sticks. First position all the way through eleventh position is covered. Think of the workbooks as a catalog of all the possible combinations within an octave hand frame. Students will first identify notes, plot them on a fingerboard map, and then experience them by singing and playing.

The most common reaction students have with filling out a workbook is that of making many connections. Instead of having the light bulbs go off over your head, plan for fireworks!

PBird: How would you incorporate the workbook in your teaching situation? Do you have a system for when you introduce the workbook series or a particular position workbook? How long does it take a student to typically finish a particular workbook?

Diane: Most beginning violin books begin with teaching a specific finger pattern: 0 1 23 4. That would translate to mean:

• a whole step from the open string to the first finger
• a whole step from the 1^st to 2^nd fingers
• a half step from the 2^nd to 3^rd fingers
• a whole step from the  3^rd to 4^th fingers

Workbook 1 for viola

As soon as students lower the 2^nd finger to C natural on the A string, I start them with The Fingerboard Workbook for the First Position Map the Violin for Good. In the Suzuki literature that would be Etude [song #12 in violin book 1]. My experience is that students typically finish the workbook by the time they get to Gavotte by Lully in Suzuki Volume 2 [#10]. Just in time to learn 3^rd position! Learning all the new notes introduced in Suzuki Violin Volume 2 is pretty smooth sailing with the background my workbooks provide.

Although I’ve used The Fingerboard Workbook for the First Position: Map the Violin for Good for 20 years, all the other workbooks in all the other positions are brand new. Therefore I haven’t incorporated the new books into my teaching style yet. I do have some ideas though.

PBird:   I hope you will share your ideas with us in future posts. Who can use the workbooks now?

Diane:

• violin students
• viola students
• violin students learning viola
• viola students learning violin
• parents
• music education majors

I have had students age 5 – 65 effectively use the workbooks. Parents love the workbooks because it gives them an enormous amount of background. It keeps them out of the dark and in touch with their child’s violin playing. When they hear a note that sounds “off,” they will now have the tools to help troubleshoot.

PBird: What kind of student or parent reaction do you typically have about the workbooks?

Diane: I’ve had a mixed reaction with students and always a positive reaction with parents. Some students sail through and thoroughly enjoy the workbooks. Some drag their feet but I stick to my guns because I know the results are well worth the effort.

PBird: I notice that your website for the fingerboard workbook series is quite resourceful. Tell us more about the site.

Diane: The website has a few functions:

• to introduce folks to the books and act as a storefront to make purchases
• to provide free information in the form of videos and charts
• to offer a subscription to 10 mini fingerboard lessons and a monthly newsletter

I very much want to meet your readers! I will be doing a live streaming video event where they can either watch and/or participate. All they have to do is watch and type in their questions. I’ll then answer the questions, offer a demonstration, or find some fun way to help the learning. Part of the session will include a drawing to win a workbook! Your readers will want to become email subscribers to stay informed about the events and become eligible for the drawing.

• Tuesday 8/16 @ 7:00 am Pacific Time
• Sunday 8/21 @ 3:00 pm Pacific Time
• www.fingerboardworkbookseries.com
• The link to subscribe form can be found at: http://eepurl.com/c0PwQ .

PBird: Thanks, Diane, for visiting with us. I really look forward to using these workbooks in my studio and at the university. Thanks so much for taking the time to put all this material together. These workbooks look terrific!

Diane: Thank you Paula! For hundreds of years people have been trying to find where the notes exist on the fingerboard. It’s time to put an end to this problem!


PBird: Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today and talk to my readers and me about your new workbook series. I'm excited about the teaching possibilities. I am sure that my readers will want to find out more about this.


Visit the Teach Suzuki Resource Store to purchase the workbooks. Click here.

I am also looking forward to seeing you next week in Bend, Oregon, at my masterclass on Wednesday, August 10 at 1:00 p.m. at the Cascade School of Music, 200 NW Pacific Park Lane. See you then!