A Visit to the Practice Shoppe with Leslie Thackeray

As I have been focusing on the topic of review and how important it is, I recently spoke to Leslie Thackeray from thepracticeshoppe.com about her website. I love to explore the items that Leslie has listed, because they spark a creative idea or two in my head about practicing and teaching my students better. I especially appreciate all the free downloadable charts that Leslie offers for review and repetition purposes. There is a review chart for everyone of every level.

Because I enjoy browsing Leslie’s website, I thought I would find out more about her and how she came to create her site.

Leslie: I started playing Suzuki violin when I was 4 and don't have many memories of practicing as a young child, except that I hated it. My mom never let me quit. She knew I liked playing, because when I'd perform, I'd be happy with myself. I sure dreaded practicing each day though, to the point that I would do all sorts of things to try to get out of it (taking long baths is one thing I remember in particular).

Paula: You are jogging my memory of my own childhood. My mother set a kitchen timer for 30 minutes, and the hard and fast rule in my house was that practicing got done first thing after school. If a friend came knocking at the door to ask if I could come out and play, my mother politely told them to come back when my 30 minutes were up. How did you handle the practicing issue with your own children?

Leslie: As a mother practicing with my own children, I kept thinking of fun ways to practice so it wouldn't be such drudgery for my children. I saw a cute bead counter at my daughter's violin teacher's house and wanted one for myself. When I looked online, I found they were too expensive for me to afford at the time. My husband is always up for a project, so I told him what I wanted, and we went out to find the right materials. I remember we had all this extra time because it was Thanksgiving break 2009.

After playing around a bit with some different ideas we finally came up with our bead counter. I emailed a bunch of my teacher friends and asked if they wanted to buy some for their kids or students for Christmas (to recoup the cost of the materials). The response was extraordinary and I was overwhelmed with orders all Christmas season. I've improved the quality of the product so it would last longer and withstand the wrath of children.

Since then I’ve used the bead counters nearly every day in my practicing with my children and my teaching with my students. It's incredible to watch the concentration of the student to finish a task 10 times when I pull out the bead counter.

Paula: You have many colorful bead counters, and the themes are terrific. You also sell other things besides the bead counters. Tell us how you started doing that.

Leslie: We have an amazing Suzuki Institute here in Utah, and we decided to sell the bead counters at the Institute. Again, the response was great, so I decided to see what else I could sell to the parents and teachers at institute. Every time I wanted something for practicing with my kids or for my studio, I would search and search for the best price and buy it in bulk so I could sell it to other teachers and parents around.

As teachers, we use so many different doodads and gadgets from lots of different places. My goal is to provide some of these fun practicing supplies all in one place for a good price.

Paula: My favorite part of your website – and the pages that I visit the most – are your links to downloadable review and practice charts. There are so many charts and such clever themes. How did these charts come about?

Leslie: I was always searching online for fun practice charts for my own kids. I never could find very many creative ideas, but I figured I could come up with some. I feel that I can put these practice charts online really quickly and share them with everyone for free. I always love finding free printables online.

I love when I get emails from people who love my practice charts, because it makes me feel like I'm helping someone for very little of my time. These free printables are the biggest draw to The Practice Shoppe. I love when people give me their practice chart ideas to add to the website. I would love to be a major source of practice chart printables among Suzuki teachers and any music teacher.

Paula: I see that you have added dice, some jewelry items, puppets, and other specialty items. I have a huge collection of dice in my own studio. There are dice for all sorts of purposes.

Leslie: I also love using dice in my teaching and have searched high and low for all sorts of dice. The kids love to roll dice to see how many times they have to practice. I have some more dice in production that will be coming out soon. I'm so excited to launch these new products.

Paula: Thanks, Leslie, for taking the time to talk about your website. For anyone who is interested in seeing these products on Leslie’s website, visit: www.thepracticeshoppe.com.

If you would also like to read my interview of Sue Hunt about the importance of review and Sue's new book Review -- Making it Fun, Gets the Job Done, you can find the article here and the book on Sue's Music in Practice website here.

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.

Take Ten

Building a practice habit is as simple as taking ten -- ten minutes that is. When I ask my students and parents to practice every day, or at least on the days that they eat, as Dr. Suzuki was fond of saying, I am amazed at how easily my students and parents provide me with reasons why they cannot do that. Generally I do not assign a particular maximum amount of time to spend practicing, because I do not like the idea of telling a student to practice 2 hours, or four or five. I want my students and their parents to focus on practice goals and then to set up a practice routine that meets those goals.

I know of no goal that would allow a student to miss practicing, certainly not to miss practicing on a fairly recurrent basis. I understand that life sometimes gets in the way of our intentions and desires, but with a little thought and planning, we can still manage to find time to practice. The solution is all about priorities. If we place a high priority on practicing with our child, then we will find or make the time necessary to practice with our child.

I ask my parents to find a minimum of 10 minutes. That is all. When I reduce my expectations to the quantity of 10 minutes, my parents and students find it difficult to excuse their way out of it, because everyone can find 10 minutes in their day:

• My university students have learned that they can generate 30 minutes to an hour each day just by avoiding the lobby of the music building and instead following a route through the music building that skirts the lobby. A lot of time gets wasted in the lobby with social activities.

• Having a plan in advance for the day or even the week will help the student or parent to stay focused on what activities are productive and to pay less attention to time-wasting (and possibly nonproductive or unrewarding) activities.

• Eat/dress/shower/walk faster.

• Record TV shows and fast forward through commercial breaks.

• Primp less in the mirror (this is a great generator of time for students in the teen years!).

• Watch less TV.

• A group of my studio parents used to take turns on certain days and go to the children's school to practice with each other's child. The school was delighted to allow this to take place during a time when nothing else more important was going on.

• Practice before school.

• Practice in those "twilight" minutes before dinner. Practice after dinner in those moments before the night's entertainment begins.

If a student or parent continues to argue about this, I ask them to bring me their calendar so that I can help them find some available time. If we cannot find 10 minutes, then I have to suggest the obvious: perhaps they are too busy or lack the commitment necessary to be taking music lessons at this time. The alternative is that the student or parent needs to eliminate one or more activities in order to free up some time. A parent cannot reasonably expect that a student can learn a skill and develop an ability in a time vacuum when no time is spent learning, practicing, and using the new skill and ability.

Here is a short interview of about one minute with the mother of one of my youngest students. This student began lessons at the age of 2.5 years. The student has a weekly 30 minute lesson and attends group classes of 45 minutes to an hour about twice a month. She has great concentration and plays beautifully. She is working to complete her Twinkle variations along with several other songs that we enjoy playing. Here is my student's mother describing her philosophy about practicing:

Interview with Suzuki parent: 10 Minute Philosophy

See how simple it can be? Can you really look me in the eye and tell me that you cannot find ten minutes a day to spend with your child in quality interaction? Your child is your most precious gift. Ten minutes is a small amount of time to spend to develop the gift of a lifetime for your child.

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!