Why the PROCESS of learning matters
We don’t just teach children how to play the instruments. We teach them what it feels like to learn something difficult. This is an enormous responsibility. Because long after a child forgets what piece they played at a particular recital, this is what they may come away with: whether mistakes felt frightening or interesting; whether…
Continuous learning
Continuous learning” isn’t simply “lifelong learning” in the generic sense. It has a more specific, Suzuki-shaped meaning. It’s something closer to learning that never fully separates roles, stages, or relationships. It keeps cycling through teaching, practicing, observing, and refining across a lifetime WITHIN a culture and/or community. In most conventional educational models, learning is framed…
Benefits of improvisation
there are no mistakes silence and applause are part of the experience friends aren’t criticized creativity can grow Some of these ideas are collected from an article by Laura Nerenberg’s article in the 2026 issue of Suzuki Journal I see some classes in “Creative Ability Development” happening in my future. Stay tuned. Check back soon…
Suzuki method and lexicon: our words influence how students orient to their instruments
Suzuki teacher trainers talk about this often; as a Suzuki community we are proficient in communicating technique to students in ways that are intuitive and highly descriptive. For example, I often use metaphors or visuals or a series of movements to convey aspects of technique. For example, move your bow hand like a jellyfish or…
Music education in a post-AI economy
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly capable, many people are wondering which jobs will survive and which will change dramatically. Teaching music is not primarily an information-transfer job. AI can explain music theory, generate exercises, and provide feedback. However, a teacher notices the hesitant child who needs encouragement; helps a parent navigate frustration; demonstrates a physical…
I have been underselling Utah’s world-class Suzuki camp
One teacher described it as “Camelot” for music education and I agree. The BEST teachers fly in from Singapore, The Netherlands, Argentina, as well as Suzuki programs all over the world. If you are in my studio you MUST seriously consider it for 2027 and I will help families obtain scholarships. My son and I…
Mentorship Matters
Mentorship matters more than I understood when I was a student. I didn’t even know how to ask for it, let alone know that I needed it. Now that I am older and wiser, I can see more clearly how formative it is to have experienced guidance along the way –and how much it can…
Belonging as a Teaching Tool
We are seeing wonderful progress with our cohort of seven “Twinkler” violinists, ages five to seven. The motivation the children experience to do their best for each other simply cannot be beat. Weekly group classes reinforce and build upon the skills we are developing in private lessons, but the musical growth is only part of…
Suzuki Culture Through an Economic Lens
I have been thinking a lot lately about Suzuki culture—not only as a teaching method or musical tradition, but as a system. My background is in economics, and I have found myself increasingly viewing Suzuki not just as an educational philosophy, but as a kind of decentralized apprenticeship-based training economy. Suzuki culture operates through a…
The Suzuki Method is a living culture: each generation of teachers picks up where the last generation of teachers left off
Suzuki culture is largely a living culture. While we certainly have books, recordings, and training materials, much of what we know is shared person-to-person. We are not especially focused on documenting and publicizing. Instead, knowledge is passed along through relationships, conversations, observations, and shared experiences. Here is a glimpse into the beauty of it: teachers…
How is Suzuki culture sustained and transmitted?
The Suzuki Method is often described as an educational approach, but for many families it becomes something more. It is a culture. Shinichi Suzuki believed that every child could learn to create beautiful music when surrounded by the right environment. He devoted his life to helping create those conditions so that children and families could…
Pattern recognition in early book 1 Suzuki violin repertoire -a post for teachers
Here’s a question I like to ask early Book 1 students: Which pieces go from open E to 3rd finger on the A string? Ask the student to think it over—or better yet, play through the pieces and discover the answer. The pieces that share this pattern are: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Song of the…
Parents as practice partners
Practicing strategies that actively involve parents can be remarkably effective for young students. When learning a new piece or passage, there are often many skills happening at once: singing, rhythm, bowing, fingerings, posture, and listening. By partnering with the child, a parent can temporarily take responsibility for one part of the task, allowing the student…
Suzuki teachers learn IRL
The Suzuki Method has never really gone digital. In a world of online courses, video tutorials, and endless content, Suzuki teacher learning remains delightfully old-fashioned. It is slow. Relationship-based. Human. Many of the best ideas in Suzuki teaching aren’t found in a book or a website. They are passed from teacher to teacher across coffee…
More than music lessons
Lately, I have been rediscovering one of the most beautiful aspects of the Suzuki Method: the community it creates. Suzuki is more than a form of music education. It is an integrated musical community built across generations of teachers, parents, and students. For some, that community becomes a kind of second home. People invest deeply…
Parents as Learning Partners
I am a Suzuki parent too, so I get it. If you are new to this, buckle in—it can be one of the most rich and rewarding parenting experiences you can have. As a teacher, I am always trying to remember to bring parents into the practicing process. In the lesson, it often sounds something…
Modeling technique and expression (wordlessly)
THIS IS THE FUN STUFF. I like to open group classes with wordless demonstrations—where I play or demonstrate and the children follow without verbal instruction. It is surprisingly demanding for the teacher, and by the end I feel exhausted. Without words, everything has to be communicated through gesture, timing, facial expression, breath, and repetition. The…
Language shapes technique
The right words can make an immediate difference in how a student organizes their body and sound. For example: A violin hand can be described as a “gentle hug” between the knuckle and the thumb. A bow hold is a “hold,” not a “grip.” Early tone production is often best approached as “clear” rather than…
Go Slow to Go Fast (especially in violin playing)
Foundations First: Why Technique Takes Time It really is best if students and parents take the time to carefully set up posture, bow hand, and left-hand shape. If we don’t, we often end up spending more time later correcting it. As a Suzuki Mom myself to a violinist kid, I am seeing this play out right…
Chain reactions in technique
Last night, a wonderfully astute young student described her bow hand in a way that stopped me in my tracks. She noticed that if she begins with a bent thumb in her bow hand, the rest of the hand is much more likely to fall naturally into place. She is exactly right. This is one…
Collaboration
I encourage families in private lessons to have their studio teachers reach out to their music teachers at school (or vice versa) so that communication is open -this can be so valuable! The musical journey is smoother with integrated support. I spent a year teaching a middle school orchestra and was able to build a…
What does it mean to polish your pieces?
After learning notes and bowing, we of course start bringing in dynamics, articulation, vibrato, tone, color, shape, and other forms of artistic expression. But what are other aspects of having your piece performance-ready? Explore one’s memorization of the piece. Listen to the accompaniment part and prepare for how it is going to sound when you…
Memorization
We are coming up on solo and recital season! Here are some tips for double-checking your memorization of a piece: After you have learned the piece, try playing it with the right hand on the piano from each section of the music. This ensures that you have an understanding of the actual notes -not just…
Intonation innovations
My students and I have been exploring techniques for developing their intonation skills this week. Several students have begun their musical journeys on piano -an instrument for which considerations regarding intonation are null. As un-fretted stringed instrument warriors, we violinists must turn our faces to the wind and work. My favorite techniques lately have been…
