With the opportunity to teach with/to a variety of people this summer, I find myself traveling on the job. I will head to the University of Texas practice rooms, some private homes, a downtown Austin music school, and a few churches. Without the luxury of an established home studio featuring shelves of resources at my fingertips, I am in need of a transportable bag for the most important teaching necessities.

A subscriber to the minimalist mindset, I believe that the possessions and actions I adopt must have maximum value. In other words, I choose to use/do only the things that I understand and enjoy completely. I find that operating this way provides clarity, time, inherent organization and focus. It is empowering to become the curator of one’s life (schedule + closet + home + menu) with a few simple priorities.

With that in mind, my aim for this tool kit is maximum functionality. Because I don’t want to wheel in boxes of music, games, and toys, multicolored tapes, and 125 pencils into each lesson, I have minimized my list only to the most important and most valuable objects. Rather than leaving a box of items at each teaching location, I believe this method will also allow me to serve students fairly. Below I have identified the tools that are most useful to me as a teacher (for the moment), and now look forward to sharing their value with each and every student.

iPad. This handy gadget, a graduation gift, has become an invaluable part of my days on-the-go . This light device is my notebook (evernote), video camera, and scanner (scanner pro). I have also uploaded my notes from past teacher trainings for quick reference, as well as a couple of essential books (Nurtured by Love, William Starr’s The Suzuki Violinist).

Suzuki Books 1-3. A reference for me, and useful if parent and student forget their music for the day. I only carry the books through my highest level student. I bracketed preview spots in each piece, and leave the book on a stand/tabletop close by if I ever need to confirm something.

A Utensil Pouch. A small collection of writing utensils. A mechanical pencil (for me). A wooden, sharp pencil (for the stand). A big eraser (for big changes). A marker (for drawing on hands/arms/etc). A permanent marker (for drawing on fingernails).

Finger Tapes. Just one thin, fluorescent orange roll for now. A couple more varieties in the future, perhaps.

Rubber Bands. Possibilities endless. However, I have in mind special uses for shoulder rests, bow “seat belts” to keep the fingers of the bow hold in place, for demonstrations of a springy bow, or for attaching a pencil to the C and working on a quality contact point.

Die. Just one. Useful for allowing the number of repetitions (in the lesson, at home, with a partner, with perfect posture, etc) to fall to “chance.” AKA: the teacher’s/parent’s scapegoat.

Three small objects. I have a marble, a small plastic fishing buoy, and a cute little elephant. I use these to check for level violins and high scrolls. I might also put the elephant on the student’s back to practice a deep bow, and dangle the buoy from elbow/wrist/scroll to externalize raising and dropping.

Handful of pennies. Used to keep score, play games, and account for repetitions. They slide and make a clink when dropped into a can.

Stuffed animal. The other scapegoat. If I want the student to play a “yes/no” game, I want to make sure I am on the same team as the student. So when playing for pennies, I want the student to feel I am on their side as they attempt to beat [Mr. Frog].

Stickers. The epitome of all rewards. Also useful for marking spots on the bow and fingerboard without having to add a new strip of tape.

This list seems long, but I can easily pack it all into a shoulder tote bag. I’m sure my grouping of materials will change over time, but my priority to use in my teaching only what is most valuable to me and my students will forever remain a principle of my studio.

 

Here in Texas, each day is slowly building toward the inevitable 100+ temperatures. School is quickly finishing, with only finals and field trips left to complete. Colleges have let out for the semester, and graduations already took place. Summertime is approaching!

We will soon enter the interval of swim lessons, trips abroad, mornings of craft projects, week long day camps, and meals that only consist of watermelon, that consumes the middle months of our year. It is an exciting time, a fun time. But what do these three months “off” mean for violin practice?

While growing up, I learned to associate violin practice with school work. My mom is a schoolteacher, and for a couple of years my daily practice with her was actually at the school before her work day started. This was a meaningful association, linking together my study in violin as part of my overarching education, but it often became a problem once summer rolled around. If I was on vacation from school, I should have been on vacation from violin. Right? (Or so I assumed.) On top of my mental distance from my violin during summer, I spent every June at a month long girls camp where the idea of practicing was far fetched (if not laughable). A month without physically touching my violin never got the summer of to a productive musical start.

Because the Suzuki method is built upon regular practice and an enriching musical environment, I believe we all must work towards fruitful practice sessions throughout this warm season.

So in order to make the transition these year easier (or possible), I have listed a couple of strategies to model your summer practice for success.

1. Make time with the violin a joy.

Time spent with the instrument doesn’t always have to be difficult, time consuming, and effortful. Take the opportunity in the next couple of months to explore how fun and enjoyable music making can be. Organize miniature concerts for the family, programming successful bows, bow games, duets, and favorite pieces. Allow students to spend an entire practice session just reviewing their very favorite pieces. Let students self pace and organize the flow of a practice. Look out for ways to involve the violin into an art project or a family campfire. Also, take the opportunity (especially if you are traveling!) to practice in new and exciting places. Plan a picnic at the park and bring along the violin for a short practice. Find out what it sounds like to practice at the Grand Canyon or in front of the Capitol!

2. Strive for consistency.

Amidst all of the summer camps, family road trips, and group trips to six-flags, attempt to make a couple of minutes of daily practice a constant. It often helps to attach violin practice with something you already do at the same time each day (eat dinner, brush teeth, take naps, get dressed, etc). Parents and students should also take the time to discuss goals and summer plans as partners, each writing down and committing to what they feel will be the expectation for each practice.

3. Make music a part of you summer.

Baseball games? Twelve-girl-trampoline-slumber-parties? Family reunion cook outs? How about throwing a music concert into the mix! Take the opportunity, while weekdays and weekends are one in the same, to experience local, live music. There are many organizations that provide family-friendly, free music events, especially during the summer! These don’t all have to be classically oriented, and the more fun students can have while in attendance, the better. Seeing a concert, the manifestation of what work as a young musician will eventually develop into, is important for hardworking students. Take the opportunity this summertime to enrich your musical environment. At the very least, set the iPod speakers next to the pool and blast Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: Summer.

Wishing all a happy start to this summer vacation!

This past Sunday afternoon I had my exit interview with Dr. Laurie Scott, professor of string pedagogy at UT and long time teacher of the Suzuki Method, which concluded my Book 1 training. It was 10 days worth of observations, wise words, valuable readings, shared experiences, and answered questions.

I feel prepared and excited to begin teaching my own students violin through the Suzuki method.

One of the last assignments of the training was to turn in an interpretation of Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy and teaching method in our own words. I thought I would share it here, as a way to celebrate and embrace this new chapter in my teaching journey.

The Suzuki Method is an approach to education based on Shin’ichi Suzuki’s philosophy that every person can develop skill. He uses the unanimous acquisition of the complexities of language by children across the world as evidence that a rich environment, not inborn talent, is the determinate of ability. Suzuki modeled his teaching method on the way in which children learn to speak, and worked specifically on violin mastery. The principles of language learning he identified and used included the repetition and review of learned material to develop fluency, the fluency of speech before reading, consistent practice in a shared learning environment and in private home settings, and the immersion into a rich, stimulating environment. Parent, student, and teacher, all equally valuable and necessary to the process, work together in private lessons, group lessons, and in daily home practice to foster skill. All students use a curriculum of repertoire, sequenced by Dr. Suzuki, which introduces techniques within while also inspiring musicality. As each student progresses, this full body of repertoire is then referenced to help further develop more advanced skills, similar to the process of language learning. With full commitment and participation, an investment of time, energy, understanding, and trust, full fluency of the violin will be accomplished. Furthermore, through this shared experience, students and parents will develop skills of memory, logic, listening, and reason, but most importantly perseverance, collaboration, the power of practice, and respect for one another. The Suzuki Method offers parent, student, and teacher the opportunity to grow together in a crucial time of development, through the medium of music and art.