Parents are advised to consult Ms. Cynthia before buying a violin for their child. She will provide additional information to aid in this process after you have observed in the studio and enrolled in the program. The most important preparation that parents can do for their child is to start reading the K. Slone book and to Start Listening to the Violin CD as you begin observing in the studio.
Suzuki Materials required for:
Required for New PreTwinklers:
*available in the Catalogues on line
A violin will not be needed for the 1st 4-9 months in the PreTwinkle class.
PreTwinklers making the transition to playing on the Violin
Required instrument and materials for transitional PreTwinklers after 4-9 months of study:
Specifications for student violin:
Fully carved body with ebony pegs and finger board, tail piece with 4 built in fine tuners. Ask the shop to see that the cork on the chinrest is properly trimmed where the hardware rubs against the collar bone.
Brazil wood Bow needs to be the same size at the violin in proper working order.
Properly sized case with blanket so that violin fits snugly and case does not allow the violin to rock around inside.
Miss Cynthia never takes commissions from any violin sale. She wants your child to have the correct size and best possible instrument she can recommend since your child will most likely spend his first 3 years on this instrument.
Older Beginners 5 and up including adults
Older beginners will need their instruments ready to play on after 2-5 months of instruction depending on the ability of the students. See Twinklers for information about violins.
Ms. Cynthia will help you size your child when they visit the lessons of children their own age. Observing a Group lesson is a great time to do this because there are many size instruments available for this purpose.
Adult beginners may not necessarily want to get a full size instrument. Many of our moms are on 1/4, 1/2 & 3/4 depending on their height. Not everyone is built like a basket ball player. Consult Ms. Cynthia.
Everyone will need to start listening to the CD
Transfer Students (from other programs or Methods)
All TEC students are expected to study the Suzuki Curriculum. You will be expected to Listen to the Suzuki CDs and be able to play them from memory at your level. If you are a good musician this will be easy. If you are unfamiliar with the Repertory we require that you get the CD to Suzuki Violin Vol. I and get started so that you can enjoy participating in the Group Lesson experience. A CD walkman might be considered required equipment for the advanced the student or transfer student who is not familiar with the Suzuki Repertory.
It is important that the instrument that you are studying with is the right size for you. Please observe students in the studio who are at the same age and level to determine what you will need to make progress in the studio.
Books
Books Ms. Cynthia recommends to New Parents.
Many of these materials are in the studio where you can preview them.
Most of these materials are available in the online Catalogues of
Young Musicians
and Shar.
More information about books and materials can be found on the
Suzuki Publications
page.
Nurtured by Love - Shinichi Suzuki/tr. Waltraud Suzuki
-biographical
In the Suzuki Style: A Manual for Raising Musical Consciousness in
Children - Mills
-music games, activities, resources and
suggestions for Suzuki Parenting
Suzuki Concept The, : An Introduction to a Successful Method for Early
Music Education - Mills
-articles from well known teachers in
the Suzuki Method
Sensibility and Education - Kataoka
-examines how children use their senses
to learn
A Parent's Guide to String Instrument Study -
Lorraine Fink
-addresses the concerns of the new
Suzuki parent faced with the many choices to be made when starting a
string player: choosing instruments, care, repair, tuning, etc.