Early on in my teaching, I began hearing about the Suzuki method. I did some preliminary research and was fascinated by the concept and approach. So, I decided to go a step further and went to a Suzuki Institute. What an incredible experience! Even though I ultimately decided to adopt a more traditional approach for my studio, some of the principles I learned at the Institute have greatly influenced my teaching. The Suzuki teaching philosophy is named after its founder, Shinichi Suzuki, and has become the preferred method for most string students. I personally don’t think it is as effective for piano, but wow is it impressive to see the musicianship of those little string players on their tiny instruments!
All that to say, it’s exciting that Naxos has recently released a new series of Suzuki CDs. I gave the first one to one of my studio families whose children also take violin lessons to see what they thought about them. The Mom said, “The other CDs I tolerated; these I actually enjoyed listening to!”
Here’s what Naxos has to say about them: “Suzuki Evergreens is a 7 volume series of recordings that covers all 8 books of the Suzuki method for violin. The violinist on the recordings, Takako Nishizaki, was a student of Shinichi Suzuki and she was the first child to complete the Suzuki course. She was awarded a teacher’s diploma for the method at age nine. Ms. Nishizaki’s Father was very active in the early stages of the development of the Suzuki Method and for many years, taught at the Matsumoto summer school.”
You can find more information and listen to samples on the Naxos website page for them. And…Naxos has kindly offered to giveaway the first three volumes of this new series to three Music Matters Blog readers! Just leave a comment below to be entered in the drawing. For double entry, just post about the giveaway on your blog or Facebook with a link back to here and the n leave a second comment indicating you did so. (Since you already have three chances to win a CD, this will double your chance to six! :-)) The drawing will be held Thursday, October 14, at noon (CST).
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