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Suzuki Parents Can Help Their Children
To Read Music At Home!*
by Janice Tucker Rhoda
As a suzuki teacher of over 25 years, I've always been concerned about
helping my students learn to read music in as easy a manner as possible.
Frequently asked questions include: How can a suzuki parent help his
or her child develop good reading skills at home? When is the appropriate
time for a child to make the transition from rote learning to note
reading?
Six year ago, I published the first book of my reading method series,
The ABCs of Strings, for violin, viola, cello and bass which
is now published by Carl Fischer of New York. Since combining my own
ideas with concepts of the suzuki materials and taking care to complement
the suzuki materials completely, hundreds of suzuki teachers, parents
and students in the US and abroad have taken notice and now enjoy
using these books.
When a child begins studying the suzuki approach, he or she will attend
private lessons and group lessons, and will listen to the CD of violin
book 1. At the teacher's discretion, reading materials will be introduced
when the time seems appropriate for that particular student. As a
general rule, a child should have stable intonation (playing in tune)
and posture before attempting to develop reading skills. Some teachers
prefer to wait until the end of book 1 before introducing note reading
while others wait until Perpetual Motion is learned thoroughly.
Yet others wait until the student has learned book 2 or even book
3 thoroughly. The older the student, the earlier the introduction
can be. There are exceptions; I've had many students who at ages 4,
5 and 6 grasp reading skills right away. If parents are willing to
help them in practice sessions at home, I will educate both students
and parents at their private lessons and guide them through their quest
to learn to read musical notation.
There is a simple way of looking at the letter names and fingerings.
Think of the alphabet! We start with the A-string, the 2nd string
in, which Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star begins on. The first
note is "Open-A." After "A" comes 1st finger "B"
and after 1st finger "B"is 2nd finger "C#." After
2nd finger "C#" is 3rd finger "D" and after
3rd finger "D" is 4th finger "E." 4th finger
"E" matches "Open-E." We continue going up the
alphabet on the E-String.
Simply put:
A = Open-A (no fingers down)
A1 = B
A2 = C#*
A3 = D
E = Open-E (no fingers down)
E1 = F#
E2 = G#
E3 = A (High A)
E4 = B
*Say "C-Sharp."
Over the years, I've had students sing the letter names
(A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A) or the solfege syllables (do, re, mi,
fa, sol, la, ti or si, do). My students "clap the counting."
For example, in the first line of Twinkle, students clap their
hands while counting aloud along with the melody. There are
4 beats per measure and each quarter note receives 1 beat.
Say and clap on each beat:
1, 2, 3, 4
1, 2, 3--4
1, 2, 3, 4
1, 2, 3--4
3--4 denotes a half note which receives 2 beats.
Here is a partial list of pieces in violin book 1, The ABCs
of Violin for the Absolute Beginner: Mary Had A Little
Lamb, Jingle Bells, My Dreydl, Beethoven's Ode To Joy and Violin
Concerto Theme, London Bridge, Alouette, fiddle tunes Arkansas
Traveler and Irish Washer Woman. There are
34 selections in all. Students will be able to play along with
the matching CD, The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner Performance
and Play-Along CD. The tempos are slow, and the scales of
A-major, D-major and G-Major are included on the CD. Basic graphs
appear in all of the books, showing exactly where to place the fingers
on the neck of the violin. The notes are larger than those
in the suzuki books for ease of reading purposes.
Enjoy teaching your children reading skills. It will be noticeably
worth it when you see them playing in school orchestra at their first
holiday concert!
Author: Janice Tucker Rhoda
Web site: www.abcsofstrings.com
List of book titles: www.abcsofstrings.com/abcvols.html
Contact Janice: abcsofstrings@gmail.com
*This article by Janice Tucker Rhoda appeared in the Suzuki Parent
Newsletter's February 2002 issue.
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