Music-themed Children's Books

Looking for a new way to engage your child musically? There are so many great books with musical themes written for kids. Here are a few of my favorites!

The Carrot Seed  is about the patience one must have when planting a seed and watching it grow. I love to talk about this book with regard to practice and how we grow musically from patience and hard work.

The Cat Who Loved Mozart tells the story of a girl and her cat, and how they bond over the music of Mozart. (You know how much I love cats!)

Frederico the Mouse Violinist is a cute book about a mouse who lives in a violinmaker's studio, who gets a tiny violin of his own.

Jake the Philharmonic Dog tells the story of a NYC pup who learns all about the symphony and its instruments, and eventually he gets a job fetching the conductor's baton!

The Magic Violin addresses the need for hard work in musical study in a fun and approachable way.

The Man with the Violin is an account of the actual experiment that violinist Joshua Bell conducted in a train station. It encourages you to stop and listen to the music and is absolutely delightful.

Meet Lola the Viola and Her String Instrument Family Written by a professor of strings, this book introduces young readers to the members of the string family.

Polly and the Piano is a lovely book written by a piano teacher about her relationship with her dog. It comes with a a CD.

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin This one's last alphabetically, but definitely not least! Zin! is one of everyone's favorites.It explores the instruments of the orchestra and is a joy to read.

Don't forget - I have a lending library (with many of these books) for my current students. Do you have a favorite that;'s I left out? If so, mention it in the comments and I'll include it in my next reading roundup!

Starting the Year off Right

I started off  2016 by flying to Dallas, TX by way of Detroit on January 1. I left my Brooklyn apartment at 4 AM, and arrived in Dallas around 10:30 AM, Central Time.

You might be thinking, "This lady is crazy, taking a 6 AM flight on New Year's Day!" Believe me, this crossed my mind, too. However, once I got there I knew there was no better way for me to kick off what I know will be a wonderful, musical year, both in my teaching life and performance life.

An important part of my job as a teacher is to keep learning, keep asking questions, and keep reviewing the way I teach and how it best works for my individual students. By default it makes me a better player, too!

This particular course was a review of Suzuki Book 1 training that I took a few years ago. I am so fortunate in that my studio has grown so much since that time, and I thought I owed it to my kids and to myself to review this very important book and its building blocks in their musical journeys. (Funny, I always learn as much about my own playing in these training as I do about how I want to teach!)

8 teachers gathered with Judy Bossuat-Gallic, a revered pedagogue who studied at length with Shinichi Suzuki himself. She had the most beautiful and applicable stories to tell about her time with him, This class was exceptionally organized, and I learned so much from Judy as well as from the other teacher participants from around the country. People asked such interesting questions and added valuable perspectives to the subjects covered. (And we covered a LOT!)  I also met some lovely people with whom I hope to keep contact.

I came home feeling full of excitement and optimism for the year to come, and feeling so grateful for my studio families. I truly love what I do and am so fortunate to have this community of families and colleagues.

What are some of the things YOU are excited about in your musical journeys this year? Let me know in the comments!

Take a Stand!

I had the best time in LA this week for the Take a A Stand! Symposium. Here's a preview of my next blog post to come shortly!

New York Area Concerts for Children and Families

As you know, listening is a vital component of the Suzuki method. I encourage you to expose your kids to as many performances as possible! I find them to be fun, inspiring, and engaging for children.

For those of us in NYC, there are quite a few places that offer programs specific to children. Here are links to a few resources:

Carnegie Hall Family Concerts

New York Philharmonic

NYC Arts 

Symphony Space Family

Let me know if you'd like to arrange a group trip!

Concert for Kids this Past Weekend

Wow - I can't even begin to thank everyone who came out to the concert at Caribou Baby this past Sunday! I am so grateful to my friends and their little ones who came, and to the lovely new people I met. It was great fun, and I'm planning to do another one in March 2015. If you'd like to be added to the list, let me know by emailing me. My contact info is here. 

It was really exciting for me to have the opportunity to play for (and with) kids ranging in age from 11 months to 5 years. I was joined by three of my current students who did such an amazing job showing their beautiful bowholds, playing Pop! Goes the Weasel, and doing some dancing and clapping. I could not have been more proud, and thankful that they had the opportunity to play in front of a welcoming and supportive group.

We also played with some rhythm instruments, learned about Bach, and danced the minuet. We also learned parts of the violin and bow. We sang The Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald, along with some other songs, and in true Suzuki fashion, ended the program with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. 

I hope the kids and parents had half as much fun as I did. Teachers - if you're interested in the format, ask questions in the comments below. 

SAA Conference - Last Day

I started the day with an 8:30 AM session on teaching vibrato. It was really informative and I'm looking forward to trying out some of the exercises I learned. The room was packed and it was a good last session to attend.

After that I went back to my room and packed. I am so exhausted! 

The final conference event was a concert by the students. It was lovely! This was the first time I've heard Suzuki voice students. They all played so well and it made me really excited to get home and work with my students.

I managed to catch an earlier flight and get on home. I had a great time and am looking forward to going back for the next conference in 2016!

SAA Conference Day 4

The day started at 8:15. I went to a session on Tone Development and creating a beautiful sound. It was a good presentation and I came away with some great ideas on right arm and right hand development. They also gave us some interesting books and I look forward to reading through them when I get home.

After that, I attended a session on copyright. There is so much to learn about this topic! While this was a general overview, I really appreciated the list of resources given to learn more about copyright. It's very good knowledge to have.

I missed the very beginning, but was able to catch the second half of a Master Class with William Preucil, Jr. It was delightful. The students played so beautifully, and it was so much fun to watch him teach. I have always loved his playing, and asked my parents for private lessons after hearing him perform with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony orchestra when I was in middle school. 

I did some running around trying to find something to eat, and had such a hard time! Most things are apparently closed on Sundays in downtown Minneapolis. I ended up having chips and guac and came back to the hotel to peruse the exhibit hall once more and do some practicing.

At 7:30, I had the pleasure of attending an SAA Benefit Concert at Minnesota Orchestra Hall, featuring the Preucil Family Players, members of the Preucil family and some of their students. It was outstanding. My favorite piece was "Suite, Opus 71" by Moritz Moszkowski, performed by Mr. Preucil and his daughter, Alexandra, and pianist Arthur Rowe. It was incredible. I can't wait to get home and study it.  The sound at Orchestra Hall was amazing.

Today is a half day and is the last day of the conference.  I'll be attending a session on vibrato, and then the closing concert. I've had such a wonderful time and have learned so much, but am ready to get home to my husband, students, kitties, and kitchen! I'm looking forward to reviewing all this information and integrating it into my lessons. 

SAA Conference Day 3

I started the day in the best possible way by having breakfast here with an old and dear friend and her partner. We laughed and laughed and ate some delicious food. I've really enjoyed seeing more of Minneapolis that what's just around the hotel. What a cool city!

I roamed around the exhibition hall and found some really great teaching aids, as well as a few things for myself. The SAA set up a photo session where we could get some new head shots done, so I did that as well. I did some serious ones with my instrument, and of course some funny ones as well that I'll share soon. The photographer was lovely. 

Later that afternoon, I attended a session on technology in teaching. It was FANTASTIC. I am so excited about looking into some of the options they presented, and now I've decided I need an iPad. :) (We'll see if that happens). They went over some great apps and how to incorporate them into our studios. We learned about In-Lesson Apps, Home Practice Apps, Other Apps of Note, and Accessories. I'm so glad I attended that one.

Afterward I attended a Masterclass given by Yukari Tate. The children who played were wonderful. It was so inspiring to see such musicianship and technique.

When the Masterclass was over, I met up with another old friend I haven't seen in over 20 years! She is a Suzuki cello teacher and teacher trainer. I used to babysit her children. It was so good for my heart to see her. She has some photos that I'll post at a later time.

Ordered Chinese food and went to BED!  Today is very full and I needed to get some super sleep. I'm looking forward to today's sessions and performances.

Thanks for reading!

SAA Conference Day 2

What a jam-packed day! 

Woke up and got ready for my first session at 8:30. This one was on the Suzuki Quint and Position etudes. It was absolutely wonderful. I am excited about new ways to implement these studies into my teaching.

The second one I attended was a session on how to prepare advanced studies to begin studying the major concerti. Not only did I learn some great things to try with my students, I'm excited to try them all myself. I feel like as I become a better teacher, I continue to become a better player!

The third session was on group classes - Pre-Twinkle, mixed levels, mixed instruments, and advanced students. I am always looking for new Pre-Twinkle activities in particular, and this did not disappoint!

Had a lovely lunch at The Local with a friend that I met in my Book 1 training class, and met a friend of hers who was really great as well.  We made our way back to the Hilton and attended a keynote.

After lunch, I went to a session about studio management that was very, very informative. The panel consisted of five Suzuki teachers who teach in different capacities. It's always interesting to see how and where different people teach.

The last session I attended was a hands-on session on teaching bow strokes. It was so much fun! This was absolutely one of my favorite. We were taught some different exercised to do with our bows and I was blown away at how much these exercises changed our sound. 

I was wiped out after this day, but so excited to meet up with an old friend who lives here. We had an amazing dinner at Barbette and hours and hours of laughing and catching up.

Lots more tomorrow!

SAA Conference, Day 1

The first day of the conference was great. I started to meet new people before I even left LaGuardia! The flight was pleasant, and I took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel. I met some lovely people on the shuttle, and have been blown away at how these people I just met all treat me like an old friend each time I bump into them.

I got checked into the hotel, ate a late lunch, and headed to registration. It was very easy.

The first session I attended was on Wellness. The presenter made some very interesting points and I came away with new thoughts on nurturing within the Suzuki Triangle.

After that, I attended a presentation on Suzuki Early Childhood Education - classes for kids ages zero to three. Oh man, am I ready to be trained! All of you that know me personally know how much I love the wee ones. There was a panel discussion with seven different trained ECE teachers. They all had such interesting things to say. There was a short video, and by the end of that. I was ready to sign up for training. Brooklyn folks, who wants to team teach with me? Let's do this! (I'm serious. I really want to do this.)

The final session I attended was the keynote. What a delight. The speaker was informative, funny, and thoughtful. I left feeling very energized and excited about the rest of the weekend.

MISC:

-There are a LOT of Suzuki teachers named Erin. I've already met three and it wasn't even a full day!

-Minneapolis is cool.  

-I had to do a Target run for coffee creamer. I managed to get out of target spending only $15! I'm not sure that's ever happened. Go self-control!

Today will be a full day with some hands-on sessions. More later!

SAA Conference This Week

I've been terrible about blogging lately, but am planning to make up for it by covering the Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference each day. I'm really gonna try!

I set aside an hour today to plan my session schedule. What a joke! It took me almost three hours. I'm so excited attending so many of the sessions. There are so many that look interesting and applicable. In addition to topics about the violin and pedagogy, I'm particularly interested in learning more about the Suzuki Early Childhood Education program.

I look forward to seeing old friends, making new ones, learning, and listening to beautiful music. Stay tuned!

The Importance of Review

Growing up, I was the queen of starting projects and never finishing them. Art projects, music projects, sewing projects, cleaning projects (especially cleaning projects); you name it, I started it. Somehow I got away with this, even in my violin lessons, until college. (If any of my former teachers are reading this I am so sorry! I can see that I must have been a frustrating student!) Now the beauty of learning music is you’re never really finished, but what I’m getting at here is learning all the notes in each movement in a musical way.

I didn’t grow up as a Suzuki kid. While I thoroughly enjoyed the way I studied violin, as a member of the community now I sometimes find myself getting a bit jealous of the teachers who grew up in Suzuki studios. They have this common body of repertoire that seems to magically come back to them when we are all playing together in our teaching seminars. Obviously there’s nothing magic about it – these musicians studied the pieces just like anyone else would. However, given the importance of review pieces in the Suzuki methodology, these pieces stay fresh in their minds; as life goes on, you grow as a musician and person, and you bring new knowledge and life experience to music you previously learned, and play it in different ways. I’m slowly but surely catching up on the repertoire, and enjoying my teaching courses more and more as I integrate into this community.

As I progress through my Suzuki registered teaching courses, I’m excited by the way I am improving my ability to memorize. Working through pieces in small bits really helps me memorize them, just as it helps my students to memorize their pieces. I’m setting a better example now that I’m really practicing what I preach. Each week I add another Suzuki piece, choose a few review pieces from previous books studied, and go back and work on finishing pieces I studied as a teen. I’ve delighted in reading notes from teachers with whom I studied, remembering important points I gathered from all of them. Not only does the review bring me back to lessons on technique and music, but memories from many different times in my life. It’s also been fun thinking about things my teachers have said in the past that perhaps didn’t make as much sense to me then as they do now, given the context and my aggregate experience. It’s a fun trip down memory lane

In the past two years, I’ve finished 2 quilts, memorized Suzuki Books 1-3 (and am making good progress on Book 4), and completed my first full Bach Sonata.  I’m so excited to experience the joy of really learning a piece; having it fully in your memory allows you to truly experience the music as you play, and brings a depth to the music that I feel very fortunate to play. That closet cleaning project of mine may never be finished, and that’s OK with me.  This year, I’ll concentrate on the music!

A Day in the Life - Thursday, March 27, 2014

I thought it might be fun to write about a day in my week - there is definitely no "typical" day!

Last week, Thursday, March 27th was a super busy day. I didn't have any students on Thursday, but that didn't stop me from having a full day of music. 

I woke up and did some lesson planning, and then headed to Manhattan to rehearse chamber music with my friend and her sister (who is now also a friend). We had a blast! My friend and I have been working on the Bach Double Violin Concerto. Her sister is an accomplished pianist, so we met for a few hours to work on it as a trio. It completely changed the vibe of the music and added to the fun we've been having with it. We are planning to get together this week and polish it up.

I headed back home and did a bit more studio work; lesson plans, paperwork, and basic day-to-day things necessary for running a studio. It felt good to catch up.

Around 6:30 PM I headed back into Manhattan to rehearse with The Doctors Orchestral Society of New York. This orchestra was founded in 1938 by physicians who were also musicians and wanted to play orchestral music. (FYI - I'm not hiding a secret MD, they've opened the group to other members!) The program is a really fun one to play, and is called "A Celebration of American Composers." The pieces are An Outdoor Overture by Aaron Copland, A Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, and Symphony No. 2 in D-flat Major, Opus 30, W45, “Romantic” by Howard Hansen. The piano soloist for the Gershwin is a high school student here in NYC.

It was a really fun and productive day practicing by myself, with a few friends, and lastly with 60+ other people. I came home around 11 PM completely exhausted but extremely satisfied with the way my time was spent. I'll post about a day of teaching soon!

Reflections on Book 3 Training

I fully intended to post a blog from Dallas, but was so excited about practicing and making notes on what I learned last week that I had to wait until I had some time to soak it in!

Book 3 Training was a massive success. As expected, I learned so much and learned even more about what I need to learn! It was great seeing our teacher trainer, Judy, again, and I loved seeing some of the friends I'd made at my Book 2 training and meeting the people I hadn't yet met.

This class moved QUICKLY. We were at a real advantage in that we had all studied with our trainer for a previous unit, so we knew how she presents the material and we were able to jump right in. We played together, learned and discussed ideas for teaching the repertoire, and had the great privilege to watch Judy teach. It's really incredible and inspiring to see the passion she has for not only for teaching, but also for the teachers she mentors. I came back feeling refreshed and ready to try out some new ideas with my students.

While in Dallas, I was also lucky enough to attend this concert at the beautiful Eismann Center in Richarson, TX. A cello student from the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas was one of the competition winners, and it was neat to see support of the  Suzuki community from which she is a a part. She played beautifully. As an aside, her mother was a violinist in my Unit 2 training course!

I had a wonderful time in Dallas* and learned so much from our trainer and my colleagues, and am looking forward to my next Suzuki Teacher Training experience. I highly recommend training for anyone teaching from the Suzuki repertoire.

*And for all those following up from my last post, with the exception of one rainstorm, the weather was amazing! 

Headed Back to Dallas

I'm about to set off to Dallas again for my Book 3 Suzuki Teacher Training. I'm looking forward to it for a number of reasons, in no specific order:

1- The Teacher: I took my Book 2 training with Judy Bossuat-Gallic and am thrilled to have the opportunity to study with her again. She teaches in a way that really works with my learning style. I'm a better teacher and a better player because of the time i've had with her.  I've loved all my teacher trainings so far, they've all been incredible experiences.

2-The Camaraderie: One of the many things that constantly excites me about the Suzuki Method is the support system that comes along with it. Teachers are supportive and collaborative with each other. I've gotten so many great ideas from other course participants, and have connected with people that I hope to keep in my network throughout my career, professionally and personally. It looks like some of the people I met in Book 2 Training will also be in this class - I look forward to seeing them again and meeting those people I haven't yet met.

3-The Repertoire: I've really enjoyed going through the Suzuki repertoire with the teacher trainers. They know so much about why each piece was chosen and in what order, and have great ideas and suggestions for how to teach them. 

And now to the silly stuff:

1. A bathtub! I live in a WONDERFUL but tiny NY apartment. A bathtub for an entire week is pretty much the definition of luxury to me.

2. A car! There aren't tons of places for me to go, and I plan to be very busy practicing, but it will be fun to drive again!

3. Pay per view! Perhaps I'll even have a little time to watch a few of those Oscar-nominated movies I never saw. (And I never saw any of them...)

4. Slightly warmer weather! The weather in Dallas is much like that of my hometown of Atlanta, GA. Not yet balmy, but warmer than it is here. I'll take it.
 

Stay tuned for updates from the road!

Taking Lessons

As a teacher, I feel it's imperative to practice regularly and keep my skills up in order to set the best example for my students, as well as for my own enjoyment.

This past Monday, I was fortunate to have a lesson via Skype with an instructor I greatly respect and admire. I completed my Unit 2 Suzuki Violin instruction class with her, and will be studying Unit 3 with her in just a few weeks.

It was such an eye-opening experience! We worked together for an hour, mostly on my left hand position, but also on my bow arm. It's truly incredible what just one lesson can do. While I feel I do a good job adjusting my studentss' positions, I hadn't been paying close enough attention to some bad (and painful!) habits I'd let myself get into in my own playing. By the end of that hour, my left elbow no longer hurt, my intonation was better and and my left hand felt relaxed. I have another lesson in a few weeks and can't wait to see what comes from it.

Lifelong Learning

One of the things I love the most about playing an instrument is the fact that one never stops learning. I can go back and play pieces that I learned in high school and now incorporate new technique, new feelings, and new experiences that shape the way I play. It’s a lifelong learning process, and I feel it’s such a gift to have this.

I can’t stress enough how much I’ve enjoyed the Suzuki training I have pursued this year. I didn’t grow up in the Suzuki method, and I believe there are many wonderful and diverse ways to learn how to play an instrument. I’m really inspired by the community aspect of the Suzuki method and the support system I’ve acquired in the past year.  I also feel this method has been wonderful for my students.

Through these seminars, not only have I learned how to be a better teacher, but also a better player. It’s wonderful to be in a supportive learning environment with your peers, each of whom are from different backgrounds, and we teach to and learn from each other.

I’m greatly looking forward to my next trip to Dallas in March to study Unit 3.

More on the training in the next post!