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!

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!

Attending My First SAA Conference

In just a few short weeks I'll be attending my first Suzuki conference in Minneapolis. I was not sure as to whether or not I should go, given that my budget allows for either the conference or another teacher training this year, but I decided that I'd really like to see what it's all about. I'll continue my training next year. I wasn't feeling completely solid in my choice until I read this post on the SAA blog. Upon finishing this article, I knew I'd made the right decision.

I've mentioned before that I don't believe one methodology is necessarily better than another. Different approaches to learning work better for different people. However, I know that the Suzuki approach is the right one for me. In particular, I embrace the community aspect - teachers supporting each other; sharing ideas, forming groups, meeting together for coffee. I've never felt more welcomed into a musical community. I love that someone took the time to post a blog about what it's like to attend a conference, and recommended that we all make an effort to reach out to one another.

I'm looking forward to the presentations, concerts, seminars, and teaching points I'm sure to learn in Minneapolis. Most of all, I look forward to reconnecting with people I've met in my Suzuki journey, and meeting some new folks with whom to share ideas.

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!