Author: Ginny
Date: 2001-11-25 18:45
I am a former guitar teacher.
I certainly agree with much Emms has to say about Suzuki method, with the provision that it really does work on the vast majority of kids. They seem to crank out fairly good players, regardless. Small instruments are really needed, and parents who are involved.
I used a modified Kolday method, that is starting with lots of little tunes based on the minor third. They hear, they read, they sight sing, their ears get trained. Rain, Rain go away was around the fifth tune and introduced the fourth into the group of tunes. I included lots of eurhythmics, jumping on giant xylophones to get interval ideas, stomping on giant treble clefs, marching new rhythms... Kolday hand signs for pitch...It was pretty physical. I had made a tape of all my first year songs...sung in solfege as well as to the words. You get the idea, we're talking really little kids where you need 5-10 activities that change.
Twinkle, twinkle little star is too hard (I think this is the first Suzuki piece) for little kids on guitar and I don't care for rote learning. I had and created stuff based on American folksongs, in a very nice order...that is very well graded for guitar specific difficulties...Suzuki is graded for violin difficulties and there are big differences on what works for guitar! The clarinet might be better for it.
I had pretty good sucess with any kid using this method, which is more than I could say for Alfred's or any adult classical method.
It was great for my own kids, who played guitar before age three! They each have a great ear ("No mom, I didn't memorise my Chopin, I'd heard it enough to just play it..." said the thirteen year old) and they sightread well. One is doing clarinet/piano now, the other bass/trombone. My view is that I wanted music as a first language, taught vocally and instrumentally as speech was learned, very nearly at birth or before for my youngest. Both Suzuki and Kolday have mom as the first music teacher.
I have never been a great fan of trying to create child prodigies and I actually am discouraging my sons from being pro musicians. Another story.
Ginny
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The Clarinet BBoard
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