Suzuki Guitar
Suzuki talent education, or the Suzuki Method, was founded by Dr. Shin'ichi Suzuki in the 1950s. Though Japanese, he was a student of German, and realized that despite its difficulty, all Japanese children learned to speak Japanese quickly. Thinking about this, he developed his "Mother Tongue" method of music teaching, which involves parents ( Teacher + Parent + Student = the Suzuki Triangle) in much the same way they are involved in teaching their children to speak: lots of listening by the child, unconditional encouragement and help from parents, small steps to mastery, lots of repetition, and delaying reading. Suzuki method also uses group classes, as all students are playing a shared repertoire.
Because virtually all children can learn to speak, Suzuki reasoned that all children can learn to play an instrument, which discounts the old concept of "talent". Suzuki was a violinist, but the method has since been applied to many instruments and voice. Guitar is relatively recent, but is quickly gaining in popularity. I studied Suzuki at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point with Joseph Pecoraro, and am one of a small group of teachers registered in the U.S., and one of five in Wisconsin.
Suzuki Method is well-known for its success in enabling very young children to play well, but it really is great for any age. Suzuki guitar is a classical method, using a correctly-sized nylon-string guitar, chair and footstool, and by the end of the first book, a student will be playing melodies and bass notes with fingers and thumb of the right hand. We'll begin with familiar melodies, (the famous arrangement of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) and make our progress by listening a lot and going at our own pace in small steps, having fun in lessons and while practicing at home.
Because virtually all children can learn to speak, Suzuki reasoned that all children can learn to play an instrument, which discounts the old concept of "talent". Suzuki was a violinist, but the method has since been applied to many instruments and voice. Guitar is relatively recent, but is quickly gaining in popularity. I studied Suzuki at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point with Joseph Pecoraro, and am one of a small group of teachers registered in the U.S., and one of five in Wisconsin.
Suzuki Method is well-known for its success in enabling very young children to play well, but it really is great for any age. Suzuki guitar is a classical method, using a correctly-sized nylon-string guitar, chair and footstool, and by the end of the first book, a student will be playing melodies and bass notes with fingers and thumb of the right hand. We'll begin with familiar melodies, (the famous arrangement of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) and make our progress by listening a lot and going at our own pace in small steps, having fun in lessons and while practicing at home.