Click here to see my recommendations for what students should be learning in Suzuki Violin Book 1.
This post is about my top priorities for students in Suzuki Violin Book 2. Other teachers might have other priorities, and that’s just fine.
The main focus for my students in Suzuki Book 2 is refining our intonation by mastering the use of tonalizations, also known as sympathetic vibrations or “ringy notes.” Watch this video for a quick overview of and exercise for tonalizations.

EVERY song in Book 2 gets the ringy note lecture, and it is required that students are nailing their ringy notes before they can move to the next song.

When students master “ringy notes”, their intonation is very accurate, their ears are trained, and their tapes can be removed (a very exciting rite of passage for any student).

My other favorite skill for Book 2 is to introduce “colle” motion for:
• Smooth bow changes
• Agile string crossings
• Control at the frog

Of course, we reinforce the skills learned in Book 1, (see this post) and fix problems that might have gone unnoticed in:
• Bow hold
• Posture
• Left hand form
• Bow control
• Tone production

We also learn:
• 2-octave scales and arpeggios
• Reading music (I am different from the general Suzuki approach….I teach reading much earlier than most)
• Different types of detache’
• Hooked bows with dotted rhythms (such as Witches Dance)
• Legato and slurs
• Dynamics and phrasing
• Tone color development: playing with the ratio between speed, weight, placement
• Vibrato is appropriate, if intonation is secure and form is good

If you are not learning all these skills, ask your teacher to teach them to you.

If you are not learning MOST of these skills, come to RedDesertViolin.com! My online lessons for Suzuki Violin book 2 go hand in hand with private lessons, and private teachers usually don’t object.