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.
Please help! I have been trying to pay for the Suzuki book 1 lessons but I keep getting an error. I have tried with Google Chrome and Safari. I have also tried with a Mastercard, a Visa card an PayPal. Each time I get an error.
(Do I need to purchase the book CDs, and which version of the book do you use, I think there was a revised version).
Hi Bart,
I’m in touch with you about the credit card issue.
But I’ll answer your question about the CD’s and book:
It is BEST if you purchase the SUzuki book, just for your library, and as a “cheat sheet” to help you. However, I do teach the entire class BY EAR, so in all actuality, you can get through without the book.
You will get a free download of me playing the entire book with a professional pianist, and you’ll get the piano only tracks (so that YOU can play with a professional pianist!) So you won’t have to buy the CD if you don’t want to.