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The Suzuki Triangle Blog

Weekly Listening for Musicians young and Old

I cannot emphasise the importance of listening to the Suzuki recordings enough for every Suzuki student.   In my experience,  students who listen regularly learn their pieces much more easily, and can spend more time on developing dynamics and musicality (among other skills)  rather than having to focus solely on learning the notes.

Another thing I have noticed over the years, is that students who are exposed to music regularly outside scheduled lessons and practice routines have a great advantage in their development as a musician.   Hearing and seeing quality musical performances opens up a whole world to students of music.  Not only do they get to see high quality, expressive performances, they also see that there is more to what they are doing than practicing for the next lesson.  They are part of something bigger.

Exposing children different styles of music or even different composers within one style helps them to develop their own sense of what they like and what they hope to play themselves one day.  As parents and teachers this is so helpful because we all want them to take off one day with their own motivation and drive to make music with less pushing or prodding from us.

Anyone, on any budget, can accomplish this and here are some ideas to get you started:

1.   Check out CD’s or live recordings from your local library

2.  Look for local concerts you can attend. Your local symphony may have a children’s concert series and many cities have concerts in the park as well as other smaller events.  If you have a local community music center check out the performances they have on their schedule.   In Portland the Community Music Center has a full schedule of events that can be attended often for a very low fee (if not free).

3.  Ask your music teacher for recommendations

4.  Youtube.com has many videos of professional musicians and orchestras playing great music.

I will post listening suggestions from time to time here on the blog as well.  I would love to hear other ways you are exposing your children and students to great music to enrich what they are  already listening to as Suzuki students.   Please leave your suggestions for others to read in the comments section!

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. One thing I’ve done is create an “alternative” playlist which has some of the Suzuki violin pieces in their original settings. So, the piano version of Brahms Waltz… Bach Bourrée and the Book 5 Gavotte by Yo-Yo Ma… Anne-Sophie Mutter’s live performance of Beethoven Minuet, etc.

    Also we have a poster of composers. It’s dorky looking but effective, with the portraits in chronological order. Often I will tell my kids, “Hey, do you like what we’re listening to right now? It’s a violin sonata by Maurice Ravel, can you find him on the poster?” When they find him in the bottom row they realize he’s contemporary, and I think they are starting to get a sense of the different musical periods and styles.

  2. yes, really agree that exposure to music is very important. I’ve been singing a lot since when I was pregnant, going to karaoke and all that. My daughter now loves to sing!

    We listened to Suzuki Cd 1 daily and other cds too. She is too young to attend concert now, but I’ll be bringing her to musical concerts when she turns 3.

    I also think Kindermusik, before starting formal Suzuki violin lesson is very important. Helps to train her listening skills and attentiveness in class. Most importantly, we have a great time in Kindermusik, she learns that music is to be enjoyed..

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