Suzuki Inspired Teaching Principles 

My belief is that making music is a rich human experience that should be accessible to all.

1. Everyone is creative. Suzuki’s famous line, “Every child can!” resonates with me. If a child is curious and motivated to play, then it is our job as parents and teachers to cultivate this into a life-long love of music. 

2. Mother Tongue Method. Suzuki understood that music is a language learned like any other: by listening, repeating, and having conversations. Babies don’t learn English by sitting in an empty room with a linguistics audiobook. Likewise, children can’t learn to play music by sight reading and technical jargon alone. 

 There needs to be human connection, mirroring, and meaning.

3. Rigor & practice over talent. I always tell my students that the difference between us and Paganini are the hours we’re willing - or not willing - to spend with our violin. That, and basic physiology. His millions of knuckles and mile-long hand span were an anomaly. 

4. Music is the soul’s arithmetic. Yes, it sounds wishy washy, but it’s also provable. Music is geometry we can hear; harmonies reflect the math that connects the natural world. 

Why Take Violin Lessons?

Intrinsic Rewards & Confidence Building 

There is something beautiful about learning an instrument for the mere sake of it. Praise, recognition, and status all feel great, but they can't anchor you. 

Winning a competition can't compare to the comfort you'll feel serenading your cat to Gymnopédie No. 3 on a rainy Sunday evening, suprising a group of elderly ladies in the park with an impromptu Méditation from Thaïs, or better yet, playing for a captive audience of family members every Christmas after a dinner that's left you all sleepy and content. 

These aren't universal examples, but bear with me. 

So much of our world is built upon extrinsic rewards - grades, degrees, performances, careers, promotions. A great gift to give your child (or yourself, as an adult learner), is that of "unplugging" from the white noise of modern life. 

Become an objective artist, that creates, plays, and tackles difficult pieces outside of any set standard simply because it's worth doing and experiencing. 

Cognitive Calisthenics

Not to sound like we're designing a T-1000 Terminator here or anything, but learning the violin increases cognitive processing speed and ability, long and short term memory, and enhances whole brain connectivity.

In other words, it's a great brain teaser. Unlike cross-word puzzles or Sudoku, it's also more enjoyable for others to watch you do. 

Built-in Physiotherapy

Violinists make good surgeons. Why does that matter? 

A 2021 study (Sun et al.) noted that musicians have an aptitude for learning surgical skills because of their greater hand precision, dexterity, coordination, and speed. Children who learn to play the violin develop excellent fine-motor skills that are transferrable to many fields. 

I've personally used my honed fine motor skills to pick raspberries at the local nature reserve, but to each their own. 

Learning about posture, alignment, and breathing are also a foundational part of lessons. 

Historical Importance

Andrea Amati, a luthier in 1560 Cremona, Italy, drew a voice out of the forest and created what we know today as the violin. 

Often called the 'heart of the orchestra', its expressive soprano comes from a tradition of crafting tonewoods like flamed maple and alpine spruce into an ornate instrument.

It's been half a millennium, and we are just as in love with this little wooden trinket as we were then.

What You Can Expect to Learn...