Suzuki method

[Spatula]

What is the essense of this method?  Is it different from the intuitive approach from the norm that many of the teachers employ today? 

Some Japanese guy probably knows what he's doing...   

[mound]

it's a "do as you see me do" sort of "method" - I did it for like 4 years when I was 5 or 6 years old. You don't learn about theory and note reading (although, interestingly, you do have the notes in front of you) - but you sit with your parent, and they play it, and you repeat it by doing what you saw them do. So in essence, it's pure ear training. I can see it's worth as a very beginner introduction, to get the fingers working and such for small kids, but I don't think it's something anybody would want to stick with.  I don't recall much from those days.. I quit piano out of childish rebellion unfortunately.. took me 20 years to find my way back 

Also, I believe it was originally intended for mono-phonic instruments (i.e. Violin) but I could be mistaken. 

-Paul

[mosis]

Dude, a violin isn't monophonic. :/

[Piazzo22]

Dude, a violin isn't monophonic. :/

It is, you can´t play to distinct and free voices. Try to play a bach 2 voices invention. 

[Tash]

i was acutally going to ask the same question ages ago maybe i did i can't remember but it was interesting cos both my music teachers at school asked me if i did/had done the suzuki method and i never had. i don't know why on earth they asked me that, so yeah if anyone knows a great deal on it i'd be interested

[Rach3]

Er, I think I should stand up from the poor violin here. It is not 'monophonic' - it would be naive to call it so. Just listen to some of the Bach partitas - esp. the d minor - it's really astonishing.

Now, flutes are monophonic.

[galonia]

Yeah, I agree, we shouldn't pick on the violin - listen to Paganini's 24 Caprices, many many notes all at once, and independent melodies - no problem for a good violinist.

[mound]

ok ok you're right.. I've never played Violin, I didn't even stop to think about it particularilly, only that I recall seeing "Suzuki Violin" method books ages ago.  At the Suzuki level, the Violin is most certainly used as a monophonic voice! (I would assume)

That's not the point though 

[BoliverAllmon]

flute isn't monophonic either. You can play a note and hum another. Advanced players get the polyphonic idea going real quickly.

boliver

[Piazzo22]

It´s ok but poliphony is not playing 2 notes at a same time. You need to have independent voices.