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I'd thought Suzuki method might be the way to go - all I *knew* was that there was less emphasis on theory/reading music, which I thought would be a better fit for the boys. So then I discover that they first have to spend a hundred hours just listening!!! And then more time just watching!!! My whole impatient self tensed up immediately at the thought. And of course the boys are their mother's sons, so this could well be an unhappy approach. DS4 four is really looking forward to playing "my sweet music" - NOWish, not in several months.

So I thought I'd canvas opinions - perhaps children enjoy the listening/watching phase and it's not as dire as I think it could be? Or perhaps the traditional approach isn't as tedious (and sometimes brutal) as I remember?

Thanks for any advice.

I have 4 year old who is reading notes and enjoying his piano lessons (practicing is a different story). I think this is the right approach for him. He likes reading the notes and breaking the code so to speak.

He started playing immediately, first using the finger numbers, then names of notes and now staff. He is a very good reader and I am sure that helps a lot. From what I've gathered from his teachers most 4 year olds are not up to reading notes on the staff though.

DS6 started lessons in September too and is wonderfully independent. I don't ever have to practice with him and I never have to push him to do so. I think he is the person who needs to see the notes. He is very visual and he would probably have hard time playing by ear only. Plus he has to get it right.

My DS6 also started with more traditional lessons this fall. It's been great. The teacher was willing to speed things up a bit for him and within his first two lesson he was playing with two hands and reading music. I don't think that watching/listening would have been the right method for him. Even when the teacher talks about music theory his hands are usually touching the keys between her thoughts. He also likes to try out each new concept immediately.

I can't say that he isn't developing an ear for music with this method as he can easily tell me if notes are higher and lower and is even starting to just mimic popular tunes. He even wrote his own song a few weeks ago which started as a humming tune and the lyrics, then corresponding notes and then chords.

I have never witnessed the Suzuki method so I can't comment on it though.

Thanks for the thoughts - it does sound as though things aren't as grim as they were (too many to say) years ago in the world of music lessons. I am strongly leaning towards abandoning my vague interest in Suzuki - just can't shake off the heebie jeebies at the thought of all that waiting!

FWIW, I studied the violin in junior high/high school and my teacher, a professional violinist, did not like the Suzuki method. She never said why, but her comment always stuck with me. Maybe for the same reason it gives you the heebie jeebies!

My friend's kids, who are both at least MG, have done well with suzuki violin and viola. Her son, who is 12, is youngest 1st chair at his school's orchestra (he plays with older grades). I don't think he actually does suzuki anymore, but he started off with it when a youngster.

I don't like the idea of it either, though (not actually playing the instrument). I'm all for instant gratification! We're thinking of starting DSnearly5 in piano this spring. I took piano lessons as an adult, and boy-oh-boy i wish i had taken them as a child! I was awful!

Our DS4 takes Suzuki Cello lessons at the local conservatory.

I had been worried about the Suzuki method before we began, but I have come to believe that a huge amount depends upon the way the method is practiced by the particular teacher. We couldn't be more pleased.

We have been encouraged to listen to the CDs, but we have been playing the cello since day one. Our teacher is a professional cellist who taught by the regular method for 30 years and was certified in the Suzuki method four years ago. There are various aspects to the method, but the one she emphasizes the most, and finds the most interesting and important distinction from traditional methods, is the triangular relation between teacher, student, and parent. The method as she practices it requires a huge commitment from the parent - I am at every lesson and am the coach for every practice session. But frankly, it's hard for me to imagine it's working any other way with a four year old. It's true that we haven't spent any time learning to read music - so far from DS4's point of view the entire thing has been by ear. But he is interested in learning to read music anyway, and often insists on playing with the music on the stand before him. I imagine that sooner or later he will learn to read music the way he learned to read text - that is, more or less by osmosis. Anyhow, this is just to say that there is a lot of room for difference among the teachers who teach by the Suzuki method, and what is most important, in my opinion, is to find a teacher whom you and your child resonate with and respect.

Just my two cents...

BB

Same here even with the regular method. Like you said it's hard to imagine anything different when it comes to a four year old. I wouldn't mind it being a little bit easier on me though Getting DS4 to practice what he is supposed to can be quite challenging. I am thankful for chocolate, both for him and me

I have a DD8 who has been in a Suzuki violin program since she was 3, and my DS3 just started violin in September. I'm a bit puzzled about the "waiting" several people have referred to. Both of my kids had their instruments in hand from the first day of lessons. Our teacher is from Japan and is certainly not a maverick in this regard. If the teachers are suggesting that the children only listen and watch, I would start looking for a new Suzuki teacher.

This is just an idea I'm throwing out there--not meant as a critique of any given methodology, at all--but there are other traditions where the aural approach is given primacy as well, and that might suit better the personality of some individual child (but maybe not yours--not trying to tell you what to do!).

Harpo's fiddle teacher plays Celtic and bluegrass music; she plays him a new tune once or twice, he reads the new tune the first time through, and then puts away the music and has it by memory from there. I "help" by singing his tunes in the car, in the garden, washing dishes, whatever (I sing all the time anyway, so it's no trouble!). I also help by turning things into duets with him (I'll either play flute, piano, or sing); I also have him play his fiddle tunes on piano by ear. He circles back to old stuff periodically, and also writes some things of his own, too. She's a great teacher--she really seems to understand his need for a certain amount of freedom, while still making sure he is making some good progress.

The piano teacher I'm eyeing for all three of them is a professional jazz pianist, who teaches chording and improvisation right away, which I think would well suit my particular kids. I do some harmony with them at home--it's a big game to them right now, which is nice--so I think their reading skills will be quite good, too.

Anyway, just a little idea...

minnie