Violin School Volume 1

Rating:
Summary: Little children love learning!
Review: I am a "Suzuki kid" myself, now a Suzuki Violin teacher. This is Volume I of 10 in the Suzuki Method Violin repertoire. It is vital that you read Dr. Suzuki's book, "Nurtured By Love" before beginning any Suzuki program. Technique is nothing without a full understanding of the underlying philosophy here, so make sure you agree with Dr. Suzuki's ideas, then find a teacher who feels the same way. You and your child are in for the time of your lives!

Rating:
Summary: Little children love learning!
Review: I am a "Suzuki kid" myself, now a Suzuki Violin teacher. This is Volume I of 10 in the Suzuki Method Violin repertoire. It is vital that you read Dr. Suzuki's book, "Nurtured By Love" before beginning any Suzuki program. Technique is nothing without a full understanding of the underlying philosophy here, so make sure you agree with Dr. Suzuki's ideas, then find a teacher who feels the same way. You and your child are in for the time of your lives!

Rating:
Summary: This is how i learned!
Review: I can't rave enough about the Suzuki method. Make sure you get the recordings that go along with the books too since that's what the whole theory is based upon...that a child can learn to play before they learn to read music.

Rating:
Summary: great repertoire!
Review: If your child is beginning violin these books and cds may well be part of the curicculum. I'm a bit older and decided to teach myself violin after dabbling a little with fiddle music. The first 3 books of this series really give you a great foundation and contain some great pieces to play. They are challanging enough but it's at book 4 that things start to get more intermediate with the Bach double concerto for instance. Having the cds is invaluable and they also contain just the accompanyment so you can practice to that. I see amazon is charging list price as does almost everyone else, music stores etc. Shar Music, which deals only in violins, violas, cellos and related accessories, has these books and cds for 30% off all the time so you may want to get one of their catalogs. Another great book and cd combo for violin is Solos for Young Violinists, although there's nothing childish about the selection and it is indeed suitable for any age. This is a 6 volume book/cd series and it gets pretty tough even at the end of volume 1, but it's very good. It's by Barbara Barber and also available through Shar. As for teaching yourself; violin teachers will scoff at this but then again they're the ones getting $30.00 for a half hour lesson. Of course there is some wisdom in having a teacher and with violin there is more than a little technique to learn as well as proper form, holding the bow correctly, bowing itself etc., but ultimatly the goal of any teacher should be to teach you to teach yourself. If you know anyone that plays the fiddle, either classically or folk, or both, playing with them can teach you as much as formal lessons. I wouldn't advise against lessons but in a way it's a bit like little league; it might be more fun and less presure to go free form- look and see if there are fiddle associations in your area or county as these often hold monthly jams at a local school where fiddlers just get together to play and jam and you can learn alot by being exposed to this. Also there's alot of book/cd combos that are great learning tools not to mention videos or dvd teaching methods for violin and fiddle styles.

Rating:
Summary: A good way to start
Review: This is the first book for a beginner of any age. Students in this method can start as soon as they have any interest in music, as young as 3 years old. The idea is to listen to the audio CD and learn the tone and rythym of notes rather than the technical approach to learning music theory. the student practices a sequence of simple songs designed to teach techique gradually. You can't really learn violin on your own with the book. You need an instructor. It is a good approach and very popular.

Rating:
Summary: The one, the only and still the greatest
Review: To the parents of children undertaking the violin, be advised. The detractors that have reservations about the Suzuki method/book are missing two basic facts a) your child will learn how to play the violin (beautifully with some effort), and b) that this is really the only method that directly addresses the daunting task of teaching a string instrument to a child with pre-reading or early reading skills. Like it or not, agree with it or not, this is the method that your teacher will more probably than not adopt. It really does work; I have seen a string orchestra, taught by Suzuki, performing the Bach Concerto for 2 Violins in which none of the performers was over 12. Lest you read other reviews and be tempted to pass on Suzuki for some more "conventional" method, give this book and a good teacher a try, and be amazed at the skills that your child displays.