I am an excelent pianis and want to teach my grandchildren how do I get books or discs videos on the sukuki method of piano?? jeanne bonar

Ummm... maybe you should learn how to spell first... no offense.

do you mean the suzuki method? if so, then it is made for younger children and is geared towards a ear training. Well, more so than say the Bastien method (another good method).

Or you can always go the alternative way of assigning progressively harder pieces.

"I am an excellent pianis..."

Pianis...? hmmm... i can make many good jokes from that one.

but i won't

Hah. easy now I did Suzuki when I was very young.. I think you could probably apply the method to any repertoir. Pick progressivly harder pieces and sit with the student, play it and have them repeat it. It's a "do as you see me do" kind of method, ear training. Slowly add in some note reading, but don't rely on sticking to Suzuki for too long, depending on how old your grandchildren are.

-Paul

Thanks Paul this is my third try to reply and I don't know how to use the system Add reply, Preview post or what? Maybe this will send.
Jeanne Bonar jrbonarmd@aol.com

Is Suzuki similar to Yamaha. My daughters both take group lessons and the lessons are geared toward hearing etc.? Now my 9 yr is taking private from Yamaha and obviously find it more challenging due to the amount of work involved. She is ready for her second ABRSM exam.

Any thought on these methods for children and their future playing? There are some issues with group lesson is that my kids don't seem to have good keyboard techniques(in the eye of private teacher) as I can see when my 9 yr start taking private and she complains about how much work there is. But I have to give Yamaha some praise as I have learnt a lot from sitting in the class lessons as well.

Sounds similar. Hearing and not reading. But my cousin , who won't reveal method says they learn good technique and avoid mistakes from the beginning. Playing by ear and hear etc. What works for one is not for another.
Group lessons do not sound good to me but maybe occassionally. I hated it when we went to a group. Just didn't like the other kids because they took piano. Depends on the group. I think technique is one on one.
Jeanne

It's a "do as you see me do" kind of method, ear training. Slowly add in some note reading, but don't rely on sticking to Suzuki for too long, depending on how old your grandchildren are. [/b]

Not to rain on the parade, but I'm afraid my experience with Suzuki has been quite frustrating. I have had at least 10 students transfer to me over the years who have studied piano with the Suzuki method (from several different Suzuki teachers, in two different states). What I've found is that the Suzuki students can mimic exactly what their teacher has taught, but they are not a functional musician. They have no idea how to read music and want everything taught by rote. This disadvantage to the student IMO is great. None of these transfer students were able to create music on their own and musically interpret simple ideas. In short, they can't read music.

All of these transfer students had parents who believed they could play incredibly difficult repertoire. What they didn't realize was that the student learned very few pieces and could not function independently. And isn't that the goal of all teachers, to create students who can function on their own? I know that's my ultimate goal.

I do know several violin teachers whose students are able to switch from Suzuki to traditional without much trouble. I just haven't experienced a Suzuki piano student that could transfer well to traditional teaching.

For what it's worth, that's my experience.

Cranky Woman

Exactly why it should only be used in the very beginning, to help spark and maintain interest with a sensed ability long enough to transition away from it.

okay will try with the 6 year old. 7 yo is reading thanks jeanne bonar