TTTV029: Suzuki Piano Method with Rebecca Martin

What do you know about the Suzuki Piano Method? I think many of us think of students who play by ear...but there's a lot more to it than that! The Suzuki Piano Method takes the view that just as kids learn to talk before they learn to read, they should learn to play piano before learning how to read music. Students can begin at as young as three years old, with lots of parental involvement. Parents sit in on all lessons, and learn the repertoire alongside the young student so that they can be the coach at home. Rebecca Martin has been teaching using the Suzuki Piano Method for about 40 years, and loving it! I'm so excited to have her on the podcast today to explain the Suzuki approach, the logic behind it and how it works.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

What the Suzuki piano method is
How and why rote teaching is used in Suzuki
The parents' role in the Suzuki method
How Suzuki incorporates complex rhythms from the start
How Suzuki teacher training works and how you can find an institute
The sense of community in a Suzuki teacher's studio
How Rebecca mixes Suzuki and other resources in her studio
When reading is introduced in the Suzuki method

Items mentioned in this podcast:

Thank you for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, and I’m grateful that you’ve chosen mine. Being a full-time teacher myself, I know how busy teachers are and how much time, effort and passion we put into our students. Sometimes, the last thing we want to do in our time off is listen to more piano teaching stuff! So, well done for using this time for self-improvement. Whether you’re at the gym, on the bike or in the car, I know that you and your students will get lots out of what you learn in the long run. Just make sure you try out some of the ideas before they get lost in the business of your next lessons. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons on the left of the page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes. Reviews are extremely helpful when it comes to show’s ranking and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally. Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live.