Month: April 2017

057 TSP The New Suzuki Student & Adult Beginner Music Student

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The last episode in the 3-part series about newbies discusses the new Suzuki student and the adult beginner music student and the issues that they face. The episode talks about how a teacher might handle an incoming student who is new to the teaching studio and the problems that adult students might present in the teaching scenario.

If you found this episode (or any episode) of the podcast helpful, and you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here. My efforts to write and produce the Teach Suzuki blog and podcast do not generate income except through the generosity of those readers and listeners. I really appreciate your support. Just click here for a direct link to PayPal to support the blog and podcast.

And if you would like more information about The Twinkle Project, including the two short movies that explain why I wrote the book and gives a good overview of what the book is about and what it contains, visit here. You can purchase the book here.

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

Reflections — Vibrating Air

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Dr. Suzuki reminds us that music is vibrating air and that babies can acquire the ability to feel music. Today’s reflection asks what kind of listening environment have you created for your child? Will the child be exposed to good music?

This episode is part of the “Reflections” series of podcast episodes, which are short, minutes long reflections about a quote or other thought from Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s philosophy or writing. The purpose of these reflections is to give parents and teachers a chance to spend a few minutes thinking about how great the impact might be on the world and our children with merely a slight moment of reflection about a behavior, thought, or attitude.

If you have a comment or suggestion, you can leave me a voice message on my voicemail line at 512-537-6356 or send me an email at paula@teachsuzuki.com.

If you need some suggestions about setting up a review program for your students or children, check out my new YouTube channel and a video about the importance of a regular and consistent review program. Click here to watch that video. And be sure to hit the “like” button, leave a comment, and subscribe to the channel!

For more information and articles, visit my blog at:

http://teachsuzuki.blogspot.com.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

056 TSP The New Parent (Where to Look for More Information about the Suzuki Method)

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Where does a parent who is new to the Suzuki journey go for information and help? This podcast episode summarizes the available information to guide a new parent find more information and resources to help the parent do the best possible job in home practices with the child. Teachers will want to listen to this episode and then direct parents to it in order to help the teaching studio run more smoothly.

Here are some additional resources that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

Nurtured by Love by Dr. Suzuki (affiliate link)

Ability Development from Age Zero by Dr. Suzuki (affiliate link)

Listening Magic (Teach Suzuki Blog article)

How to Add More Music to Your Day (Teach Suzuki Blog article)

Music Listening Resource List (Teach Suzuki Blog article and resources list)

10 Rules for Success for Suzuki Parents (Teach Suzuki Blog article)

Recipe for Suzuki Review (YouTube video)

The Importance of Music Education (Teach Suzuki Blog article)

If you found this episode (or any episode) of the podcast helpful, and you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here. My efforts to write and produce the Teach Suzuki blog and podcast do not generate income except through the generosity of those readers and listeners. I really appreciate your support. Just click here for a direct link to PayPal to support the blog and podcast.

And if you would like more information about The Twinkle Project, including the two short movies that explain why I wrote the book and gives a good overview of what the book is about and what it contains, visit here. You can purchase the book here.

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

Reflections — Teaching Well

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“A child develops exactly in the way he is taught.” — Dr. Suzuki, Ability Development From Age Zero

What does it mean to teach well? What happens when a child’s teacher has to undo any bad teaching on the parent’s part?

This episode is part of the “Reflections” series of podcast episodes, which are short, minutes long reflections about a quote or other thought from Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s philosophy or writing. The purpose of these reflections is to give parents and teachers a chance to spend a few minutes thinking about how great the impact might be on the world and our children with merely a slight moment of reflection about a behavior, thought, or attitude.

If you have a comment or suggestion, you can leave me a voice message on my voicemail line at 512-537-6356 or send me an email at paula@teachsuzuki.com.

If you need some suggestions about setting up a review program for your students or children, check out my new YouTube channel and a video about the importance of a regular and consistent review program. Click here to watch that video. And be sure to hit the “like” button, leave a comment, and subscribe to the channel!

For more information and articles, visit my blog at:

http://teachsuzuki.blogspot.com.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

055 TSP Newbie Series and the Newbie Teacher

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This episode is the first in a mini series about being a newbie. In this episode, I discuss the five mistakes that newbie teachers may make. I talk about the reasons why a teacher might choose to make these mistakes, what the consequences might be, and what better choices the teachers might make instead.

Parents may also find this episode helpful to gain insight into the issues that teachers face from week to week. There are many ways that parents can assist their children’s teachers to avoid these mistakes.

If you found this episode (or any episode) of the podcast helpful, and you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here. My efforts to write and produce the Teach Suzuki blog and podcast do not generate income except through the generosity of those readers and listeners. I really appreciate your support. Just click here for a direct link to PayPal to support the blog and podcast.

And if you would like more information about The Twinkle Project, including the two short movies that explain why I wrote the book and gives a good overview of what the book is about and what it contains, visit here.

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

Reflections — Teaching Wrong Ability

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If a parent were to reword his or her complaint about a child’s misbehavior, perhaps the parent would discover a better way to teach the child how not to misbehave. Listen to this episode to find out why Dr. Suzuki wrote: “Adults, not the children, are to blame.”

This episode is part of the “Reflections” series of podcast episodes, which are short, minutes long reflections about a quote or other thought from Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s philosophy or writing. The purpose of these reflections is to give parents and teachers a chance to spend a few minutes thinking about how great the impact might be on the world and our children with merely a slight moment of reflection about a behavior, thought, or attitude.

If you have a comment or suggestion, you can leave me a voice message on my voicemail line at 512-537-6356 or send me an email at paula@teachsuzuki.com.

If you need some suggestions about setting up a review program for your students or children, check out my new YouTube channel and a video about the importance of a regular and consistent review program. Click here to watch that video. And be sure to hit the “like” button, leave a comment, and subscribe to the channel!

For more information and articles, visit my blog at:

http://teachsuzuki.blogspot.com.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

054 TSP The Twinkle Project

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What goes on behind the curtain at Teach Suzuki? What does the life of a blogger and podcaster look like?

In this episode, I take my listeners back stage and show them what it is like to produce a podcast or write a blog. I explain the issues that face teachers and other professionals in the creative arena. By sharing this interesting information, I hope to explain how things work and how listeners and readers can help to support the individuals who create and produce the many resources that we all find useful.

I share information about two short movies that I created about the new book, The Twinkle Project. You will enjoy these short videos, which explain more about why I wrote the book and what the book is about. Here are the links to those two videos:

Why Did I Write This Book? (video)

The Twinkle Project: What’s the Book About?

If you found this episode (or any episode) of the podcast helpful, and you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here. My efforts to write and produce the Teach Suzuki blog and podcast do not generate income except through the generosity of those readers and listeners. I really appreciate your support. Just click here for a direct link to PayPal to support the blog and podcast.

And if you would like more information about The Twinkle Project, visit here.

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

Reflections – Skillfulness in Rearing a Child

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“Skillfulness in rearing a child comes from knowing and feeling as he does in his heart,” Dr. Suzuki said. This episode discusses how important it is for parents to view things from the child’s perspective and feelings and whether thinking as a child thinks will help parents enjoy practicing with the child more.

This episode is part of the “Reflections” series of podcast episodes, which are short, minutes long reflections about a quote or other thought from Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s philosophy or writing. The purpose of these reflections is to give parents and teachers a chance to spend a few minutes thinking about how great the impact might be on the world and our children with merely a slight moment of reflection about a behavior, thought, or attitude.

If you have a comment or suggestion, you can leave me a voice message on my voicemail line at 512-537-6356 or send me an email at paula@teachsuzuki.com.

If you need some suggestions about setting up a review program for your students or children, check out my new YouTube channel and a video about the importance of a regular and consistent review program. Click here to watch that video. And be sure to hit the “like” button, leave a comment, and subscribe to the channel!

For more information and articles, visit my blog at:

http://teachsuzuki.blogspot.com.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

053 TSP The Mixed Bag Group Class

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What can a teacher do with a “mixed bag group class”? A great many things. Today’s episode offers some ideas about group classes with disparate ages, skills, and levels. These group classes can be fun!

I mentioned two of my favorite resources related to rhythm activities. Here are affiliate links to these resources:

Rhythm Sticks

I Know a Fox With Dirty Socks by William Starr

Other resources include:

Kerstin Wartberg trio books

Martha Yasuda compositions

Joachim Johow compositions

Marianne Rygner’s Fun for 2 Violins duet books: email Marianne for more information at rygner@gmail.com

Here are some other episodes and article that may be helpful about group classes:

Why Group Classes?: In this podcast episode I discussed the importance of group classes in the Suzuki program.

How to Plan a Group Class: In this podcast episode I discussed how to plan a group class and I include stories from my first rudimentary attempts at running my own studio group classes.

How to Teach a Suzuki Group Class (blog article)

Episode 49: Build Character

If you found this episode (or any episode) of the podcast helpful, and you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here. My efforts to write and produce the Teach Suzuki blog and podcast do not generate income except through the generosity of those readers and listeners. I really appreciate your support. Just click here for a direct link to PayPal to support the blog and podcast.

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2017 by Paula E. Bird

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.