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Beatrice Blanc Studios

Suzuki Violin, MacPhail Center for Music

Augustin Hadelich's Recordings of Suzuki Books 4, 5, 6!!

New Violin Recordings, Volumes 4–6

The International Suzuki Association, in conjunction with Alfred Music, is pleased to announce the highly anticipated recordings of Suzuki Violin, Volumes 4–6 by internationally renowned violinist, Augustin Hadelich, in collaboration with pianist Kuang-Hao Huang.

The ISA Violin Committee is indebted to violinist Augustin Hadelich and pianist Kuang-Hao Huang for their exacting standards during the exhausting recording sessions for Volumes 4-6. These performers brought tremendous energy, artistry, and dedication to bear in all aspects of their collaboration for these recordings. Augustin expressed many times his appreciation for the honor of being selected as the recording artist, and for the opportunity to make a lasting contribution to the world-wide Suzuki community. These are recordings that students, parents, and teachers will enjoy listening to for years to come.

The new recordings will replace all existing ones associated with the Suzuki Violin School International Editions, Volumes 4–6, and will be available as: Violin Part Book, Piano Accompaniment Book, Violin Part Book & CD, and CD only. The recordings will feature listening tracks that include violin and piano, as well as piano accompaniment only tracks for play-along purposes. They will be available for teaching and practice purposes in SmartMusic, and are now available for digital download on alfred.com, the iTunes Store®, and Amazon.

Augustin Hadelich appears courtesy of Warner Classics.

Recording Links:

Purchase Books Now

 

Hilary Hahn's Recordings of Suzuki Books 1, 2, 3!!

The long-awaited release of Hilary Hahn's recordings for our first three books has finally arrived! 

Ms. Hahn said, "I was delighted to be asked to record Suzuki violin Books, 1–3. During the sessions, I thought about the current and future students, their parents and teachers who would hear these recordings. I’m moved to be part of their experiences with the violin. These pieces were played with love and care, and I hope Suzuki violinists will enjoy listening to this music every day.”

MacPhail Suzuki Buddy Program

The Buddy Program is a practicing program between students in MacPhail’s Suzuki Talent Education department. We connect students who are established on their instruments and who enjoy working with other kids!

The Buddy Program is open to all instrument groups!
Mentors: Age minimum: 12 years old
Level minimum: Book 4

Mentees: Age minimum: 6 years old
Level Minimum: Folk Songs polished

How it works

  • Coordinators pair students
  • Students get together at one or the other's home
  • 20 minutes of practicing, 20 minute snack-break, 20 more minutes of practicing
  • Work only on what teacher is focusing on; use lesson notes as guidelines for work (Singularly most critical expectation)
  • Buddy Party and Buddy Recital each year

To participate in the Buddy Program, fill out this online sign-up form.

SAA Podcasts!!


Check out the SAA's Podcasts!!

These are brief interviews with icons in the national Suzuki community giving us great inspiration.

You will find the whole series on my Parents' Resources page. Each is ~15-20 minutes long.

 While you are commuting, running, cooking...

Nurtured by Love biographical video

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Have you seen this marvelous video? Just under 60 minutes long, it features performances and interviews with key figures in the Suzuki world, all speaking about the work of Shin'ichi Suzuki.

 

Fave Violin Recordings

Here are a few of my favorite things...!

Mozart G Maj Concerto:
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Hilary Hahn


Bazzini; Scherzo Fantastique
'La Ronde des Lutins’

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James Ehnes & Eduard Laurel


Barber Vln ConaltGil Shaham

  You know how much I love Gil Shaham's playing…all my students know…so a parent of a former student sent me this link to a NYT feature called "In Performance": in it, Gil Shaham is playing Bach's Partita No.3 in E-Gigue; enjoy! 

  It’s beautifully done; just him standing in a sound studio—you can really see the angles of his fingers landing on the fingerboard, and look how loose his bow index finger is!!!! Plus watch his face when he makes a goof, and listen to how he adds ornamentation rarely heard from modern players.

  This one minute and 46 seconds is a lesson. You can take a lesson from Gil Shaham. He’s so awesome.


Now, Hilary Hahn was 18 when she made these Bach recordings. Unbelievable. Do you know what she's up to now?? Look up her FBk page!

  Hilary Hahn:Bach Partitas

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Stefan Grappelli & Yehudi Menuhin <sigh> jazz violin:


Gershwin's Summertime


Look up the FBk pages of Anne-Sophie Mutter--my Mozart idol when I was a teenager--and Anne Akiko Meyers...they're so inspiring!! 


 

Origins of Suzuki Repertoire

When Shinichi Suzuki chose repertoire for the violin school, painstakingly ordering it in a deliberate chronology of skill development, he drew from a wide canon of music, not all originally for the violin.

Some of his choices were based upon folk songs he learned while studying in Germany, some were from the canon of songs composers wrote for their own children or students. Some choices were from the canons of other instruments or genres!

Delve into this exhaustive index of our beloved repertoire, compiled by Mark Polesky. He clarifies several of the vagaries instituted through the publishing process, such as "Gavotte" and "Largo". It's  a brilliant endeavor!

www.markpolesky.com/suzuki


 

^This is the bookshelf over my desk
in my studio at MacPhail: a treasure trove

Suzuki Method Books:
suggested reading list

Here is the beginning of a list of books either
about or relating to the Suzuki Method. Some
of these titles date back to the beginning of
the method in this country.

They are organized alphabetically by title.
Some I believe are staples, others may be fluff.

I highly recommend starting with the
'Classic' titles: they reflect the origins of the
method in this country, with deep insights into
the goals and means of those steering the
American Suzuki movement in the beginning.

My favorite classic titles are
in my favorite color.

Great practicing aides are in dark blue.

History/bio subjects are in teal.

Child Development subjects are in purple.

 

A Parent's Guide To String Instrument Study
Lorraine Fink       

A Suzuki Parent's Diary
Carroll Morris         

Ability Development from Age Zero
Shinichi  Suzuki             

Between Parent and Teacher
Susan Kempter  

Everything Depends on How We Raise Them
Shigeki Tanaka   

Expanding Horizons; The Suzuki-Trained Violinist
Grows Up

Mark Bjork  

Games and Motivation for The Suzuki Violin Student 
Diane Wagstaff

Helping Parents Practice
Edmund Sprunger           

How Muscles Learn - Teaching the Violin with
the Body in Mind

Susan Kempter    

How To Get Your Child To Practice Without
Resorting To Violence
 
C. Richards 

How to Talk so Kids Will Listen
Adele Faber               

I Can Play My Violin Just As Well As Jeremy Can!
Margaret Keith    

The Inner Game Of Music
Barry Green & W. Timothy Gallway      

Journey Down the Kreisler Highway
Craig Timmerman           

Kids, Parents and Power Struggles
Mary Sheedy Kurcinka  

Mommy, Can We Practice Now? 
Marie Parkinson      

Nurtured By Love
Shinichi Suzuki

Nurture By Nature: Understand You Child's
Personality Type... 
 
Paul & Barbara Tieger

Positive Personality Profiles 
Robert Rohm           

Practiceopedia 
Philip Johnston           

Punished by Rewards
Alfie Kohn        

Raising Your Spirited Child
Mary Sheedy Kurcinka    

Recollections of a Peripatetic Pedagogue
John Kendall

Violin Verses
Judy Gilligan & Diane Wagstaff

Sharpen Your Tools, Volume 1
Jennifer Burton

Shinichi Suzuki: The Man And His Philosophy
Evelyn Hermann             

Stories of Composers
Catherine Wolff Kendall

Stories of Women Composers For Young Musicians
Catherine Wolff Kendall

Student's Guide To The Great Composers 
L. Dean Bye

Suzuki Education in Action 
Clifford Cook

Teaching From the Balance Point
Edward Kreitman    

Teaching With An Open Heart
Edward Kreitman                       

The Suzuki Violinist: A Guide for Teachers and Parents
William Starr

The Violin: A Social History of the World's
Most Versatile Instrument 

Daniel Schoenbaum

They're Rarely Too Young and Never
Too Old To
Twinkle

Kay Collier Slone

Time to Practice: A Companion for Parents
Carrie Reuning-Hummel     

To Learn With Love
William and Constance Starr

When Can I Clap, Daddy?
Margaret Keith 


 

  

© BeatriceBlancStudios

Fun Practice Tools

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I saw this wonderful vendor at a Suzuki conference and loved her practicing ideas!! She is a Suzuki teacher and a Suzuki mom who started her business by making practice aids for her own daughter.

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​Make a beautiful bow hold and keep it still while all the shapes float down!

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​Track your repetitions with these cute panda stickers! Suzuki's favorite!

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​More pandas--can you balance these on your [head, box, violin, shoulder]?!

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​Here's another way to count repetitions!

She also offers a wide array of free downloadables like practice charts, bingo games, and more.


 

Proudly Promoting this Practice Planner

Look at this great 52wk practice planner designed by a Suzuki mom in our own program!

We reviewed it as a faculty and love it! If you'd like a copy, please inquire at your lesson.

Lesson Compass for Suzuki Books 1 & 2

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Quality of Instruction is Critical

Remember, the Suzuki Method is only as good as the teacher teaching it. Always look up the credentials of the teachers with whom you study, and look up the roots of those credentials. We all have teacher 'family'-trees, and you can identify (and identify with!) the legacies that we all carry forward.


 

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