Suzuki Steps to Music Reading

            It seems that one of the most voiced criticisms of the ‘Suzuki Method’ is the oft-heard question, (with raised eyebrows): “Yes, but can he read music?”  It’s almost annoying how often we hear it, isn’t it?

           Once, after hearing a gorgeous violin solo in church, I asked the soloist to come and play in our community chamber orchestra.  She demurred, so I insisted: “Oh, we’re pretty good; you’d really like it,” to which she replied, “I couldn’t. I can’t read music.”  It made me physically sick!  To be able to play so beautifully, but not be able to enjoy the pleasures of reading through a chamber orchestra piece, seemed to me to be a horrifying handicap.

           Incredibly, even outside the Suzuki method, drop-outs many times occur because of the lack of music literacy.  Children, even talented ones, can seldom read as well as they play.

           Along the same lines, while teaching school orchestra, I was appalled with the ‘Suzuki’ students who had to ‘hear it first’ before they could ‘read’ orchestra music.  I determined that my children and students would be prepared to be able to enjoy orchestra and chamber music reading as well as playing.  I didn’t want to ‘handicap’ my students with ‘Suzuki Illiteracy’ (my apologies to those who may be offended).  Many teachers have asked about my ‘method’ of teaching students to read.  Much comes from watching a gifted teacher do it (Dr. Irene Peery-Fox, from Provo, Utah), and the rest is a result of adaptation and trial and error.  It seemed to work, so I offer this to whomever might be interested.

           First and foremost, I am loyal to the Suzuki concept that children must learn about tone, intonation, posture, etc. apart from the printed music with the Suzuki repertoire or with any other familiar tunes.  I find that the acute ears of Suzuki students can pick up music almost instantaneously without reading it.

           I also start my students to read much earlier than most.  I have learned that if I keep reading and repertoire separate, the detrimental factors that usually surface with early reading, don’t appear.  So, when a student can play all of the Twinkles perfectly, with clear strong tone, impeccable intonation, steady rhythm, and flawless position, I feel safe in starting.  When a child can already read words at school, (age 5-7) I feel it essential to begin reading notes!

           After a child is learning Lightly Row (or French Folk Song), I have the parent purchase the I Love to Read Music Primer and Flashcards. They are available for violin, viola, cello, and bass.

           I start with open D on the note flashcards.  You can start with A as Ronda Cole did.  I just find D is more central for the three stringed instruments.  I set his bow aside and seat the child at the piano. so the body is centered, in line with the “Yamaha”, “Kawai”, or whatever.  This is the piano’s Name and we line up our tummy with his Name.  Even a very young student can see the black and white keys.  It’s a snap to show how the black keys are in groups of twos and threes.  I have the child play various “twins and “triplets.”  Then I show him the middle twins (C# and D#, just to the right of Middle C) and I say, “These black keys have a name.  They are called: ‘The Doghouse.’  Can you play the Doghouse?”  He plays, then I say, “And guess who lives in the Doghouse?... ‘DOGGIE D!’”

           He plays Doggie D.  I have him take his hand off the keyboard and look out of the window, and then play it again so I can make sure he can find it with the help of the doghouse black keys.  Then I hand him his violin to put under his chin, and show him the D flashcard and tell him that this is D, (I sing D, in tune, in the correct octave).  Then I have him pluck the D string on his violin, showing him pizzicato position.  I explain the routine of “sing, pluck and play”, (that is, sing the note, pluck it on the violin, and then play it on the piano,) and have him do it several times, directing his mother to do this 30 second practice every single day at home.  If they don’t have a piano, (and they occasionally don’t), I recommend one of those keyboards you can buy for $35.  In a pinch, I loan the family our $10 Casio Tone miniature keyboard for a couple of weeks, until they can get a keyboard of their own.

           By the next week, when I flash him the D, he will be able to sing “D”, pluck the open D string, and play the D on the piano with his index finger of his right hand, whereupon, I introduce A.  First I show the child where the Big House is on the piano, i.e., the set of three black keys above the doghouse.  He can play the big house easily, so I say, “Guess who lives in the big house?  Two brothers: ‘Georgy G and Andy A.’” If the child’s name is Anthony, of course the note is named ‘Anthony A.”  Or if his sibling is Arthur or Anna, it would be “Arthur A, or Anna A.”  Open A is the target note.  Follow the same procedure of singing the name, plucking the string, and playing the piano key, sing, pluck play, sing pluck, play, and never leave Doggie D to get forgotten.

           Incidentally, it is easy to incorporate Ronda Cole’s method of teaching perfect pitch right along with this method.  I’ve tried it since I heard her lecture at the violin teacher’s workshop, and the children comeback to lessons after just one week, able to sing an A right out of the air!  The mothers are ecstatic!! So am I!

           Each week or two I add another note of open strings: “Georgy G” (from the other big house an octave lower), “Edith E” (the little sister who takes care of the high doggy).  They can get the concept of different octaves because it is so visible on the piano keyboard, and, of course, they can hear the higher or lower notes.

           After all four open strings are learned and well-established, (Big, Low Cindy C” would work for violas and celli), we start on first fingers. “New E” is the sister that takes care of the old family’s dog, Doggie D.  (Elizabeth E?  Eddy E?  It helps if you can use their name). B, first finger on A, I call the “Back Door B” of the big house.   (F, low second on D will eventually be the “Front Door F”, when we get to second fingers.  See (fig. 1).   “New A” is down on the G string, and for the E string first finger, I do “Old Odd-ball F” with a low first finger.  It’s a cinch to explain F# with the keyboard in front of them, and here is a chance to visibly see F natural, and hear and play it, long before “The Two Granadiers”.  You see that I keep this note learning in the diatonic key of C.  Music theory is a snap at the keyboard, which is why I make such a point to use a piano.  (fig. 1)

           Third fingers are easy: New Georgy G. new Doggy D, yet a third A, (I call him “High A”) and MIDDLE C, (I want them to know this one by this name.)

           With second fingers, we have B on the G string, (another Back Door), F natural (low 2^nd on D: the Front Door), Baby Cindy C, natural on A string, and G natural on E.

           Last of all is the high B, 4^th on E string.  By this time, the children are old pros at the rest of the notes, because I test him on all previous notes every week.  The whole process takes AT LEAST seventeen weeks.  Moving slowly and carefully, we add each note, week by week , always waiting to add until he can do all of the previous cards readily.  It’s no big deal if he takes an extra week on a hard note, or if we have to take a week to ‘work’ on all of the second and third fingers that are a little fuzzy.

           If the child, with a pencil and manuscript paper, writes his notes every day, all the ones he knows, the routine becomes MUCH better learned and is retained so much more easily.  They can really get the concept of up and down and higher and lower, and the notes become old friends quickly.

           One short note for cello players: I have the cellist sit on the SIDE of the piano stool with his cello in position.  He can still pluck the strings and play the piano.  I also do third and second finger notes separately, i.e., on A string he learns B, D (4^th f.), C, AND C# (second and third).  Same with the F and F# on the D string, and natural and flat B and E on the G and C strings.  He will have four extra cards in his deck.  Violists can follow the violin lead, staying entirely in diatonic C Major.

           Off the subject a little: whenever I teach scales to students, (Book One and on up), I always have the student say the note names out loud as he plays them.  There is something about doing this that helps him to read music.  I haven’t figured it out, but I know it works.  This goes for all keys.  I even have them say, before they start playing the scale, “E Major; three flats; Bb, Eb, Ab.”  Then the student plays up the two octave scale saying, “Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb,” etc.

           For those teachers who teach note reading only at group class, (or, heaven forbid, don’t teach it at all), this whole process may seem a little tedious or time consuming.  On the contrary, the children LOVE it, and you never lose more than 3 minutes a lesson, except for the first lesson.  As for private lesson rather than group, I opt for private lesson, because I can make dead sure that the student knows his notes, absolutely.  By the way, be sure to shuffle the deck each week, and have the parent shuffle is at home.  Is is uncanny how quickly a Suzuki student can memorize the order of flash cards.

           After all seventeen notes are learned, I get out my stop watch.  The student is fascinated.  I explain that I will see how long it takes to do all his cards.  I tell him not to be worried and not to hurry.  As soon as he sings the first note, I start the timer.  When he finishes the last note, I hit the stop button.  Whatever the time, the mother writes it in her lesson notes.  It will be something like 2:50, 4:10, whatever.  I then explain that the child next week will “beat” this time.  Next week, if practiced faithfully at home, the process will take some seconds less time, which we write in the notebook.  Then, I explain that it will keep getting faster and faster, and when he can clear one minute, that is, he can do all seventeen cards in less than a minute, I will present him with a dollar.  Hokey?  You bet, but they love it.  Each week it gets better, and I continually talk about “...when you earn your dollar,” and “when you pass off your flash cards”, and eventually he wins it.  If he doesn’t beat his time from the previous week, it is because you’ve gone too fast learning them or the parent isn’t making sure he is doing the routine every single day.  In this case, I do “charting”.  I make a chart which they must “check-off” each day they practice the flashcards, two times a day for a week, three times a day if he still can’t beat his time the next lesson.  Parents usually get the message.  Just doing it twice a day for a week will improve his time, if he understands the concepts.  (fig.2)

           The long-awaited day arrives when he clears one minute and you hand over the crisp dollar bill, accompanied by applause and cheers.

           Is it over?  Not by a long shot, but this is a process even a five-year-old can do, creating a foundation upon which to build.

           The next step is begun about week eight, way back when the student has learned two or three first fingers notes.  I open up the “I Can Read Music” book and set it on the lowered music stand, just like the big kids.  The graphics in this book are superb, with child-friendly notes which are BIG for young eyes, and rhythms which are learned separately from the pitches.  I point out the first note (A, or D for viola and cello).  He will recognize it, so I have him sing it.  Then, having the child point to the notes with the index finger, have him sing the first line with you: “A, A, A, A, B, B, B, B, etc.”  Guide his finger.  This must be on the right pitch and in an EXACTLY steady rhythm.  The process is followed for the other four lines, either at the lesson or at home, always with pointing and singing rather than playing.  Laud and cheers.  He is reading music!!  Make sure the child’s eyes stay on the notes.  This is crucial.  The next week, if he can perform the whole page successfully, we “pluck” the whole page, still singing the notes out loud.  The third week he actually plays with the bow and sings the note names.  I have the mother “check off” with a pencil on the line number when the child reads and plays the line perfectly, (no mistakes or pauses).  Also, I have them write how many times it took to play it perfectly.  So the goal, of course, is to have a check with a numeral one by it.  If there is a five of six, I know that was a hard one!  This greatly improves the ability to SIGHT READ, in addition to being able to read music, making it a fun little challenge to get it right the first time.  (If they practice diligently, excellent students with superb ears can glance through the line and HEAR it in their heads before they ever play it.)

           They do one line each day at home for five days, and then play through the whole page, all five lines on the sixth practice day of the week.  I spot check them (on line three or four) every lesson.  It only takes one minute.  Then 2^nd  week, we pluck it.  We continue, one lesson per week, to finish the book.  It takes over one year.  But, never fear, JoAnn Martin told me last summer that Book Two is on the press.

           On the third week, when he starts playing with the bow on Lesson One, I also start him on the facing rhythm page.  The print has giant, black quarter notes.  We point and count aloud, at first, but it doesn’t take nearly as long as the notes.  As soon as he ges the hang of it, we clap (or play, for older ones) and COUNT OUT LOUD.  This is absolutely essential.

           So the child does one page of “pitch” and one page of rhythms each week, which together equal one lesson.  Of course, I check it every single lesson.  I actually start every post-Twinkle lesson with flashcards and music reading, regardless of age or level.  It takes less than five minutes.  In the middle of Book Two, when the child goes to forty-five minute lessons, I use ten minutes for music reading.  By Book Three or Four, we read fifteen minutes every week.

           Where do we go after the flashcard dollar?  Right on with the key signature cards.  It’s so easy to teach the key signatures by rote.  After those are learned (it takes months to get them automatic), we go back and learn the relative minors.  How many music majors do you know who can look at six sharps and say, “F# Major and D# minor”, in an instance?  I couldn’t before, but all of my students AND I can now.  We go on and learn the intervals after that, singing them, on the correct pitches, of course.  I have songs that go with each interval (‘Here Comes the Bride’ for the fourth, ‘Twinkle’ for the fifth, ‘My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean’ for the Major 6^th, etc.)

           After those come the musical terms and signs.  Children can learn anything, little bites at a time.  I have students work their way trough the two All for Strings theory books also.

           Where do we go after the I Love to Read Music Primer? On to the sequel, Sight Reading for Strings. At the very beginning of every lesson, I play one line with the sightreading child, and on the repeat, I play the teacher’s harmony part.  This is fabulous for sightreading, and when I play MY part, the child must be stable enough to "hold his own” on his part. I put his initials in my book, on the sightreading selection he just passed off, and the next week we do the following one. It takes two minutes. If he can’t get it the first week, we do the same one the next lesson. 

            Incidentally. I don’t use String Builder, or Muller Rusch or any other modern string method, because I don’t want to have the child reading familiar tunes. These Wohlfahrt etudes are musical, but they are not familiar.

            The same week that the student finishes the Primer and starts in the sight-reading book, I have the parent get him two or three other books for music reading:  Phil Perkins" The Logical Approach to Rhythmic Notation. (Logical Publications), Books 1 & 2; Wohlfahrt's Foundation Studies. Book I and, if he is in Suzuki Book Three or Four, Foundation Studies Book 2.  In the Rhythm Book, we continue on with the routine of playing and counting (out loud) rhythms every single day and lesson, but we add the metronome to work with. Then, I give him about one fourth of the first Etude in the Wohlfahrt. By this time, he can figure out the note reading pretty easily. He prepares at home, and plays with me at the lesson each week part of an etude in Wohlfahrt. Alwin Schroeder, 170 Foundation Studies for Violoncello works well for cello. The Wohlfahrt Books are available for viola. He adds a couple of lines each week until he can play the whole thing. He must do this with less than two mistakes, or he takes it another week (I'm more lenient than with his Suzuki literature, where pieces have to be perfect.)  If he has started third position, he also works in Foundation Studies Bk 2. which will help him to read in positions. I use etudes for music reading only, and not for sight reading, but rather as "prepared at home" reading. Sight-reading is done in the Op. 38, explained above.

           Note that none of this music reading work is done on the Suzuki Repertoire.  The students continue to learn, by rote and ear, their Suzuki pieces. By Book three or four, following the routine above, the students are able to read their Suzuki music with ease, but other than using it to point out work parts in the lesson or practice parts at home, we do not use the Suzuki pieces for reading practice.  If students do enough listening, at least eight hours a day or night, they are not truly READING Suzuki pieces anyway, because the music was memorized in their ear long ago.

            Another advantage some students have for sigh-treading is being able to play in an orchestra early. Unfortunately, young Suzuki students especially seldom get to read in a group at early stages. I have found orchestra and chamber music absolutely INVALUABLE in any student’s music studies, because there is the added benefit of  “peer encouragement"  (read: peer- pressure), to read from the music. Being able to play independently on a part while other harmonic and rhythmical things are happening creates musical genius, whichever way you took at it. Plus that, the students, if allowed to play classical greats, get 'hooked’ on classical music. They love the social part of the whole thing, too. Growing up playing in a first class orchestra is a fabulous experience in life, I think.

            By the intermediate Suzuki books, 4-6, the student who follows the above regime will be perfectly literate. In the musical sense, able to hold his own in any orchestra.  Suzuki students have the added gift of terrific ears and marvelous memories.  Early on, they can learn subtle techniques to help them in their sight-reading: by-ear key signatures that signal diatonic tones, sequences that make Western music sensible and even predictable, a sense of phrasing and dynamics that can be “caught” the first time through the music, fingers that are “hooked on” to their ears, mature musicality, and other non-obvious benefits.  The absolute pitch that is developed makes reading very easy.  (I have an eleven-year-old student who can look at an inner page of an orchestra score, and without seeing the title, can tell what it is, never having played a note of it.)  Another advantage of music literacy is the independence the student will be able to exert when he hits those “trouble” years, i.e., when he is trying to break away from mother, but is tied to her because he can’t decipher the music on his own.  Probably the first and foremost benefit of having a Suzuki background would be that of hearing and playing IN TUNE, with solid technique and, of course, a beautiful, warm tone.

            Music reading can open a whole new world of beauty for our Suzuki students.  I equate playing beautifully (but not being able to read music), with being able to recite lovely poetry, or tell a great story, but never being able to curl up and read a fantastic novel.  What would life be like if, as a teen, we couldn’t sit down and read through a piece on our own without mother, or play through a string quartet with friends, or if we could only play our Suzuki piece in group or solo, but never be able to play a Mozart Divertimento, a Handel Concerto Grosso, a Bach Brandenburg Concerto, or a Beethoven or Mahler Symphony in the orchestra?  Mighty dull!  Let’s start now to help our children enjoy a lifetime of music, by teaching them to be musically literate and fluent.

Summation:
     Book One: After Twinklers are superb, start note flashcards on violin and piano. After 8 weeks, start I Love to Read Music. When note flashcards are completely learned, start key signature flashcards. Middle or end of Book One start All For Strings Theory Book 1. One to three minutes a day.
     Book Two and Three: After I Love to Read Music is finished, start sight reading at the lessons with Sight Reading for Strings, along with the rhythm book and Wohlfahrt Foundation Studies Book 1 etude book for music reading at home and at the lesson. After Rhythm Book 1, replace with Rhythm Book 2. Ten to fifteen minutes a day.
     Book Four: Add Wohlfahrt Foundation Studies Book 2. Continue Rhythm Book 2. Add theory book2. Continue Sight Reading for Strings and etudes from Foundation Studies Book 1. Fifteen minutes a day.
     A Suzuki student well-trained with this reading method can be perfectly music-literate by or near Book Five.

Denise Willey