No matter what one studies, in the beginning we all start at ground zero. There is no knowledge, no ability; we are like blank paper.

Conventional wisdom dictates that we start out being inept, and then we gradually become proficient. Children cannot be expected in the beginning to be skilled at any task. Meanwhile, in time they become advanced and, if they study hard with a good teacher, they can master a skill. This is the conventional way people think. However, it is this very way of thinking where mistakes originate.

At the outset, it is important to determine whether we aim to be first class or third class. For instance, in piano, the performance of Book 1 pieces must be first class, as should the pieces in Book 2. After not studying first class at the outset, we cannot expect to become first class at the advanced level.

The issue at hand is the teacher. The children and parents who come to learn are not experts. They are not able to assess the quality of the lesson they are receiving. By and by, the child becomes advanced. If there should come a time when a child decides that he/she wants to study music and aspires to study at the best music conservatory, it is too late to bring a mediocre education or ability up to the required standard. Discovering at the last minute that his or her piano study had been inferior to the point that it was impossible to matriculate into a good conservatory would be a terrible shock for any student. It is a pitiful situation. The American educator Dr. William Smith Clark said to his students in Japan, “Boys, be ambitious,” but I believe that it is the teachers who need always to study what is first class and to strive to teach it.

If only those individuals who received first-class education in the arena of politics, economics, music, etc, were to be in charge of their respective fields I think that our world would be a wonderful place. In order for human beings to learn what is first class, it is necessary for those of us who teach to have the warmth of love, patience and perseverance. This is not something that can be accomplished by the kind of last-minute cramming that Japanese students do in preparation for their college entrance examinations.

A while ago, I remember listening to a news telecast of a debate between a Japanese college professor and an American politician about the problems of politics in Washington. Their conclusion was that Japan has a first-class economy, but third-class politicians. Conversely, the United States has a third-class economy with first-class politicians. They theorized that a third-class economy could be changed into a first-class one, but that it might be impossible to change human beings. This discussion made me laugh. To change politicians, who are already adults, realistically would be truly improbable.

First-class learning must start from the beginning. Traditional thinking would have us believe that merely learning the notes of a piece and then moving on to the next piece is sufficient education. On the contrary, the teacher must always carefully teach each piece starting with the Twinkles so while taking into consideration the students’ present capability, they can perform at their best, highest level. Parents/guardians, we exert much effort toward this goal of nurturing the ability to study at the very highest level. Let us please cooperate together to provide the very best, first-class study for our children.

When Dr. Kataoka spoke to us, she referred to this concept of ‘first class’ over and over. What are the concrete ways we can strive for first-class education?

Because we study music, we should attend concerts of world-renowned virtuosi. It is also a must to listen daily to recordings of the best pianists. What about arts other than music? For instance, in the visual arts, you can experience calligraphy, painting, ceramics, or a wonderfully made movie. You can also observe the very best in sports like baseball or soccer. Items that we use daily should be of good quality. Meals can be economical, but extra care and effort can be taken in their preparation. There are many areas in life that you can exemplify ‘first class.’ The concept of ‘first class’ can apply not only to objects or things. It is relevant also in social interactions where the ability to address or greet people properly is crucial, as is one’s training in proper etiquette and manners. We must never forget to teach the ability to aspire to polish one movement to the highest degree.

We, as adults, must keep in mind that we must strive to provide opportunities for our children to experience and to be influenced by what is genuine and real.

The 2009 10-Piano Concert in Sacramento will be held in Davis, California in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Arts on Saturday, August 15, at 2:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $15.

Ten students from Matsumoto will be accompanied by teachers Keiko Ogiwara, Keiko Kawamura, and Keiko Nozawa, who will direct the rehearsals, making this another truly international event.

Additionally, two students from elsewhere in Japan, six from Canada and 34 from around the United States will join students from the Sacramento area to perform in the concert. Teachers bringing students are: Mayumi Takashi (Japan); Chisa Aoki and Elizabeth Sherk (Canada); and Bruce Anderson, Karmalita Bawar, Judy Blase, Jackie Block, Bruce Boiney, Cleo Brimhall, Lisa Cash, Renee Eckis, Karen Hagberg, Mei Ihara, Fumi Kawasaki, Eloise Sanders, Rae Kate Shen, Connie Snyder, Billie Tuttle, and Koko Yee (United States). Several other teachers will come to observe rehearsals and attend the concert. Registration for observing teachers is still open ($275 registration for entire rehearsal period, $150 for 3-day pass, or $75/day). Those who help with the concert will receive a free concert ticket. Deadline to get your name in the program as an observer is July 20.

From August 1-9, rehearsals will be held at Sacramento State College. Rehearsals will be at the Mondavi Center from August 11 until the concert.

Program

  1. The Bow
  2. Twinkles A and D
  3. Lightly Row
  4. Go Tell Aunt Rhody
  5. Chant Arabe
  6. Musette
  7. Hummel: Ecossaise
  8. Schumann: The Happy Farmer
  9. Bach: Minuet 3
10. Mozart: Arietta
11. Beethoven: Sonatina Moderato
12. Clementi: Sonatina, Op. 36 No. 1
      Andante
13. Schumann: Wild Rider
14. Clementi: Sonatina, Op. 36 No. 3
      Spiritoso
15. Bach: Musette
16. Beethoven: Sonata, Op. 49 No. 2
      Allegro, ma non troppo
17. Bach: Two Minuets
18. Bach: Gigue
19. Beethoven: Für Elise
20. Mozart: Sonata, K. 330 Allegretto
21. Mozart: Sonata, K. 331 Rondo
      alla turca
22. Chopin: Waltz, Op. 34 No. 3
23. Liszt: Liebestraum
24. Schumann: Novellette, Op. 21 No. 1

Kataoka Recordings to Remain Available

Contrary to recent reports, we are told by Mr. David Ellsworth in the Keyboard Customer Support Department of the Alfred Publishing Company, "The rumor you heard regarding discontinuation of the Kataoka recordings of Books 1-3 of the Suzuki Piano Method is false information. We have no plans to discontinue this CD." As always, we encourage all teachers to compare available recordings and choose the very best ones for our students.

Call for Articles

Where are the writers out there? You are invited to share your ideas and thoughts with your colleagues. Let us all know what’s on your mind!

Articles may be submitted at any time. There is always a deadline looming. Write about recordings you’ve discovered, workshops you’ve attended, teaching experiences, personal revelations: whatever you want to share.

Articles may be emailed to Karen Hagberg kh@hagbergsuzuki.com. All editing will be done with author’s approval.

Structuring a Pre-School Suzuki Piano Class:
Solutions in My Studio, Part I

By Karen Hagberg

Twenty years ago, I was sitting in Dr. Kataoka’s studio in Matsumoto, observing lessons six days a week. On Tuesday afternoons, she taught her youngest beginners. The little children and their mothers would arrive at the studio first to have some social time before Dr. Kataoka arrived. The children and mothers thus became friends.

Lessons were not in a set order. The eager children were usually chosen, and occasionally a reticent child was given a chance to go first. The children were from three to five years old, and there were three, four, or five of them on any given Tuesday afternoon. All families remained until the end of the last lesson. Thus, the lesson of each child became everybody’s lesson. Dr. Kataoka often directed remarks to all of the mothers as a group. The children were not expected to be paying direct attention to each others’ lessons, but the mothers all watched and listened intently. This was obviously a wonderful way for very young children to begin piano lessons and for their parents to become oriented in the ways of Suzuki Method.

On returning to the United States, I had the best intentions of starting young children in the same way. After all, a basic tenet of Suzuki Method is that children and parents should experience other lessons every week by having their schedules intentionally overlap. Dr. Suzuki would remind us, “One child, one parent, one teacher: bad environment.

” My good intentions never quite came to fruition, however. Parents in my studio insisted on specific lesson times based on family schedules. Rarely was I able to get even two beginners to come regularly at the same time. They might begin together, but soon one of them would require a different lesson time.

So I found myself too often with one student and one parent, giving a solitary lesson to a very young child who wasn’t going to learn much without seeing other children doing the same things. The parents of some of the youngest beginners quit in frustration. I began to wait until children were four years old before taking them as students. I typically saw these four-year-olds twice a week for many months, but still they did not have adequate exposure to other young beginners as much as I tried to make it happen.

The solution for me was to offer a class for beginners at a very low price (about one-fifth my tuition for private lessons). The class is limited to eight students and is scheduled twice a week. I tell parents that they may come to one or both sessions for the same fee (knowing that the ones who come twice a week will be ready for individual lessons that much sooner). I have found that parents somehow find time in their schedules to attend a pre-scheduled class that is not very expensive. They are also willing to bring considerably younger children. I have had students who are barely two years old in the class. Another advantage is that parents are not intensely looking for “progress” the way they would if they were paying for private lessons.

I advertise the class as a way to establish and to recognize readiness for individual lessons. In actuality, it has become my way of orienting parents to the Suzuki Method and to give them the musical skills they need to be good coaches for their children. The students are given the opportunity to experience the environment of lessons with no pressure to participate until they are ready. Because they have paid very little money for the class, parents are able to set aside expectations and allow their children to get involved in piano at their own natural pace. I make it clear that children may enroll in the class over and over before individual lessons begin, until we are all ready. Those in the class are not yet required to have a piano or seating equipment at home, but are told not to try to practice at home until they do have all these things. The only purchases required for the class are the score and recording for Book 1.

When children begin private lessons, they are still required to attend the class at least once a week until they have learned all the right-hands in Book 1.

Jeanne Beegle
jivinjean1988@gmail.com

Tess Brown
db7647@telus.net

Cheryl Carlile
Rubies31roadrunner.com

Pamela Fusselman
Phone: 402-402-0930 pjfussel@gmail.com

Mei Ihara
mihara@socal.rr.com

Thi Keller
mihara@socal.rr.com

Marilyn Markowitz
Marilyn.Markowitz2@gmail.com

Faye Turner
sundwindow@gmail.com

Billie Tuttle
tuttledm@gmail.com

Betsy Wieser
wwieser@telus.net

Suzuki-L discussion group:

For the information of our members we want your workshops and institutes to be listed here and on our web site, and we encourage you to submit information about these.

We need at least three months of lead time to make these listings in a timely fashion. The only requirement to be listed here is that your event be called a Suzuki Piano Basics event. Thanks, in advance, for making this as complete a listing as possible.