Parent’s Column: The Suzuki Parent in the Lesson v1 n1

By Sophie Hartigan

You are sitting in your child’s private lesson. She is about to play the first Twinkle Variation with her fingers and bow. You hold your breath in anticipation. You have practiced this together each day of the week. Towards the end of the week, it started going really well. Your heartbeat rises as the bow lands on the string. The tune begins. You watch intently. The first note is great. Then the next. Now for the first finger. Exactly on the fingertape. Great. Now for the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st fingers on the A string. The hand position is forgotten. The fingers come down out of tune. You give an audible sigh. The bow starts going crooked.

“Make sure your fingers are exactly on the fingertapes, on their tip-toes,” the teacher says.

“And keep your bow straight,” you add, unable to contain yourself. Your child, bombarded by instructions, breaks down.

“I did it at home,” he says.

“One teacher at a time,” sage advice given by Dr. Suzuki. The child can only cope with one set of instructions at a time. The parent teaches at home. In the lesson, the teacher takes over. The parent’s role in the lesson is to be a silent observer. This gives the teacher a chance to concentrate on one point at a time. It is unnecessary to interrupt the lesson unless something is unclear or confusing.

Each parent should have a special notebook, kept solely for the lessons, in which they take careful notes of the teacher’s instructions. The best note-takers are the best parent practicers at home.

The teacher will manage the child during the lesson. This gives the teacher and child a chance to develop their relationship. The teacher may ask the parent to take care of the child if necessary.

So, for effective Suzuki lessons, remember, “One teacher at a time.”

Sophie Hartigan has her own Talent Education Studio in Auckland and is the mother of two children with another one on the way.