Article 1999

Student Pages

Hamilton Suzuki Summer Camp

Dear Organisers, Tutors, Chef, and Helpers of the Hamilton Summer Camp,

I would like to say thank you very much for holding such an excellent camp. I enjoyed the whole camp very much, and I will certainly come again to the first Hamilton Camp of the 21st century and Millennium (NZSI Hamilton Summer String Camp 2000!).

At this year’s camp, I felt that I learned just as much as in previous years or more. I would like to thank all the tutors for their hard work and consistency over the four days. I think that everyone was very lucky to be present at a camp where the teaching was of such a high standard. I feel that I learned new ideas and techniques in every class.

One of the highlights of the camp for me this year was the Improvisation class. I thank the organisers very much for fitting these classes into the timetable for groups E, F, and the advanced cellists. As well as teaching us new techniques, it showed the vital importance of focused listening in learning melodies and harmonies. This process is “internalisation,” and it is as important in all the music you play (Suzuki or not) as it is in improvisation. I would like to thank Moirsheen Kelly for taking the class and encouraging us to perform in the Fun Concert. Many people thought it was the highlight of the Fun Concert.

A big thank you goes to Margaret Cooke and Graham McPhail for taking the Orchestra. Their enthusiasm was very encouraging for both those who had never played in an orchestra and those who had. The music was fun and challenging, and I think their mission was accomplished. Thank you also to Margaret for taking individual cello lessons in the afternoon.

The next important part was the food! George Thorburn’s meals were filling and delicious, and I really liked the muffins and cakes at morning tea. He was a very important part of the camp. We really appreciated his work—and that of the people helping with the 70+ filled rolls every lunchtime!

Other very important parts of the camp were the concerts. Thank you to Josie for such skillful accompanying; it is always so enjoyable to be accompanied by her. Thanks to Cathy Bjarnesen for organising the lunchtime concerts. The Fun Concert was filled with variety as always, and the Formal Concert was very polished. The Play-in and Play-out were both great and possibly the most enjoyable I have been in. Two highlights were Rachel Johnston’s evening recital and Simone Roggen’s solo in the Formal Concert.

Before I finish, I would like to say what an amazing camp it was, and I will try to encourage more people to attend next year. For many people, the camp is the highlight of their Suzuki year. The camp has a wonderful atmosphere, and it would be nice to see more new people joining in next year at the first camp of the Millennium!

Yours Sincerely,
A very happy student.


Notes about BenMaggie Baker

Maggie Baker wrote to our Administrator, Juliet Le Couteur, with news of Ben’s first term at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, England. Following are extracts taken from the letter dated December 8, 1998, and also an email in February 1999.

Ben has just finished his first term and “loves every minute,” as he tells us frequently. He can’t believe his luck that he can play and participate in music-making nearly all day. He has two violin lessons, a piano lesson, three theory lessons, composition, music dictation, improvisation, lunchtime concerts, and choir each week. On top of this, they do general academic subjects as well! He works very hard, and the hours are long for an 8-year-old (8 a.m. – 6 p.m.), but by the time he comes home, he’s done all his homework and set practice. However, he often chooses to play his violin or piano “for fun” in the evenings anyway! He is as keen on sport as ever, and during the winter term has discovered badminton when the field is too frozen for soccer.

One of the highlights for Ben this term was meeting Lord Yehudi Menuhin. Ben presented Lord Menuhin with a plaque from Wellington, sent by Mayor Mark Blumsky. Menuhin comes into school a lot and is very active generally.

The Menuhin School is a wonderful place and a great inspiration to Ben. They watch each other play at lunchtime concerts at least twice a week, and the students are very supportive of each other, often cheering, stamping, and generally showing their appreciation. Being such a small school (only 57 pupils), it has a family feel to it and is very international, with more overseas than English students.

Since we last wrote, Ben performed at the Royal Festival Hall on February 6. He played 3rd violin in Vivaldi’s Concerto in B Minor for 4 violins. Other Menuhin students were the other three violins, and the orchestra was an adult orchestra—the Ernest Reid Symphony Orchestra. The concert was sold out, and Ben loved the experience of a huge, full concert hall—and especially signing about 50 autographs in the foyer later!

Ben is back busking again—this time to support a World Vision UK child (in Ghana) and also to help a friend of his called Clare. She is also 8, lives just down the road from us, and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. It’s a bit cold to busk for very long in the English winter, though. He misses his favourite spot on Lambton Quay (Wellington)—whilst he gets very cold busking here, at least his busking list doesn’t blow away!

Greetings from us all, and thanks again for the Suzuki Institute’s assistance with Ben’s fees.

Maggie & John, Ben & Rebecca Baker


The Suzuki Method of Musicby Kristin Irving

Kristin Irving is an 11-year-old violinist from Auckland. Her teachers have been Anna Bold, Stacey Shuck, and Simon Griffiths. Kristin has attended several Auckland Branch Workshops and the Snells Beach Camp for four years. The following article was Kristin’s Form One assignment on any topic based on fact. She received full marks. When asked what her current favorite thing about violin playing was, she answered, “I like the challenge of learning new things and performing with others.”

The main focus in the Suzuki Method is to learn to play by imitating the music that is heard. This means a child is taught to play an instrument by ear, copying what they have heard rather than reading the music. Learning by ear is the easiest way to learn because you hear the piece played to you before you start to learn it. When you learn an instrument by the Suzuki Method, you repeatedly listen to tapes of the pieces you are going to learn before you start to play them. Because children first learn to speak by hearing and imitating, Dr. Suzuki used the same method in teaching an instrument and named this the “Mother Tongue method.”

The Suzuki Method teaches one skill at a time, as it is easier for a child to concentrate on one thing, such as playing the correct notes, rather than learning to sight-read simultaneously. Each new skill builds on foundations already learned. If a student tries to learn more than one thing at a time, they can get sidetracked, making it take longer to learn the piece. A beginner is first taught how to hold the bow before they even put the bow to the string to play. The Suzuki teacher emphasizes producing a good tone and good posture from day one, while note-reading is introduced at a much later stage once the student is already playing a lot of pieces.

Another important part of learning by the Suzuki Method is repetition. By repeating something enough times, it becomes much easier, and you can play it without having to think about it. A student is expected to regularly practice all the pieces they have previously learned. This emphasis on reviewing earlier learned pieces develops strong playing by working on techniques and tone.

Children who learn the Suzuki Method usually start at a young age, for example, as young as two years old. This does make learning easier. It is a proven fact that in the first six years of your life, you learn more than in the rest of your life span. In Japan, three-year-olds are playing Vivaldi’s A Minor Concerto, an advanced piece of music, demonstrating they started very young. It is easier for young students to memorize long and difficult pieces of music, while adults struggle to memorize them.

Another aspect of the Suzuki Method involves participation in group lessons. Students also take part in music camps and workshops, where they learn and play music together, which makes it fun for them. When students learn by the Suzuki Method, they are surrounded by a non-competitive environment, and they do not have to cope with the pressure of exams or competitions, as opposed to the traditional method.

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