Annual Student Party

 2014 Annual Student Party

Friday, May 9, 2014

It had been raining all day so I re-arranged the furniture and we met indoors.  This year we did a brief instrument-care workshop along with several of the brain-gym exercises we did last year.  Afterward, the sun came out so we enjoyed refreshments and the kids, who had been cooped up for several days due to rainstorms, got to run around and enjoy my back yard (as you can see, rolling down our steep hill).  I made cookies in honor of Dr. Suzuki who served delicious cookies to his students and encouraged them to serve each-other in simple and meaningful ways.

October Group Lessons

Fun!

Fun!

Fun!

Summer Review Group Lesson

 Celebrating our Suzuki Review-Focused Summer!

Christmas Group Lesson

Monday, December 20, 2010

We had a special guest for our Christmas Group Lesson - my sister all the way from Hartford, Connecticut! She played a few selections from her upcoming recital for her Master's Degree at the Hartt School of Music. She also joined in on the group lesson fun and was reminded of all the wonderful foundational techniques the Suzuki Method started her out with; mentioning review, specifically, as one of the most important aspects of her Suzuki training.

Christmas Group Lesson

Christmas Group Lesson 2009

This was our first Christmas in our new home and group lessons were festive! This Mickey violinist was one of our object lessons. It is impossible to demonstrate in a picture but poor Mickey can't bow straight and my very smart students figured out quickly just why. His elbow doesn't bend! That's right, in order to bow straight our elbows (and all the other joints in our arm/hand/fingers for that matter) must bend. It is a huge technique issue and it was fun to have Mickey teach us just how important the flexibility of our joints are in violin!

Group Lessons on Deck

Welcome to my new studio! It is cute and cozy. Which makes it perfect for private violin lessons but a little cramped for group lessons. So, I have to get creative and this month our group lessons were out on the deck...

Cool, huh?!?

Our audience was the beautiful Utah mountains.

It's actually really fun to play outside. My students asked if we will be playing in the snow. Ha ha! We'll use my family room for the winter but as long as the weather is nice, we can enjoy the great outdoors!

Group Lessons

Twinkler "Bumper Pads"
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An important part of the Suzuki Method is group lessons which in my studio we hold each month. We practice various techniques in addition to playing the literature together. The "antennas" you see here are actually straws sticking up through their F-holes. I use these to help students with the creation of a nice straight bow close enough to the bridge for good tone quality. I thought this was a really cute picture!