Acadiana Suzuki Fiddles and Strings

Interested in lessons for you or a child of your's? Spring semester starts the week of Jan 8th. Message me about more info.

I also offer piano lessons!!

Piano lessons are available as well!

Been thinking about lessons for you or a child? Fall semester starts August 16th. There are a myriad of benefits gained from learning how to play a music instrument. And you're never too young or too old to learn.

Bored with playing or practicing? I wrote a poem with challenges. It's written for violin players but parts are adaptable for other instruments. Try it and have fun. Post a pic or a comment if you do.

Can You Play?

In the dark,
In the park,
While the dogs howl and bark?

On a dare,
Say a prayer,
Going up and down the stairs?

One leg stand,
Or one hand,
Over the sound of another band?

On your head,
Lying in bed,
While you say the color red?

Count to three,
In a tree,
On a down bow touch your knee

Do you find yourself or your child mentally disconnecting when practicing? Or maybe you are or your child is getting discouraged because there isn't any awareness of progress or you or your child just don't want to practice because it's become boring. If any of these scenarios fit your current view of practicing, the following post has some helpful strategies for improving focus, awareness of progress, and desire to practice.

Setting a goal for each practice session helps in fostering focus and awareness of completion and progress.
Try experimenting with known songs by:
Moving them around to different strings or keys or finger starts.
Saying the rhythm or the note names while playing the song.
Playing with eyes closed.
Balancing a small object, such as a coin or toy with a flat bottom on your right or left hand, head or shoulder, for piano students. String students, placing a bean bag or small stuffed animal on head, shoulder, or violin. Placing a marble near the bridge between the 2 lower strings, rolling it down and catching it in the scroll is a fun way to check posture position for violin and viola students.

Schedule a play through session. Playing is practicing and often helps a student realize their progress and improvement through the repertoire.

Working on a new technique or song is another goal for a practice session. For violin students, a new technique could be new bow sounds/articulation, dynamics, playing in a new key, or shifting and playing in a new position. For piano students that could mean hands together, dynamics, new keys that require playing on the sharp or flat keys or adding in the pedal.

And as mentioned in a previous post, listening is practice, so sometimes taking a break from the instrument and listening to the reference recording or a master musician playing the same instrument as you are or your child is learning can be both motivational and inspiring. It's important to remember that practicing doesn't have to be the same way or the same thing every time!

During times of social distancing and government required quarantine, music and other arts is a great way to navigate through the isolation. Practicing doesn't have to always be on the instrument. Listening is practice. Use this time to explore artists of different styles to inspire and motivate you. If the weather is amenable to playing outside and your instrument is portable, ie a stringed instrument, piano, drum kit etc...go outside and play or practice. Enjoy nature and sunshine and the calming effects of music.

As summer approaches and families start to travel, practicing usually falls off the schedule since most students think that they have to have their instrument to practice. Breaking news....listening is practice, especially if you do active listening, which is listening with a goal. The goal could be to figure out the song form, listen to identify different bowings, if you're a string player, or get familiar with the song and be able to sing along, if there are words, or hum the melody. A piano student can practice tapping right hand and left hand rhythm, individually or together. A string student can practice bow arm motion or left hand fi*****ng, by placing the instrument hand over the bow hand. Your hands also serve as staffs so practicing note identification is another form of practice. Bottom line, yes it's necessary to have practice time with your instrument, but in certain situations, that's not always possible so put on the song you're learning or any type of music, grab a ball and bounce it to the beat, or tap and clap along with your hands. Then when you're back in a regular routine/schedule it won't be a challenge to resume practicing with your instrument.

We do need professional artists of all expressions...but the following is important to remember.

This is true for all the art forms and expressions. It's important to foster this in children but in the Suzuki philosophy a common saying is "You're rarely too young, and never too old to Twinkle." So no matter what age you are, find something you enjoy or appeals to you and dabble, twinkle, and tinker away.

💖🎨🎭🎼