Caroline, Annie Finish Suzuki Piano Book One

After about 17 months of piano lessons, Caroline(9) and Annie (7) are finishing book one of the Suzuki series! It has been a great experience for our whole family! What began as hours of peck, peck, pecking annoying rhythms such as "MI-SSI-SSI-PPI HOT-DOG" has metamorphasized into beautiful music echoing off the plaster walls and the hard-wood floors of our 1922 home. Caroline and Annie have both become good young pianists, playing songs such as Claire da Lune, and Musette. And Charlie...well Charlie always takes a bow with the girls after their lessons even though he hasn't begun playing yet.

What has been most exciting to me is the girls' continued enthusiasm for it. They don't seem to view practice as drudgery and they often sit down at the piano to try their hand at making up their own melodies. I have become a believer in the Suzuki method which emphasizes playing familiar songs by ear before learning music theory. This gives young children enough early success to keep them interested while gradually introducing the necessary skills of sight reading. And, the repetition required to master the songs progressively instills fingering mechanics. Of course, our instructor, Charlotte Garwood, has just the right balance of discipline and patience and genuinely enjoys teaching. This combination of method, instructor and emphasis on parental involvement seems to be working marvelously for Caroline and Annie. They are excited to discover what come next in book two!