I love the Suzuki method and truly believe it is one of the best ways to learn how to play the violin. However, one of the drawbacks of the method is that it can be extremely difficult to learn without a teacher. This is one of the primary reasons why I created my online Suzuki violin courses. In this post, I'll share the important skills you are learning or reviewing in each piece in Suzuki Book 1.

Twinkle Variations

• Parts of the instrument

• General instrument care

• How to unpack

• Proper bow hold

• Left hand posture and set up

• Bowing from the elbow

• Bowing on open E and open A

• Placing fingers 1, 2, and 3 down on E and A strings

• String crossings

• Going from open E to D 

• Pleasing tone 

• Twinkle rhythms (saying, clapping, playing)

• A Major Scale

Lightly Row:

• Smooth bowing 

• Expanding the use of the bow

• String crossings

• Recognizing scales and arpeggios

• Recognizing repeated notes

Song of the Wind:

• Staccato

• Leaving one finger down while placing another (m. 3, 5)

• Hopping the finger to play perfect fifths (m. 3, 5)

• Retake

Go Tell Aunt Rhody:

• Use of the whole bow

• Smooth bowing

• Moving the thumb inside the bow

• Fast string crossing between E and D

O Come Little Children

• Starting an ending each phrase in the middle of the bow

• Starting and ending each phrase up bow

• String crossings (using more wrist rather than whole arm)

May Song

• Dotted quarter eighth rhythm

• String crossings

• Dynamics (to play piano, just use less bow)

• Keeping the first finger down while playing 3rd finger (m. 2, 10)

Long Long Ago

• Smooth bowing

• Dynamics

• Retaking the bow and landing on a different string (m. 8-9)

Allegro

• Martele bowing (quarter notes)

• Quick finger motion

• Retaking the bow and landing on a different string

• Ritardando

• Faster playing

• Fermata

Perpetual Motion

• Using the fourth finger

• Staccato

• Memory

• Endurance

• Detache (in the doubles)

Allegretto

• Playing on the D string

• Short short long bowing (throughout)

• Playing on the G string

Andantino

• Accents

• Unprepared fourth finger (m. 11)

• Ritardando

• Fermata

• Piano as melody

Etude

• G Major finger pattern

• Low second finger

• G Major Scale

• String crossings

• Staccato

• Memory

• Endurance

Minuet 1

• Up bow staccato

• Leaving third finger down while placing 4th finger on higher string (m. 5-6, 13-14, 21-22)

• Dynamics

• Key change within a piece

• Changing placement of 2nd finger within a piece

Minuet 2

• String crossings (wrist motion)

• String crossing skipping a string

• Up bow staccato

• Hopping the finger to play a perfect 5th (m. 6-7)

• Triplet

• Slurs

• High 3rd finger

• Slur with a string crossing

• Dynamics

Minuet 3

• Up bow staccato

• Slurs

• Slurs with string crossings

• Planting the seed of the trill (m. 8)

• Unprepared 4th finger (m. 17)

• Changing keys within a piece

• Changing placement of 2nd finger within a piece

• Dynamics

Happy Farmer

• Starting and ending each phrase in the middle of the bow

• Starting and ending each phrase up bow

• Bow division

• Slurs

• Slurs with stops in them (m. 1)

Gavotte

• Staccato

• Octaves

• String crossing that skips a string

• Grace notes

• High 3rd fingers

• Broken thirds

• Dynamics

• Endurance

• Four note slurs

• Left hand moving fast, right hand moving slow (m. 20)

• Rapidly changing the position of the 2nd finger (m. 20)

• Pizzicato