Road to Twinkle

You’ve just signed your child up for violin lessons, how exciting! It brings me so much joy to welcome new students and families to my studio and help children discover their musical potential. You might be wondering what you can expect from private lessons, especially if your child is a young beginner. 

My general studio policies are outlined here, but more specifically, what should the parent of a young beginner know about what we will be covering in the beginning lessons? Do we start right away with Suzuki Book 1? How do I teach a brand new beginner?

It’s important to know that learning any instrument, whether it’s violin, piano, guitar, etc., isn’t a race, and is an ongoing, life-long process, no matter how quickly a student learns. I never compare the progress of one student to another, and insist on taking however long it takes to master the foundational techniques needed to move on to the next level of playing. 

There’s so much to cover in the first year of lessons. In my experience, I’d argue there’s no other time in a student’s progress where there is quite so much to cover as in the beginning, simply because everything is new, and because I know a student’s ability to execute more advanced skills on the violin depends so heavily on the foundations we set. If I don’t get a new student set up well, I know they will inevitably hit a wall and may feel so overwhelmed that they feel the only option they have is to quit. It’s a lot to ask of a beginner, especially a young beginner! My job is to make learning the violin manageable, and to work with the families of young beginners to make lessons and practice time enjoyable, engaging, and productive. 

What does “Pre-Twinkle” mean? What is the significance of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?

I teach the Suzuki method in my studio, which means that we learn Suzuki repertoire in our lessons. The first piece students learn in book one are the Twinkle Variations, a series of five rhythmic variations on the familiar tune “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and the theme itself. If you think about it, the first piece is more like six pieces in one, since it has five rhythmic variations, plus the actual tune. That’s a considerable undertaking for the first song in the book, and is a monumental accomplishment for a young violinist. That’s not even mentioning the required knowledge of the instrument, pitch, rhythm, posturing of the instrument, bow hold, among many other skills, that are needed to play even just one note on the violin. 

That’s why Suzuki teachers often have a “Pre-Twinkle” curriculum to get students started and ready for the Twinkle Variations.

Suzuki repertoire is known for being very structured; Suzuki teachers introduce new concepts and skills in a series of systematically selected repertoire. The “Pre-Twinkle” phase is not quite as set, but is guided by a few key factors, which all serve to get students prepared for taking on the Twinkle Variations.

Here’s a checklist I like to use as a rubric in my mind to help me determine if a student is ready for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This more or less goes in order of how I introduce each skill:

• Do they know which hand is for holding the bow (right hand), and which hand is for holding the violin (left hand)?
• Can they name all the parts of their instrument (check out the This is My Violin song to help with this! It’s also the same tune as Lightly Row, the second piece in the book, so singing along is a great way to learn the names of the different parts of the instrument, and train the ear!)
• Can they hold their violin and bow in rest position (check out the Rest Position Song here- same tune as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!)
• How well can they hold their bow
  • After singing Up Like a Rocket?
  • While “airbowing” the Twinkle rhythms?
  • With the bow on the E and A strings?
• Can they hold their violin in playing position, properly over the shoulder, and with the weight of their head supporting the instrument (not the hand!)
• Can they clap and identify all 5 Twinkle rhythms? I give each rhythm a silly “name” to help students learn these, which syllabically line up with the rhythm:
  • Mississippi Stop Stop
  • Ice Cream Shh! Cone
  • Down Pony Up Pony
  • Strawberry Blueberry
  • Mississippi is a River
• Can they play all 5 of these rhythms on the E string and A string, in between the tapes of their bow?
• Do they understand how their left hand interacts with the violin? (I draw X’s and dots to help students see where their hand should touch the side of the fingerboard)
• Can they play the “Pizzicato” song? (pizzacato means plucking the strings, which students should be able to do with their pinky when their left hand is properly set up)
• Can they name the pitches of their first, second, and third fingers on the A and E string?
• Can they play the Pickle Song and Monkey Song? (stay tuned for a singalong video for these two songs!)
• Do they listen to the Suzuki reference recording everyday? If I play one of the songs from book 1, are they able to correctly identify which song it is, just by hearing it?
• Do they have a consistent practice routine at home, and work on weekly goals everyday?

Believe it or not, this checklist isn’t complete, there are many nuances of introducing violin skills that are unique to each student (and lots of fun ways to do this- with charts, prizes, and games!) These skills are the minimum requirements needed for me to consider getting a student started on the Twinkle Variations. If they can’t pass these expectations at this stage, it will only get harder to catch up!

I often joke that I can be a “mean” or “picky” violin teacher, and I think I can especially be that way with my new beginners! Of course, I never uphold standards to truly be “mean,” but I do hold students to a high standard because I know just how challenging Suzuki repertoire can be, and it’s my job as a teacher to prepare them to rise to the occasion. That’s why we as teachers and parents have to have relentless compassion for students who persevere down the road to Twinkle. We can help them on this journey by establishing clear technical expectations, implementing daily and consistent practice routines, and honoring whatever pace they require to achieve mastery of foundational technique.