My Smilin' Violin was founded August 2001 with the goal of showing beginning students that music is a second language spoken through an instrument. These beginning classes were designed to accommodate every child with a desire to learn. Parents enjoyed the convenience of violin classes offered at their child's school location and schools enjoyed the ability to present the curricular option without the burden of direct administration.

Since 2001, My Smilin' Violin has expanded to several school locations while becoming a streamlined violin education system that nurtures children from enthusiastic toddler to accomplished young adult.

Teaching Philosophy

My Smilin’ Violin is a Suzuki repertoire violin program.

Through a nurturing environment, the Suzuki method strives to create "high ability" and beautiful character. The essential components of the method spring from the desire to create the "right environment" for learning music -- the most immediate environmental variable key to your understanding is the “practice partner”.

• To provide every opportunity for your child to succeed, a “practice partner” attends lessons to bridge the gap between lessons and practice.
• A “practice partner” can be your child’s mother or father, aunt or uncle, older brother or sister, etc.
• If attending lessons is not an option, please consider delaying enrollment until the 4th grade.
• To get an accurate picture of the possibilities we will be creating with your child, “Practice partners” are required to attend the “Every Child Can!” class.

Traditional Suzuki Method

More than forty years ago, Shin'ichi Suzuki realized the implications of the fact that children the world over learn to speak their native language with ease. He began to apply the basic principles of language acquisition to the learning of music, and called his method the mother-tongue approach. The ideas of parent responsibility, loving encouragement, constant repetition, etc., are some of the special features of the Suzuki approach.

Parent Involvement: As when a child learns to talk, parents are involved in the musical learning of their child. They attend lessons with the child and serve as "home teachers" during the week. One parent often learns to play before the child, so that s/he understands what the child is expected to do. Parents work with the teacher to create an enjoyable learning environment.

Early Beginning: The early years are crucial for developing mental processes and muscle coordination. Listening to music should begin at birth; formal training may begin at age three or four, but it is never too late to begin.

Listening: Children learn words after hearing them spoken hundreds of times by others. Listening to music every day is important, especially listening to pieces in the Suzuki repertoire so the child knows them immediately.

Repetition: Constant repetition is essential in learning to play an instrument. Children do not learn a word or piece of music and then discard it. They add it to their vocabulary or repertoire, gradually using it in new and more sophisticated ways.

Encouragement: As with language, the child’s effort to learn an instrument should be met with sincere praise and encouragement. Each child learns at his/her own rate, building on small steps so that each one can be mastered. Children are also encouraged to support each other’s efforts, fostering an attitude of generosity and cooperation.

Learning with Other Children: In addition to private lessons, children participate in regular group lessons and performance at which they learn from and are motivated by each other.

Graded Repertoire: Children do not practice exercises to learn to talk, but use language for its natural purpose of communication and self-expression. Pieces in the Suzuki repertoire are designed to present technical problems to be learned in the context of the music rather than through dry technical exercises.

Delayed Reading: Children learn to read after their ability to talk has been well established. in the same way, children should develop basic technical competence on their instruments before being taught to read music. The system works in such a way as to first encourage the absorbtion of pitch and rhythm and then teaches the technical elements of reading -- your children will learn to read, but they may learn to play first . . . depending on age.