Barbara Irene Bennett

15 May 2019

My Reflections on the Recent

Suzuki Book 2 Teacher Training at
Greenhills Music Studio
Four months had passed since our Book 1 Teacher Training and when it was time to go
back to GMS for Book 2, I was still not done with all the requirements. Nevertheless, Mrs. A was
understanding enough to allow me to continue the training.

A large portion of the one-week training was spent reviewing Book 1. First, we were given
several updates with regards to the Pre-Twinkle routine. Since she is currently teaching a 3-year
old who has her own set of unique problems, Mrs. A was able to devise new technique exercises
(Dipping Dots and Finger Movement in the Air) that would help speed up the process of learning
Twinkle A. I liked that Mrs. A wrote it down step by step, as well as the order of what to teach in
Book 1 so there’s not a lot of room for guessing when it comes to teaching. In the future, I would
like to come to that point where I’m able to seamlessly come up with techniques for each piece so
that it does not become such a hard process for kids. But I know this would only come with years
of experience.

Mrs. A dived right into the teaching points for Book 2 during the first day. However it took
me awhile to really grasp some of the articulations because I had been practicing the pieces in a
different way, so some things were already ingrained. It is true that it is such a big leap from Book
1 to Book 2. Repertoire-wise, approaches, technical and musical points are more demanding. As
we analysed and practiced the teaching points of Book 2, my only wish was that I was trained in
this method from since I was a kid!

REFLECTIONS ON SUZUKI BOOK 2 TEACHER TRAINING !1

 It was a treat to have Ms. Mariel Illusorio as a classmate. She had so many questions and
queries which gave room for a lot of discussion not limited to the Suzuki method, but in running
a private piano studio in general. As usual, Mrs. A had a lot of advice and experiences to share
and it was truly a blessing to learn from her expertise.

I immensely enjoyed the sections of the training that discussed how to teach reading. The
process is student-centred and was so natural, easy and enjoyable. I don’t know why many
teachers are still stuck with the traditional ways of teaching reading! But I guess it is because the
Suzuki way of learning to read requires more work for the teacher to prepare so many varied
materials. For me, the real challenge would be to apply it in an online setting so that my students
can have equal opportunities like those of other children who physically see their teacher in the
flesh.

The highlight of the week for me was to be able to show a video of my student in class and
have them give their feedback. It was nice to know, based on their reactions, that I can teach
these concepts. It gave me some sort of a ‘barometer reading’ as to whether I am an effective
teacher or not.

Another treat was to observe Mrs. A give lessons. This is when we see the concepts in
action. I learned SO MUCH just from observing and watching how she works with the children
and how she finds solutions when a student is struggling on a technical or musical point.

At the end of the week, Mrs. A gave each student the opportunity to have a personal lesson
with her where we would go through choice pieces in Book 1 and 2 (mostly exam pieces which
has the most technical difficulty.)

I’m so excited to apply all these things in my teaching. The concepts I’ve learned has not
only helped me become a better teacher but become a better pianist as well. I hope that time will
come when I can also train others!

REFLECTIONS ON SUZUKI BOOK 2 TEACHER TRAINING !2