At the beginning of February, Abby started taking violin lessons at school.  It is an extracurricular activity offered through the school.  One half hour private lesson and one group lesson each week.

She is thrilled to be learning an instrument in a group setting, which was something that was missing from her piano lesson days.

During private lessons, she seems to be focusing very well because she wants to do well when she's plays in the group with her friends.  There are about 6 kindergarteners taking violin together and more seem to join every week!

For anyone with a Suzuki violin background you know the first few weeks are all about the Twinkle variations!  We have just endured a month of them and - you know what? - Abby is doing exceptionally well!  We are so proud of the progress she's made and she seems to have a real knack for it.  Her rhythms are good, her tone is actually very good, and when her posture is good, she plays really, really well.  She has an excellent memory so picking up fingerings and remembering the notes has been easy.
 






Abby plays a 1/4 size violin.  It's so tiny!  The violin does measure a little small on her, but apparently that's the preferred fit for a Suzuki method learner.  The bow is much, much longer than the violin and does not fit in the case.  Again, a preference for this music method. 



I learned Suzuki songs when I took piano lessons at 6 years old and I adore the music.  I never learned via the method, though, so it will be interesting to see how effective it is for Abby.  Nonetheless, I look forward to hearing all of my favorite pieces.

As for practicing at home, Abby doesn't mind daily practices at all.  It's a chore for me to interpret her teacher's private lesson notes regarding what Abby needs to work on, but once I get it Abby is very willing to practice.  We keep daily practices around 15 minutes right now (and we do skip days here and there), but I hope we can increase them to 30 minutes daily.