So you have decided to learn... what next?
After contacting the teacher you may be a little confused as to where to from here.
First thing is to set up the first lesson. Here you can ask the teacher all sorts of questions. The other important component of that first lesson is for everyone to meet each other. The Suzuki triangle of parent, child and teacher is an extremely valuable bond. In many cases this bond lasts for years and goes beyond the music lessons!
For my classes you will need:
A stereo/ipod/mp3 player
An instrument
A notebook
Pencil
The CD is the most important component. It should be played EVERY day. Remember parents will tire of it faster than children. You can play it firs thing in the morning, over afternoon tea, play as they drift to sleep, in the background while playing games etc
An instrument. Talk to your teacher about how to size correctly. They may also have an instrument you can use. If not they will have a number of ways to source an instrument.
Music books. For the player the Suzuki book is not essential. For the parents the books are a very helpful tool.
Many accessories will come up as options to use. Talk to your teacher as to how useful they are. Things like metronomes and tuners, shoulder rests, practice books, music stands, vibrato cards etc are used by different people at different times. Each student is different and every teacher has a preference.
The most important thing is to make learning of value. Cherish the time you have together and celebrate positively.
Some very helpful people post ideas on Pinterest. Here are some of the ones I have collected Follow Hannah's board Violin teaching on Pinterest.
