Suzuki Violin Book 1, Revised International Edition

The following report consists of three sections:

  1. A history of the book revision process,

  2. A description of the procedure for the compilation, editing, and publication of the revised editions for Books 1-5 and,

  3. A look forward at the upper books in the Suzuki Violin School.

History: 1950s through 1990s

Let’s begin with a brief history of the book revision process. Dr. Suzuki began compiling his materials, which later came to be called the Suzuki Violin School, from his earliest teaching days. He is often quoted as saying that Book 1 itself took 10 years. And every piece in the repertoire was “child-tested” before its final inclusion. If you are fortunate enough to have access to copies of the earliest Zen-On editions from the 1950s, you will see how the books evolved into what most teachers in the West have been using since the publication of the first international edition in the mid-1960s. There have been repertoire additions, deletions and editing through the years. Dr. Suzuki undertook a major revision to the books in 1964, but after meeting with quite a bit of resistance from the Japanese teachers, he postponed any changes at that time.

The first English language edition of the Suzuki materials was the “Listen and Play” series edited by John Kendall and first published in 1961 in the United States by Summy-Birchard. The accompanying LP’s were recorded by violinist Angel Reyes. Eventually an agreement was reached between Zen-On in Japan and Summy-Birchard, leading the way to the first international editions of the Suzuki Violin School printed in Japanese and English. The accompanying recordings were the Zen-On originals performed by Dr. Suzuki for Book 1-3, and Koji Toyoda for Books 4-8. Several years later, the international edition was revised to include translations in French, German and Spanish, necessitating smaller print and unfortunately, the exclusion of some text and exercises. New recordings appeared of Books 1-4 by David Cerone from Ability Development, and later by David Nadien from Summy-Birchard. Intermittently, new printings corrected some, but not all, obvious misprints in fingerings and bowings, especially in the upper books. Teachers were encouraged to select fingerings and bowings that reflected their particular teaching situations and the needs of a particular student. Even Dr. Suzuki played and taught various fingerings and bowings depending on his “new idea!” for that year.

In 1996, at the behest of Dr. Suzuki, Koji Toyoda presented a paper to the teachers in Japan on the necessity of revisions to the books. Prof. Toyoda’s main points addressed the issues of instrumental technique, musical knowledge and respect for the original score. Subsequently, under Dr. Suzuki’s directive, a committee of Japanese violin teachers, with Prof. Toyoda as its head, was formed by TERI (Talent Education Research Institute in Matsumoto) to consider these issues. The revised Book 1 was published by Zen-On in Japan in 1998, shortly after Dr. Suzuki’s death. Books 2 and 3 were published soon thereafter, prompting discussion about revisions to the international edition.

To be clear about this, Zen-On has the publishing rights to the Suzuki materials in Japan, and Summy-Birchard (now a division of Alfred Publishing) has the worldwide publishing rights outside Japan.

ISA by-laws, approved by Dr. Suzuki, state that there is to be only one international edition, and that revisions or new editions can be authorized only by the particular ISA instrument committee subject to ISA guidelines. There were now two editions of the Suzuki Violin School, which created the need to re-establish one international edition. As a result, the ISA Violin Committee was charged with reconciling the two editions and publishing a revised international edition.

Revision Procedure for Violin Books 1-5

ISA Violin Committee

The ISA Violin Committee is composed of five members, one representing each regional Suzuki association: Asian Suzuki Association (ASA), European Suzuki Association (ESA), Pan-Pacific Suzuki Association (PPSA), Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), and TERI. Each regional association has one vote. All matters for discussion are decided by majority vote.

The members of the ISA Violin Committee became Christophe Bossuat (ESA) as Chair, Kyung-Ik Hwang (ASA), Yasuki Nakamura (PPSA), Louise Behrend (SAA), and Fumiyo Kuramochi (TERI). Gilda Barston, then ISA Chair, was appointed the ISA Board liaison to the committee, and Paul Landefeld, ISA Executive Secretary, became an advisor to the committee. Both the liaison and the advisor are non-voting positions.

Books 1, 2, and 3

Discussions began in earnest on Book 1 in 2003. There were no changes to the repertoire in the revised Zen-On edition. The discussions were mainly about the added/revised text, the study points and suggested exercises. There was also intense deliberation about the use of the left-hand fourth finger beginning in the “Twinkles” and subsequent early repertoire, with no open string alternative offered. The new edition also contained a posture photographs, a glossary of musical terms, basic explanations of notation, finger charts and an illustration of the parts of the instrument.

It was decided that the international edition would carry only English, French, German and Spanish text as the Zen-On editions would continue to be sold in Japan. The translation of all the new material from the Japanese into the four other languages would prove to be daunting, as well as create problems in formatting. As we all know, Dr. Suzuki wrote in a particular style of Japanese, which is sometimes hard to understand even in its original version. The challenge was to retain the flavor of his writing while finding ways to express these important precepts in the various vernaculars. This work would continue right up to the eventual print deadline which stretched to the summer of 2007. There was also the issue of the photographs to be used to illustrate posture. The main idea agreed upon was that the pictures should be of children rather than of a teacher, as in the new Zen-On edition.

In March 2004, a meeting was scheduled in England for the ISA committee to decide on issues concerning Books 2 and 3. Louise Behrend asked Allen Lieb if he would go in her stead to represent the SAA committee for this meeting. There were major points of divergence in the repertoire between the revised Zen-On edition and the then-current international edition. Additionally, the Zen-On edition contained added exercises and text for harmonics, vibrato, scales and arpeggios, ornamentation, and the introduction of position studies. Prof. Toyoda and the TERI committee felt strongly about their research that had culminated in the revised Zen-On edition, and also felt a deep sense of loyalty to the wishes of Dr. Suzuki and the confidence he had placed in Prof. Toyoda to lead this project. There was vigorous debate over every issue, tempered by the dedication of each ISA committee member to the uniqueness of the Suzuki pedagogy, its heritage and its future.

At this meeting, William Preucil Jr. was selected as the recording artist for Books 1, 2 and 3. The recordings were completed in March 2005. Repertoire questions left for further discussion after the London meeting were finalized during an ISA committee conference call just prior to the recordings. In the middle of this procedure, Summy-Birchard, as a division of Warner Music Group, was sold to Alfred Publishing. Luckily for us, the main representative of the publisher for the Suzuki materials, Judi Bagnato, retained her position with the company. We are very much indebted to her cooperation and advocacy during this entire process.

It was also about this same time that Louise Behrend asked to step down from the SAA committee. The committee reluctantly agreed but asked her to remain on as ex-officio. Allen Lieb was appointed to be a full member of the SAA committee and voted as Chair by the committee during the 2006 SAA Conference.

Following the recording session of March 2005, there was a lull in editing the books awaiting the text translations from Japan and from the publisher, now Alfred. During this period, there was discussion concerning the new recordings. Neither the ISA committee nor the artist had been completely happy with the process or the results. After meeting with the SAA Violin Committee at the 2006 Conference on this issue, Judi Bagnato was able to arrange for a re-recording of the books from the publisher. Extensive review was accorded to the tempi, articulations, etc., prior to this second recording session. The piano accompaniment parts were thoroughly vetted by the ISA committee and compared to the newly re-revised Zen-On edition. Additionally, Alfred Publishing asked Doris Preucil to advise on the piano parts in light of her editing and recording the piano parts for the Suzuki Viola School. This second recording session for Books 1-3 was held in April 2007, and it is this recording that comprises the new CDs issued with the revised international edition.

The remaining editing of Books 1 and 2 took place by pdf files over the summer of 2007. Considering that the ISA committee must communicate across four continents, two hemispheres and many time zones, there was concern about the logistics of meeting the publisher’s deadline. And as a result, there were mistakes in the first printing of Books 1 and 2, which were published during early fall of 2007.

Book 4

In October 2007, the ISA committee reconvened to edit Book 4, using Prof. Toyoda’s text about to be published by Zen-On. The ISA wanted both Book 4 versions to be consistent before being published by Zen-On or Alfred. The ISA committee accomplished this task. The ISA committee voted to make no changes in the present repertoire of Book 4, but with the addition of the Bohm “Perpetual Motion”, which Dr. Suzuki had originally wanted to include but could not obtain copyright permission, and a dual score of both parts for the Bach Double. This book also includes suggested preparatory exercises for the Seitz Concerti and the Bach Double. There are several new fingering suggestions in the repertoire reflecting the earlier introduction of position work in Books 2 and 3. The committee decided to retain the Nachez edition of the Vivaldi Concerto for its pedagogical value.

A recording session for the Alfred edition of Book 4 was held in April 2008, with William Preucil as violinist and Linda Perry on piano. The revised edition of Book 4 was published in December 2008.

Corrections to Revised Books 1, 2, and 3

Also during the London 2007 meeting, the ISA committee completely reformatted the newly printed Books 1 and 2, and was then able to give a comprehensive final proof of Book 3 to the publisher prior to its going to print.

Both the ISA committee and the publisher want the best editions possible, and have worked diligently to make the corrections in the reprints of these volumes. A reprint of the Revised Books 1, 2, and 3 was completed and subsequently published in December 2008 by Alfred. The text translations underwent a comprehensive review by the regional associations affiliated with each language, in cooperation with the publisher who supplied the original translations. There was a tremendous effort on the part of all the ISA regional association violin committees to address issues in the first printing. Alfred was wise enough to limit the numbers of the first printings to allow for what they anticipated as needed corrections. We thank them for their foresight and continued assistance in publishing the best editions possible.

In the summer of 2009, there was a third printing of Book 1 with a revised illustration of the violin and bow reflecting ideas from all the ISA regional committees, and some further tweaking of the text and layout.

It is important to remember that the revisions are an on-going process, and discussion about these volumes will continue in subsequent ISA committee meetings.

You can distinguish the reprints from the first printing as follows:

  • Book 1 now has a picture of Dr. Suzuki following the Forward. The first printing has no picture. The third printing has a full side view of the bow.
  • Book 2 now has 36 pages. The first printing had 38 pages and a blank page 25. There are no blank pages in the reprint.
  • Book 3 now has revised text on Vibrato instead of bullet points (a., b., c.), and additional text in italics about ornamentation on page12 as differentiated from the first printing.

Misprints in Book 4

Please note two bowing misprints in the Practice Suggestions for the Bach Double Concerto on page 24 of the first printing:

  • vln. 2 (p. 27, mm. 40-41): The slur on the third beat in the first measure of the example should begin on the note D, not on the note E.
  • vln. 2 (p. 29, mm. 75-76): There should be no slur on the first beat of the first measure. The bowings in the corresponding main text of the Bach Double are correct.
  • vln. 2 (p. 29, mm. 76): The last note of the second beat should be a D not an E.

The second printing of Book 4 was issued in spring 2010. The reprint has corrected all errors in the first printing of Volume 4.

Piano Accompaniments for Books 1-4

The revised Piano Accompaniment books for Books 1, 2, and 3 were published in December 2008 and Book 4 in March 2009.

Book 5

Work on Book 5 by the ISA Violin Committee began at its meeting in Reykjavik in October 2008. The ISA Board had directed that each regional association bring its own proposal for this volume (and for each succeeding volume) without a previous model from TERI. Each regional association’s proposal would be examined on its own merits, and a consensus of the ISA committee would determine the distillation of the best material to be included. There are no changes to the repertoire in Book 5, but there are some changes in fingerings and bowings to reflect more current performance practice and pedagogy. There are some addition technical exercises including three octave G Major and G Minor scales and arpeggios. William Preucil recorded the revised edition with Linda Perry in May 2009. Volume 5 was published in December 2009. The piano accompaniment book is due by summer 2010.

Future Revisions: Books 6, 7, and 8

Preliminary discussions on revisions to Volumes 6-8 by the ISA committee began during the International Teacher-Trainers Conference in Boston in October 2009. Essentially, the current repertoire in Books 6-8 will remain intact. There are two important changes to take place, however. There will be editing to the fingerings and bowings of the Handel Sonatas, the Bach A Minor Concerto, and possibly the Eccles and Veracini Sonatas. Additionally, a list of selected corollary pieces appropriate for Volumes 6, 7 and 8 will be published in each volume, with recommended editions and a brief description of technical merit. This is currently scheduled as a two-year project.

The book revisions continue to be an extremely exciting and productive process for the Suzuki movement as a whole. This process examines important issues that go to the very core of our teaching philosophy, and so we are understandably sensitive about them. We have the tremendous advantage, however, of starting from a position of strength in our professionalism, and unity in our ideals and goals. Our first challenge is to incorporate the revised notes and bowings in the first four volumes. We all understand there may be some general confusion during this transitional phase, but students are often much more resilient is these situations than we adults. Like many “previews” in the repertoire, this will take a little extra patience, practice and review.

The ISA comprises literally thousands of teachers across six continents who function as a coherent group and actually like each other! We have had issues in our past that led to acrimony and tension. We realized that we did not function well as an association under these conditions, and that any successful process needs time, thought, inclusion and re-evaluation—in essence, the same qualities that inform all good teaching. The Kreisler Highway can have many lanes, and take us in many directions. What better tribute can we pay to Dr. Suzuki’s legacy than to continue his pursuit of excellence in all aspects of our teaching, including the repertoire, and to honor his spirit of constantly seeking the better way for students and parents around the world.