Violin Unit 2 and Teaching Strategies

Suzuki Teacher Training at UNT

Violin Unit 2 & Teaching Strategies Prerequisites – all must be complete on your SAA profile before you can join the roster below: 
Active SAA Membership
ECC (or Filosofia) and Violin Unit 1 (or Viola Unit 1)Basic, Intermediate, or Comprehensive Audition

Suzuki Unit Two taken in conjunction with Teaching Strategies is an intensive, pedagogically focused course designed for teachers working with students transitioning into the intermediate stages of Suzuki study. Offered over eight days in conjunction with the student institute, the training provides approximately 23 instructional hours led by registered Suzuki Teacher Trainers and includes extensive observation of master teachers in action. The course explores in depth the teaching points and learning sequences for Book 2, with emphasis on developing expanded bowing techniques, sixteenth-note passages, varied articulations, early shifting skills, and the introduction of vibrato and tonalization. Throughout the training, instruction is firmly grounded in Suzuki philosophy, addressing how to nurture ability, maintain student motivation, and effectively engage parents at this critical stage of development. Building on the foundations of Every Child Can and Book 1 training, Unit 2 equips teachers with practical, adaptable strategies and a deeper musical understanding to confidently guide students through the technical and expressive demands of Suzuki Book 2.

Students Taking Teaching STrategies are required to Bring Video Recordings:

• Each participant brings 2 recordings of 6-10 minutes each. At least one of the recordings should be of an individual lesson. In some situations, longer lesson clips may be shown.
• If a participant is not currently teaching individual lessons, they need to contact the trainer to set up an alternative, such as teaching a student from the trainer’s studio, from another teacher’s studio, or teaching an Institute student.
• Recommended criteria
  • Student working on Suzuki repertoire, with the teacher actively teaching (i.e. more teaching than student just playing)
  • Student playing from memory
  • Student and teacher are in camera view, if possible, and parent is present
  • If Teaching Strategies is incorporated in a Unit 2 course, the repertoire in the recording should be from book 1.
• Participants may bring any recording they choose. Some possible options are those that:
  • Show challenging situations
  • Include a topic they are having trouble getting across
  • Best represent them as a teacher
  • Show a group class
  • Show an entire lesson (if time permits)