Dr. D's Three Teaching Approaches
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FiddleQuest.com, an innovative web app for learning violin which aims to equip students to play music socially for a lifetime by prioritizing one's ability to learn tunes by ear with ease. FiddleQuest is a like a music playground.
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The Suzuki Method for Violin Units 1-5 in conjunction with Kerstin Wartberg's Step By Step Books (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3b) and Recital Training Books 1 and 2. This approach also prioritizes ear training, but segues into sheet music reading. Suzuki and Kerstin Wartberg materials help students learn classical music techniques and etiquette which is similar to how we learn English grammar for formal environments after we gain fluency as conversationalists.
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Traditional classical solo repertoire, etudes, chamber music, and orchestral music with a high emphasis on note reading skills
Dr. D enjoys integrating each of these approaches according to each student's personal goals
NON-CLASSICAL MUSIC CURRICULUM
For non classical music styles, I recommend my students subscribe to FiddleQuest.com and choose me as their teacher upon registration. If Suzuki, Wartberg, Sassmannshaus methods teach “high-class” etiquette and rules for studying and performing classical music, FiddleQuest.com is a musical playground where students learn tunes without rules and they can explore learning tunes in a spirit of play more similar to how we first learn to speak as infants. Just think about it, we don’t ask a baby to say please and thank you before they learn to make basic sounds and then basic words and phrases. Sentences and formalities come later. Because students learn violin at an age where they are able to speak in conversation, read out loud or silently, and write, this informs my fluid approach to supporting each of these skills in music lessons. However, I feel strongly that the most important priority should be helping students make music conversationally so to speak. This means they can play extemporaneously by ear without sheet music and they also play music socially. Playing music “academically” has its place as does advanced scholarship for completing undergraduate, masters, or doctoral degrees. But I think its fair to say joy comes from our social lives. Work and academic achievements can feel frivolous in a vacuum without social connections. We are firstly social beings made for connection, and spontaneous conversation skills are essential for our social interactions.
*I highly recommend purchasing a high-quality audio bluetooth speaker like the Bose Sound Link for practicing with FiddleQuest recordings as well as recordings included in the classical materials listed below.
CLASSICAL MUSIC CURRICULUM
According to their level, I highly recommend for my students to purchase the following books:
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1: Violin Part (Book & CD) Paperback – July 1, 2020
and
Kerstin Wartberg Step By Step Book 1a
Kerstin Wartberg Step By Step Book 1b
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Suzuki Violin School, Volume 2: Violin Part (Book & CD)
and
Kerstin Wartberg Step By Step Book 2a
Kerstin Wartberg Step By Step Book 2b
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Suzuki Violin School, Volume 3: Violin Part (Book & CD)
and
Kerstin Wartberg Step By Step Book 3a
Kerstin Wartberg Step By Step Book 3b
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Alfred Suzuki Violin School Violin Part & CD Volume 4
and
Kerstin Wartberg Recital Training Book 1
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Suzuki Violin School, Vol 5: Violin Part, Book & CD International Edition
and
Kerstin Wartberg Recital Training Book 2
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Another option is to buy all the Suzuki Books 1-8 and CDs in a bundle.
Suzuki Viol in School Volumes Set (8 Books with CD) - Volume 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
I recommend this for parents who read music and would like to listen to repertoire from Volume's 1-8 while watching the violin sheet music score.
ADDITIONAL KERSTIN WARTBERG BOOKS with RECORDINGS
Kerstin Wartberg My First Technique Book
Kerstin Wartberg My Second Technique BookKerstin Wartberg Enjoying Violin Technique
Kerstin Wartberg My First Note Reading Book
The Suzuki and Wartberg books provide the curriculum for developing a robust and expressive foundation in classical music. Both Suzuki and Wartberg materials encourage the classical music student to priorities ear training skills over note reading skills. It’s not that note reading skills are unimportant, but rather note reading skills are best learned after ear training skills have be established. This is after all how we learn our native speaking language—aural skills are primary and reading and writing skills are secondary.
For note reading, I recommend my students purchase the following books according to their level:
Sassmannshaus Early Start on the Violin Book 1
Sassmannshaus Early Start on the Violin Book 2
Sassmannshaus Early Start on the Violin Book 3
Sassmannshaus Early Start on the Violin Book 4
Sassmannshaus Violin Recital Album Volume 1
Sassmannshaus Violin Recital Album Volume 2
(Both Volumes include a solo part, violin accompaniment part, and piano accompaniment part)
ADDITIONAL BOOKS
Evelyn Avsharian Books for note reading, musicianship, and technique
Barbara Barber Books for scales, solo repertoire, and technique
Bornoff Patterns in Positions for Violin
Bornoff Patterns in Melody for Violin - Book 1
Bornoff Patterns in Melody for Violin - Book 2
For classical technique, I recommend my students bookmark violinmasterclass.com where they can watch gold standard violin technique tutorials and demonstrations.
Below please find an index of pieces in the Suzuki Books 1-5 and an index of tunes found through the FiddleQuest dynamic web app.
Suzuki Violin Repertoire
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1
* No. 1 Twinkle - Variations and Theme / Shinichi Suzuki
* No. 2 Lightly Row
* No. 3 Song of the Wind
* No. 4 Go Tell Aunt Rhody
* No. 5 O Come, Little Children
* No. 6 May Song
* No. 7 Long, Long Ago / Thomas Haynes Bayly
* No. 8 Allegro / Shinichi Suzuki
* No. 9 Perpetual Motion / Shinichi Suzuki
* No. 10 Allegretto / Shinichi Suzuki
* No. 11 Andantino / Shinichi Suzuki
* No. 12 Etude / Shinichi Suzuki
* No. 13 Minuet 1 / Johann Sebastian Bach
* No. 14 Minuet 2 / Johann Sebastian Bach
* No. 15 Minuet 3 / Johann Sebastian Bach
* No. 16 The Happy Farmer / Robert Schumann
* No. 17 Gavotte / François-Joseph Gossec
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 2
* No. 1 Chorus from Judas Maccabaeus / Georg Friedrich Händel
* No. 2 Musette / Johann Sebastian Bach
* No. 3 Hunter's Chorus / Carl Maria von Weber
* No. 4 Long, Long Ago and Variation / Thomas Haynes Bayly
* No. 5 Waltz / Johannes Brahms
* No. 6 Bourrée / Georg Friedrich Händel
* No. 7 The Two Grenadiers / Robert Schumann
* No. 8 Theme from Witches' Dance / Niccolò Paganini
* No. 9 Gavotte from Mignon / Ambroise Thomas
* No. 10 Gavotte / Jean-Baptiste Lully / Marin Marais
* No. 11 Minuet in G / Ludwig van Beethoven
* No. 12 Minuet / Luigi Boccherini
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 3
* No. 1 Gavotte / Giovanni Battista Martini
* No. 2 Minuet / Johann Sebastian Bach
* No. 3 Gavotte in G Minor / Johann Sebastian Bach
* No. 4 Humoresque / Antonín Dvořák
* No. 5 Gavotte / Jean Becker
* No. 6 Gavotte in D Major / Johann Sebastian Bach
* No. 7 Bourrée / Johann Sebastian Bach
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 4
* No. 1 Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13, 3rd Mvt / Friedrich Seitz
* No. 2 Concerto No. 5 in D Major, Op. 22, 1st Mvt / Friedrich Seitz
* No. 3 Concerto No. 5 in D Major, Op. 22, 3rd Mvt / Friedrich Seitz
* No. 4 Concerto in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6, 1st Mvt / Antonio Vivaldi
* No. 5 Concerto in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6, 3rd Mvt / Antonio Vivaldi
* No. 6 Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043, 1st Mvt, Vl 2 / Johann Sebastian Bach
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 5
* Gavotte I and II from Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Concerto in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6, 2nd Mvt / Antonio Vivaldi
* Concerto in G Minor, Op. 12, No. 1, 1st Mvt, Allegro / Antonio Vivaldi
* Concerto in G Minor, Op. 12, No. 1, 2nd Mvt, Adagio / Antonio Vivaldi
* Concerto in G Minor, Op. 12, No. 1, 3rd Mvt, Allegro / Antonio Vivaldi
* Country Dance / Carl Maria von Weber
* German Dance / Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf
* Gigue from Sonata in D minor, Op. 2, No. 7 / Francesco Maria Veracini
* Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043, 1st Mov. Vl 1 / Johann Sebastian Bach
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 6
* La Folia / Arcangelo Corelli
* Sonata No. 3, 1st Mvt, Adagio / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 3, 2nd Mvt, Allegro / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 3, 3rd Mvt, Largo / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 3, 4th Mvt, Allegro / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Allegro / Joseph-Hector Fiocco
* Gavotte / Jean-Philippe Rameau
* Sonata No. 4, 1st Mvt, Affettuoso / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 4, 2nd Mvt, Allegro / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 4, 3rd Mvt, Larghetto / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 4, 4th Mvt, Allegro / Georg Friedrich Händel
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 7
* Minuet / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* Courante / Arcangelo Corelli
* Sonata No. 1, 1st Mvt, Andante / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 1, 2nd Mvt, Allegro / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 1, 3rd Mvt, Adagio / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Sonata No. 1, 4th Mvt, Allegro / Georg Friedrich Händel
* Concerto No. 1, 1st Mvt / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Concerto No. 1, 2nd Mvt / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Concerto No. 1, 3rd Mvt / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Gigue / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Courante / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Allegro / Arcangelo Corelli
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 8
* Sonata in G Minor, 1st Mvt / Henry Eccles
* Sonata in G Minor, 2nd Mvt / Henry Eccles
* Sonata in G Minor, 3rd Mvt / Henry Eccles
* Sonata in G Minor, 4th Mvt / Henry Eccles
* Tambourin / André Ernest Grétry
* Largo / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Allegro / Johann Sebastian Bach
* Largo Espressivo / Gaetano Pugnani
* Sonata in E Minor, 1st Mvt / Francesco Maria Veracini
* Sonata in E Minor, 2nd Mvt / Francesco Maria Veracini
* Sonata in E Minor, 3rd Mvt / Francesco Maria Veracini
* Sonata in E Minor, 4th Mvt / Francesco Maria Veracini
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 9
* Concerto No. 5 in A Major, 1st Mvt / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* Concerto No. 5 in A Major, 2nd Mvt / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* Concerto No. 5 in A Major, 3rd Mvt / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Suzuki Violin School, Volume 10
* Concerto for violin in D Major, 1st Mvt / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* Concerto for violin in D Major, 2nd Mvt / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* Concerto for violin in D Major, 3rd Mvt / Wolfgang Amadeus MozartFiddleQuest Songs and Pieces
FiddleQuest.com Core Curriculum
Level 1
1-1 Blueberry Jam
1-2 Are You Sleeping? (Level 1)
1-3 It's Raining Medley
1-4 Stanley's Jig
1-5 Little Liza Jane (Level 1)
1-68 Bows of Rainbows
1-7 Rubber Dolly (Level 1)
1-8 In The Jungle (Level 1)
1-9 Mississippi Hot Dog
1-10 February Birthday
1-11 Run Puppy
1-12 Jump Stanley
Level 2
2-1 First Finger Song
2-2 The One-Two Step
2-3 Are You Sleeping? (Level 2)
2-4 Walking Up and Down The Stairs
2-5 In the Jungle (Level 2)
2-6 Boil 'em Cabbage Down
2-7 Mary Had A Little Lamb
2-8 D Major Scale (Level 2)
2-9 Twinkle
2-10 Lavender's Blue
2-11 Row Your Boat
2-12 Eight Bows of Arpeggios
Level 3
3-1 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
3-2 When The Saints Go Marching In
3-3 Rubber Dolly
3-4 Little Liza Jane
3-5 The Britches Full of Stitches
3-6 The Crawdad Hole
3-7 The Fox
3-8 Cripple Creek
3-9 You Are My Sunshine
3-10 In the Jungle
3-11 Halls Liten Vals
3-12 Octopus's Garden
Level 4
4-1 Arran Boat Song
4-2 Amazing Grace
4-3 Folsom Prison Blues
4-4 Angeline the Baker
4-5 Old Joe Clark
4-6 Soldier's Joy
4-7 Bonaparte's Retreat
4-8 Kerfunken Jig
4-9 Swallowtail Jig
4-10 The Road to Lisdoonvarna
4-11 Red Haired Boy
4-12 Knocking Polka
Level 5
5-1 Lochaber Badger
5-2 Corrina, Corrina
5-3 Pig Ankle Rag
5-4 Tam Lin
5-5 Fisher's Hornpipe
5-6 The Wind That Shakes The Barley
5-7 Ashokan Farewell
5-8 Through the Gates
5-9 Drowsy Maggie
5-10 Red Prairie Dawn
5-11 Return From Helsinki
5-12 Disconnect
Level 6
6-1 Old Chattanooga
6-2 The Big Sciota
6-3 Valley of the Moon Reel
6-4 Farewell To Ireland
6-5 On the Wings of a Scorie
6-6 La Vie En Rose
6-7S weet Georgia Brown
6-8 Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - Bach
6-9 Teppo's Waltz
6-10 Stan Chapman's Jig
6-11 Coleraine
6-12 Wooden Whale
Level 7
7-1Connaughtman's Rambles
7-2The Old Favourite
7-3Silver Spear
7-4Blues in the Garage
7-5New Five Cents
7-6Twin Sisters
7-7Muineira Vilanova
7-8Fox (Galicia)
7-9Halls Lilla Vals
7-10Polska Fran Overmark
7-11Take Five
7-12Tipsy Gypsy
Level 8
8-1Highlander's Farewell
8-2Jenny Dang The Weaver
8-3Catharsis
8-4Tornlund
8-5Polska efter August Nyholm
8-6Bucking Done
8-7Coon Dog
8-8Vivian Williams Waltz
8-9Reel de Roberval
8-10La Grande Gigue Simple
8-11East Tennessee Blues
8-12Forked Deer
Level 9
9-1 All of Me
9-2 Blue Monk
9-3 Gravel Walks
9-4 Musical Priest
9-5 The Banshee
9-6 Maiden's Prayer
9-7 Back Up and Push
9-8 Eilidh's Trip in Germany
9-9 The High Drive
9-10 Samothrakitikosballos
9-11 Jokijenkka
9-12 Festivals
Level 10
10-1 Pirttikosken Polkka
10-2 Brilliancy
10-3 Meditation from Thais - Massenet
10-4 Bistro Fada
10-5 Cotton Patch Rag
10-6 Cello Suite No 1 in G Major, Prelude - Bach
10-7 Orange Blossom Special
10-8 Mississippi Waltz
FiddleQuest.com Bonus Songs
Level 1 Bonus Songs
Aikendrum (Level 1)
Amazing Grace (Level 1)
Arran Boat Song (Level 1)
Boil 'Em Cabbage Down (Level 1)
Camptown Races (Level 1)
Canon (Level 1)
Folsom Prison Blues (Level 1)
Lavender's Blue (Level 1)
Mary Had A Little Lamb (Level 1)
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Level 1)
The Crawdad Hole (Level 1)
You Are My Sunshine (Level 1)
Level 2 Bonus Songs
Aikendrum
Angeline The Baker (Level 2)
Canon (Level 2)
Cripple Creek (Level 2)
Hokey Pokey
Lightly Row
London Bridge
My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean
Puff the Magic Dragon
Shuffle on the One
Styrmanschottis
Two Steps Up
Wake Up!
Level 3 Bonus Songs
A Carolina
Camptown Races
Canon (Level 3)
Froggy Went A Courtin'
Go Tell Aunt Rhody
I'll Fly Away
Lazy John
Long, Long Ago
May Song
My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean
Oh How Lovely Is The Evening
Oh, Susannah
Old Dan Tucker
Puff the Magic Dragon
Shenendoah
Song of the Wind
The Piper's Wierd
The Skye Boat Song
The Yellow Submarine
Level 4 Bonus Songs
After The Battle of Aughrim
Bach Minuet No. 1
Canon (Level 4)
Crested Hens
Down in the Valley
Edelweiss
Five Foot Two
Happy Birthday
Hia Hia Svardotter
Josefin's Waltz
La Fee Des Dents (The Tooth Fairy Jig)
Mairi's Wedding
Make You Feel My Love
Mamma Mia
Skepparschottis
Swing Low Medley
The Boy's Lament for his Dragon
The House of the Rising Sun
The Water is Wide
Wayfaring Stranger
Level 5 Bonus Songs
A Million Dreams
Bach Minuet No. 2
Bach Minuet No. 3
Bill Malley's Barndance
Canon (Level 5)
Danny Boy
Florida Blues
Gavotte
Groddapolskan
He's a Pirate
Hia Hia Svarmor
Miss Elizabeth Garland
Over The Rainbow
Pasodoble de San Roque
Salt Spring
Sand
Tennessee Waltz
The Dog and the Rabbit
The Happy Farmer
Turkey in the Straw
Level 6 Bonus Songs
Ain't Misbehavin'
Andante - Gluck
Ave Maria - Schubert
Blackberry Blossom
Bruremarsj Fra Lom
Bundle and Go Set
Canadian Waltz
Canon (Level 6)
Eleanor Rigby
Fairy Dance / Devil's Dream
Follingepolska
Fox Hunter's Reel
Georgia On My Mind
Harvest Home
Irish Washerwoman
Jig Runrig
Kusen
Loch Earn
Maid on the Green
Rolling Waves
Sound of Silence Medley
Spootiskerry
Summertime
That Would Be Enough (from Hamilton)
Level 7 Bonus Songs
Barrowburn Reel
Bony Crossing the Alps/The Maids of Clare
Canon (Level 7)
Cuckoo's Nest
Firework
Foliada de Monoforte
Happy Hollow
Hommage à André Alain - Issoudun
Polska efter Kristian Oscarsson
Polska efter Ljuder-Anders
Rustem
The Hole in the Hedge / Seamus Cooley's Jig
The Lark's March
The Lark's March Medley
Level 8 Bonus Songs
Black Eyed Susie
Canon (Level 8)
Fanfare Miro
Flying Home to Shelley
Johnny Wilmot's Fiddle
Julie Delaney's
Life Is All Checkered
Lost in the Loop
MacArthur Road
Polonessa Spoof
Rabbit Under A Collard Leaf
Take Me Back to Georgia
Tennessee Quick Cash
The Bachelor-The Flogging Reel
The Swan - Saint-Saëns
Two Wooden Nickels
Level 9 Bonus Songs
Bach Partita No 1 in Bm, Double
Big Mon
Bill McEvoy's
Chandelier
Concerto in A minor, Largo - Vivaldi
Crossing the Minch
Goodbye Girls I'm Going To Boston
Kashmir
Ornithology
Reel Carnaval
Test Taker
The Blackberry Blossom
The Cocktail
The Devil in the Kitchen
The Fairest Rose
The Heights of Muingbhathá Medley
The Lament for O'Donnell Medley
Trip to Dingle
Up Da Stroods
Wheel Hoss
Level 10 Bonus Songs
Allegro in G major - Handel
Bluegrass in the Backwoods
Blues for Alice
Bulgarian Red
Donna Lee
Farmors Brudpolska
Jerusalem Ridge
La Folia - Corelli
Mortgage Burn
Mountain Road
Partita 3 in E Maj, Prelude - Bach
Quinn's (medley)
Ride the Wild Turkey
Schindler's List
Siobhan O'Donnell
Sonata No. 1, G minor, Adagio - Bach
The Sweetness of Mary MSR
Union Street Session
Yellow Dog Blues