Book 1

Objectives of Suzuki Piano Book 1*

  • Body Balance
  • Beautiful tone/Musical playing
  • The ability to listen to oneself
  • Natural use of body (feels, looks)
  • Correct notes
  • Correct rhythm
  • Correct fingering
  • Carry the whole hand and arm with each finger
  • Melodic line
  • Develop a harmonic sense
  • LH learned well before putting hands together
  • Student plays LH while teacher plays RH
  • Student plays RH while teacher plays LH
  • Achieve independence between the hands
  • Balance between melody and accompaniment
  • Beautiful endings

Skills Learned from Book 1 Repertoire*

Twinkles  

  • Staccato/Legato
  • Isolating fingers
  • Strengthening fingers

Lightly Row

  • Repeated note legato
  • Alberti bass L hand pattern

Honeybee

  • Rests
  • Floating with continuous movement

Cuckoo

  • Independence between hands
  • 3rd line – L hand note-to-note legato while R hand plays repeated-note legato
  • ¾ time signature

French Children’s Song

  • New phrasing
  • D.C. al Fine/Fine

London Bridge

  • Develop a harmonic sense

Mary Had a Little Lamb

  • Block chords/triads

Go Tell Aunt Rhody

  • IV chord with finger 2
  • Quarter to eighth note

Claire de Lune

Transitions between lines (shifting R hand to get set for next position while L hand continues playing)

Long Long Ago

  • Finger change
  • Musical line

Little Playmates

  • L hand melody
  • 5-note scale pattern
  • Chord preparation

Chant Arabe

  • Accents
  • Octaves

Allegretto 1

  • Flexibility going from finger 5 to 1
  • Terraced dynamics

Goodbye to Winter

  • Cantabile
  • Rhythm
  • Musical line

Allegretto 2

  • 5-note scale pattern (revert to Little Playmates for review)
  • Repeated note legato
  • 2/4 time signature
  • Play with freedom and flexibility

Christmas Day Secrets

  • Articulation in first phrase
  • Terraced dynamics
  • Difficult fingering in B section

Allegro

  • Fermata
  • Cross over from finger 2
  • Quarter note and eighth note staccato
  • F sharp
  • Chords

Musette

  • Cantabile
  • B flat
  • 6/8 time signature
  • Tied note in bass clef

*Note: the content of this post is based on Caroline Frasier’s (Suzuki Instructor Trainer) notes and teaching