English Introduction to “De Jonge Violisten” / The Young Violinists in the Riouwstraat Violin School 

Juffie Stieneke, recently introduced by a colleague as “the teacher who enchants children and violins”  has been teaching violin to hundreds of 6 till 8(plus)-year-old violin beginners, as well as adult beginners, for some 40 years and they all remember the cozy and joyful group lessons and the rapid progression through the Suzuki-books. 

In the Suzuki Method, children thrive in an environment of parental support. Suzuki students develop confidence and self-esteem, determination to try difficult things, self-discipline, and concentration. As well they acquire a lasting enjoyment of music, and the sensitivity and skills necessary for making music.

Parent involvement as “Home teacher” 
Parents play an active role in the success of their children as “home teacher” and are always amazed when their child plays the famous Vivaldi or even Bachs Double Concerto within 3 years. Year after year they wonder how that was possible,..

When a family moves to a different country everything changes for the child: school, friends, house, teachers.

For a child that is learning through the Suzuki method,  the new teacher in the first lesson in the new country simply continues with the next piece, because  Suzuki teachers can be found almost everywhere in the world!

Thus, a violin child that starts with juffie Stieneke soon feels happy with his/her new Suzuki friends in the new country 🙂


Read more about the VERY IMPORTANT role of the parent 

Regular performances reduce the fear of failure.
Performing for audiences is a central part of Stieneke’s method, so her students won’t develop fear of failure. Each new piece is a concert piece, learned by heart or after the initial 6 months by reading from the music, and ALWAYS performed without notes in front of an audience

Practical understanding of music theory
Understanding the harmony of what one plays is essential to musical intelligence and performance and is taught from the very start. The necessary violin technique needed for Vivaldi and Bach violin concertos is wrapped up in first month/year games already.

Jokes and games in the lessonsThe lessons are full of play and humor and musical jokes and the accompanying parents learn how to become efficient Suzuki Parents. Many parents decide to also learn to play violin simultaneously with their child, in the same lessons, and some manage to keep up the high tempo of their child.. 

Preparing for the Cito test, or doing well academically
Children who learn the violin and play virtuoso pieces within a few years also do very well in the CITO tests and in high school – so the investments in violin-time and -lessons prove to be good ones! 

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The group of new children will start on the first day of the new school year: Monday,  at 4.15 at the Boulevard. See the Violin agenda 

In October they will have their first Gypsy Academy project: a period of 2 weeks with a concert at the last day of those 13 days. Outside students could also join on Mondays and Thursdays from 4-5 and perform their first Gypsy concert mid-October.

Same for a period beginning in February  resulting in our festive Valentijn Concert, when the children will perform in gypsy clothing, on a Sunday around Valentine (special worskhops the Sunday prior to that). At that moment they will play their important part in almost all the (different) Gypsy pieces. And the same for the third period in June, resulting in one or – like this year – two concerts in FESTIVAL CLASSIQUE ( quite an honor!). By then they will have learned to play with low second and high third fingers so they are then playing again new and more challenging gypsy pieces.

You are cordially invited to attend one of this year’s concerts
You can check anything we do on the Vioolagenda of this website

Acknowledgments
The kids need to be trained well from the very beginning. The role of the parent is to come to the lessons and practice every day with the child and to create a positive environment.There is no testing of the children other than making sure the child is ready and eager to learn. Maybe parents should be tested? The triangle parent-child – teacher is very important.

No method is complete. Supplements are thrown in from the very beginning.
When a child is set up well, he can play violin till a high age, and the memory is set up for life! In the integrated Riouwstraat method the ear is trained to great sensitivity.
That is why they can memorize hours of music within 3 years ….

Dr. Shinichi Suzuki  (1898-1998) caused a revolution in the violin world. His father made violins and he sent his son to Europe to become a better violinist and teacher, so he would sell more violins!

Paul Rolland wrote a method for American Children because he was upset with the very low level of string playing in his country. How to hold the bow, how to shift, how to use the body in the most natural way? Juffie Stieneke uses what these great men came up with and adapted it for her own students in The Hague

And Mimi Zweig’s greatest contribution to Stieneke’s integrated method is to develop a non-judgmental attitude.

All these things are incorporated into the weekly lessons and intermingled with humor, so the children  – and their parents –  understand what needs to be done.

Will they read notes?

After you learned to speak you learned to read, right?
So after the children have mastered the instrument note reading is introduced- and after 2 weeks they read.  All new pieces are from then on read from a large paper and memorised the next lesson. That is why all performances are “by heart” – I love the English  expression over the Dutch: ” uit het hoofd”  
Each note is given a special character, so the children know where to find it once they read.

Practice: Parent as a Home Teacher

‘You don’t have to practice on the days you don’t eat’  says Shinichi Suzuki
One of the parents will have the pleasure of taking on the role of active parent. This means you have to do the following things

  1. Attend lesson with the child.

  2. Practice with the child every day.

  3. Ensure after Menuet 1 that the recording is listened to every day.

  4. Attend parents’ meetings and concerts and of course the group lessons.

  5. Most teachers will want to give you lessons on the instrument for a short period.

This is the crux of the whole method. When a child learns to speak, how could he do it if a parent weren’t around to help? A six-year old is not yet capable of logic, but the practical process of practice requires logic if it is to be done well. The great effect of praise and encouragement on students is far more effective when applied by the parent during the practice.

You are, in fact, the home teacher. A  Suzuki teacher shows you at the lesson how to teach the child at home. The effectiveness of the lesson is implemented by you every day and is multiplied seven-fold! Instead of having 2 lessons a week, the student will have at least seven!

At the beginning, the practice time is not very long (because the child isn’t playing much material and his concentration is built up slowly and naturally as he progresses). The start with it might be five minutes two or three times a day. You must be available whenever the child wants to practice, unless the house is on fire 🙂  How much more productive if the practice is done when the child wants to do ti.

Also you will have to establish a routine. Some children are most receptive in the morning. In this case, get up half an hour earlier and teach the child then. If it’s done in the morning, distractions later in the day are less important- at least you have done one practice that day…

Other children are at their best in the afternoon, so for these children this is the best time to practice. Most families split the practice into two sessions – one in the morning, another at night, the content of each practice geared to the child’s energy. Whatever system you adopt, practice is far more harmonious (and regular) if it is done at the same time each day. However this doesn’t exclude doing some if the child suddenly wants to. If the child really wants to do it at another time, then you can reschedule to a more convenient moment. But you must learn the difference between procrastination (uitstellen) and true fatigue!

It can be difficult to put aside all other concerns and simply enjoy the pleasure of the moment, but that’s exactly what you need to do to be a good Suzuki parent. If you are always aiming for a distant goal (e.g. to have the child become a world-famous violinist, or to reach Book 10) you miss out on the pleasure of the learning process. Suzuki says the parent must give the child a good environment, and then wait and enjoy as the child learns to play. You know your child will learn to speak eventually and you don’t rush him to learn- and no child fails to learn his own language.

During the practice at home, parents should avoid negative criticism. Comments could be: ‘Very good! Can you play this note better?’ ‘Let’s play ‘May Song’ and listen for a beautiful tone. Very good. That was a lovely tone.

In the practice the parent should concentrate on only one problem at a time. Some parents say, ‘Elbow down. Violin up. Bow straight. Fingers around. Your third finger is sharp.’ This only confuses the child and makes him feel inadequate and useless. It is far easier- and more successful- to concentrate on one part of playing until it is correct before moving on to the next.

The practice should also be a pleasant experience. The best gift a parent can give to a Suzuki student is a sense of enjoyment. Education does not have to be stuffy and formal. Discipline is necessary (or you can’t learn successfully), but there is always room for a sense of humour and imagination. If you enjoy it, chances are your child will too.

Students may only practice 15 minutes a day at the beginning. However when the child can play all the ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little star’ variations, he can play them consecutively for the full four minutes it takes to play them. Thus the concentration span increases naturally with the amount of material studied. Halfway through Book 1, 30- 45 minutes is a reasonable amount. By the end of Book 3 it should be at least one hour.

Dr Suzuki says, ‘If one child practices 15 minutes a day, and another child practices three hours a day, it takes the second child three months to accomplish what the first accomplishes in nine years.’  But most people would say the second child was more talented than the first. This of course is not true – he simply practiced more.

Suzuki method is a no-fail method. However, students do drop out! This is because of the parent’s bad attitude and lack of commitment, not because of an ‘untalented’ child. Every child can play the violin. But not every parent is cut out to be a Suzuki parent. Please be very sure that you want to do it before going ahead. It takes a big commitment, a large slice of your time and effort and is not an easy task. However, it is also a very rewarding task. I urge you to think very seriously about it!

‘Every child has ‘talent’. Shinichi Suzuki

Provide your child with the opportunity to listen as much as possible every day to the companion CD of the pieces he will learn. When students are familiar with pieces before they study them, they are, in essence, developing internal abilities. This is the best method for fostering motivation. Once motivation is in place, your child will practice with enjoyment and develop nicely. The violin is a medium for cultivating human character, ability, and heart.  You are nurturing superior musical sensitivity

Vocalists practice a pedagogical exercise called Vocalization in order to nurture beautiful, refined voices. Their lessons start with Vocalizaiton exercises to develop quality and power in their singing voices. With instrumentalists, as well, it is vital for teachers to lead their students in Tonalization exercises. At home, too, students ought to practice for tone so that they develop ever finer ability. 

Always strive for accurate intonation, a balance posture, and natural approach to the instrument. 

Parents and teachers alike must foster the child’s motivation so that he will practice with enjoyment and good will. So they create motiviation!

 Group classes give students the opportunity to play together with others and are a fun and enjoyable experience.

The group class is an important means of enriching the musical environment and essential component of the Suzuki method.  Learning happens much more quickly when children are allowed to watch others. In addition group lessons provide a motivating social environment that, if nurtured by the parents, can later blossom into extra-curricular musical activities such as orchestra and small chamber music ensembles as the children mature. It is precisely this kind of social atmosphere that inspires students to practice especially during adolescence when music is in competition with so many other activities.

When a student was already very good at playing the pieces, Dr. Suzuki said “Improve your ability with a piece that you know.”. Not all the children will know all the pieces that are played during a performance – if they do not know a piece or a particular skill, they will sit down and watch and learn from the others. The teacher may give them an activity to do while the others are playing (help another student with posture or straight bows, play on an open string, count circle bows, listen or watch for a specific technique) which will help them when they get to that piece. It is important for the student to be in “good review shape” in order to enjoy the Group Concert experience.

What is expected of Parents?

Parents always were and are expected to attend all classes. however in these days and in The Hague parents may not be physically able to attend  – that is why we have the Whatsapp group per year/level, where most important instruction is shared by parents. Please sit quietly and support the learning environment by being involved in what is going on and participating when called upon (i.e., this is not the time to read the paper or look at your phone or talk with other parents!). Take notes for home practice. If you need to be elsewhere, ask another parent to have an eye to your child, and get their notes after class. Parents are expected to attend to learn musicianship as well and reinforce class assignments at home.

Lessons in Dutch
Please note that teacher Stieneke speaks many languages and has noticed that almost all children who start violin lessons with her usually pick up enough (violin) Dutch to follow the lessons. Former foreign students even claim they learned Dutch only because they participated in these violin lessons! And that their only Dutch friends are their violin mates…

Make sure your child is in “good review shape” by playing review pieces at home every day, and practicing the assigned review pieces for class.

Special Events during the year  Please look in  De Viool Agenda, where all locations and last information are announced close to the date, if not listed prior.

  • 3rd Saturday November around midday
    Play for Sint Nicolaas who is welcomed in The Hague
  • Last Thursday November Fall Solo Recitalat 4 or 6.30 pm
  • December: Christmas Concerts
  • June: PINKSTER workshop
  • Solo Recital concerts -Two per year. Location TBA.

All concerts commence at 4 or 6.30; please arrive 15 minutes early for tuning and be available until the end of the concert 1 – 1 ½ hours later approx. Families of performers, please bring treats to share to home concerts.

About the Gypsy Academy

The Gypsy Academy was founded in 2007 by Juffoe Stieneke and Herr Martin Schaefer to give young children in the Hague an opportunity to learn characteristic Music of foreign countries These young virtuosi specialize in the traditional music of Balkan countries, but also Spain, Ukraine, Greece, Armenia, Israel – all beautifully arranged by Martin Schrapescu – an enrichment to the Suzuki repertoire. Members range in age from 5 to 12 years.

Initially the group was not intended to be a performing group; time and experience, though, uncovered the fact that the gypsy fiddlers inspired younger kids to want to learn the music, and older people to want to listen to it. Over 300 kids have learned the Gypsy repertoire in this group during the past 12 years which they will take into the world in the future

They perform a repertoire of graceful Greek music, touching Eastern music and fiery Rumanian and Hungarian music, with admirable maturity and finesse. In spite of their tender age, they are able to engage the audience with varying musical emotions.

The Gypsy Academy performs at concerts, festivals, retirement houses, schools, Indonesian Fair and other events in the Hague, and has performed for a wide range of audiences. The experience of the Goodbye party for the Mayor of the Hague and teh performances in the Zuiderstrandtheater will not easliy be forgotten by the children! 

 

Links
· Suzuki Association of the Americas
· Suzuki Early Childhood Education for children ages 0 to 3
· piano tuner:  Gérard van Hasedonk    http://gvh-pianostemmer.nl

· Do you know of a website that should be here? I’d be happy to put it up – just let me know
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Stopping lessons

For your convenience  – in Dutch  and the main points translated into English, in red 

Opzegging

Bij nieuwe leerlingen is er in de eerste week  gelegenheid de lessen weer te stoppen of is er – in overleg, na de eerste les in september –  een proeftijd tot Kerst. Daarna is men lesgeld verschuldigd tot eind juni. 

New students can decide to not continue lessons in the violin school during the first week of school. After this first week payment for the whole year is due till the end of June

De opzegtermijn voor Suzuki-leerlingen  in een lopende cursus is 3 maanden vóór het volgende seizoen . Het opzegmoment is dus  op 1 juni: drie maanden voor het begin van het nieuwe schooljaar. Tot dan dient tijdig en volledig te worden betaald. Bij opzegging in juni  nà 1 juni dient dus de maand september nog betaald te worden.  De opzegtermijn na juni is 3 maanden, (dus bijvoorbeeld: opzegging  in september = na aanvang van het nieuwe schooljaar dus betaalt men tot 1 december ). Bij niet tijdige betaling wordt één volgende termijn in rekening gebracht.

Bij verhuizing ver buiten Den Haag dient een uitschrijvingsbewijs getoond te worden.  Hier geldt eveneens een opzegtermijn van 3 maanden.

Bij opzeggingen na 1 september tijdens het lopende jaar dient het lesgeld volledig te worden betaald tot het einde van het schooljaar, eind juni.

Wie de tweede les in september afneemt gaat automatisch hiermee akkoord.

For current Suzuki students: you can decide to stop lessons for the next school year, three months before that year starts, so on June 1st. When you decide to stop during the school year you still pay till the end of June.

When during the summer holidays you decide to stop, you still pay the month of September.  

Also when you move during the school year, there is a 3 month period after which you do not have to pay anymore, upon showing your “uitschrijfbewijs” from the municipal of The Hague.

Whoever continues taking lessons after the first week of September automatically agrees to these regulations.

Informeel afscheid van de groep

Als een kind niet langer in een groep zit wordt hij gemist door die groep, vaak pas maanden later. Daarom is het gebruikelijk dat kindlief nog een laatste keer komt en aan het begin of eind van de les vertelt wat hij nu gaat doen (verhuizen, een ander instrument, een andere juf, stoppen met muziek vanwege  uitverkiezing in de selectie training hockey, voetbal, ballet of turnen) en vervolgens trakteert op iets. Als dan ooit een kind ineens, out of the blue, midden in een les zegt:  ‘waar is X?’ of: ‘ X is er niet’ kan ik dan zeggen:  ‘Ja, weet je nog dat X ….. ? Wie weet nog waarop X toen trakteerde?   “O ja……” klikt het dan, en gaan we weer verder met de les…..

Informal goodbye to  the group

When a child leaves the group he always is missed, sometimes immedeiately, sometimes  months later. That is why the custom arose to have the child join the last time and tell – at the beginning of the class or at the end- what the near future will bring: move out of town, choice of a different instrument, change of teacher, or more time needed for the hockey or football or ballet selection group. He also will hand out a treat or remembrance.  Thus, when out of the blue, a child asks – sometimes months later – ‘Where  is X?’ I can say: ‘Remember she ….?’ And ‘Who remembers what he treated you with?’ Then a big sigh and ‘ Oh, yes….’ and we continue the lesson…..

02

September 

02

September 

Highly recommended for expats kids

When a family moves to a different country everything changes for the child: school, friends, house, teachers. For a child that is learning through the Suzuki method,  the new teacher in the first lesson in the new country simply continues with the next piece, because  Suzuki teachers can be found almost everywhere in the world! Thus, a violin child that starts with juffie Stieneke soon feels happy with his/her new Suzuki friends in the new country ?
Gypsy repertoire

Source of infinite joy and excitement are the Gypsy Pieces, introduced by Herr Schaefer who used to come several times a year to reveal more exciting Gypsy repertoire to the Riouwstraat pupils. The songs are built up from very simple parts and playable from day one, where the most advanced students enjoy excelling in the virtuoso parts. However musically rewarding the Suzuki-books are, if the children had it their way: they would only play Gypsy music! Juffie Stieneke has taught these Gypsy pieces in Durban and Pretoriain 2 township’s orphanages (South Africa) as well at IU in Bloomington, Ind. and Brooklyn College and the Lucy Moses School in New York City. More recently in Indonesia and Capetown. 

Stopping lessons

For your convenience  – in Dutch  and the main points translated into English, in red 

Before reading both versions,  please note that teacher Stieneke speaks many languages and has noticed that almost all children who start violin lessons with her usually pick up enough (violin) Dutch to follow the lessons. Former foreign students even claim they learned Dutch only because they participated in these violin lessons! And that their only Dutch friends are their violin mates…

Opzegging

Bij nieuwe leerlingen is er in de eerste week  gelegenheid de lessen weer te stoppen of is er – in overleg, na de eerste les in september –  een proeftijd tot Kerst. Daarna is men lesgeld verschuldigd tot eind juni. 

Stopping lessons:

New students can decide to not continue lessons in the violin school during the first week of school. After this first weekpayment for the whole year is duetill the end of June

De opzegtermijn voor Suzuki-leerlingen  in een lopende cursus is 3 maanden vóór het volgende seizoen . Het opzegmoment is dus  op 1 juni: drie maanden voor het begin van het nieuwe schooljaar. Tot dan dient tijdig en volledig te worden betaald. Bij opzegging in juni  nà 1 juni dient dus de maand september nog betaald te worden.  De opzegtermijn na juni is 3 maanden, (dus bijvoorbeeld: opzegging  in september = na aanvang van het nieuwe schooljaar dus betaalt men tot 1 december ). Bij niet tijdige betaling wordt één volgende termijn in rekening gebracht.

Bij verhuizing ver buiten Den Haag dient een uitschrijvingsbewijs getoond te worden.  Hier geldt eveneens een opzegtermijn van 3 maanden.

Bij opzeggingen na 1 september tijdens het lopende jaar dient het lesgeld volledig te worden betaald tot het einde van het schooljaar, eind juni.

Wie de tweede les in september afneemt gaat automatisch hiermee akkoord.

For current Suzuki students: you can decide to stop lessons for the next school year, three months before that year starts, so on June 1st. When you decide to stop during the school year you still pay till the end of June.

When during the summer holidays you decide to stop, you still pay the month of September.  

Also when you moveduring the school year, there is a 3 month period after which you do not have to pay any more, upon showing your “uitschrijfbewijs” from the municipal of The Hague.

Whoever continues taking lessons after the first week of September automatically agrees to these regulations.

Informeel afscheid van de groep

Als een kind niet langer in een groep zit wordt hij gemist door die groep, vaak pas maanden later. Daarom is het gebruikelijk dat kindlief nog een laatste keer komt en aan het begin of eind van de les vertelt wat hij nu gaat doen ( verhuizen, een ander instrument, een andere juf, stoppen met muziek vanwege  uitverkiezing in de selectie training hockey, voetbal, ballet of turnen) en vervolgens trakteert op iets. Als dan ooit een kind ineens, out of the blue, midden in een les zegt:  ‘waar is X?’ of: ‘ X is er niet’ zeg ik dan:  ‘ Ja, weet je nog dat X ….. ? Wie weet nog waarop X toen trakteerde?   “O ja……” klikt het dan, en gaan we weer verder met de les…..

Informal goodbye to  the group

When a child leaves the group he always is missed, somethimens immedeiately, sometimes  months later. That is why the custom arose to have the child join the last time and tell – at the beginning of the class or at the end- what the near future will bring: move out of town, choice of a different instrument, change of teacher, or more time needed for the hockey or football or ballet selection group. He also will hand out a treat or remembrance.  Thus, when out of the blue, a child asks – sometimes months later – ‘Where  is X?’ I can say: ‘Remember he ….?’ And ‘Who remembers what he treated you with?’ Then a big sigh and ‘ Oh, yes….’ and we continue the lesson…..