Do you have a young child in whom you’d like to instil a love of music, instrumental skills, increased focusing and listening abilities, ease with performing, and a lifelong foundation in cultural pursuits?

Juffie Stieneke has cultivated beautiful hearts and musical souls in children and families for 35 years. Parents work with their children from any age from 4 up to teenage, in both individual and group settings with this experienced, internationally-certified teacher. The violin is taught by the same method the child learns to speak: through repetition, encouragement, small steps, and constantly building and reinforcing their skills. The students learn to perform with confidence, both solo and in a group of their peers, and they become part of a musical community that will benefit them throughout their lives.

New Students Welcome in the Riouwstraat : The Archipel Suzuki en Gypsyacademy has space right now for new students and fiddle kids age 5 and up. I can’t always guarantee it for every class, but if you’re still thinking of registering, let me know. I’d like to encourage you to observe the teaching process before joining: the first year Group Classes resume in September

Please email at vioolles@xs4all.nl for information on our schedule, registration, private lessons and more. I’d be happy to add you to our mailing list for future concerts – just let me know.
About the Suzuki Method

The Suzuki method of learning music (or as Dr. Suzuki preferred to have it called, Talent Education, since each child has many talents which can be cultivated when nurtured with love) is modeled on the “Mother Tongue” method, or in other words, how we all naturally learn to speak our native language. When Suzuki was a young man, living and studying in Germany, he was struck by the ease with which the very young children around him spoke the language which he, as an adult, was struggling to learn. That all children successfully master their own language and even dialect is a phenomenon many take for granted. However, Suzuki became fascinated with this discovery, and began to study and observe the circumstances which occur naturally, in a child’s environment when they are learning to speak.

He realized that if one were to apply these principles of this “perfect” learning method to other areas of education, there could be equally successful results. Since Suzuki was a professional musician, music seemed an obvious choice of field to which to apply his new ideas.

Among the principles of the Mother Tongue Method that Suzuki observedwere:
1. Tireless repetition of words by the parents to the baby every day.
2. Much natural excitement and praise is given to the baby for even the smallest bit of progress.
3. Performance opportunities are abundant (for relatives, neighbors, etc.)
4. Vocabulary is built on itself; the first words spoken are never discarded or forgotten.
5. We don’t ask that a child learn to speak his language and learn to read it at the same time.

Accordingly:
1. Repetition of the songs the child is learning comes from the Suzuki CDs while the parent plays in the home regularly (and also from the parent playing the songs on their violins at home if they continue taking lessons themselves, which is encouraged!)
2. Praise is given by both teacher and parent for the smallest successes with the instrument.
3. Performance opportunities are provided for the children as often as possible in organized solo and group concerts as well as in the essential group lessons, where children play the repertoire with and for their friends and classmates.
4. Repertoire is built on itself and no piece is ever discarded or forgotten. “Review pieces” are used as the building blocks of learning and are returned to again and again for learning new technical points.
5. Reading music is a skill which is taught only when the child is comfortable with the instrument physically and is able to make a beautiful tone; only then is the child ready to lift his focus to notes on a page.
Dr. Suzuki’s ideas about learning are now widespread around the world. His Talent Education Method is an internationally-known and respected way to instruct children in music mainly because of its highly successful results both in producing wonderful musicians, and more importantly in Dr. Suzuki’s opinion, wonderful human beings.

I have had the privilege to play for Dr Suzuki and witness how he taught several times, which highly inspired me. This was during several International workshops that I took while participating in the official Suzuki Teacher Training, which allows my students to take part -well prepared – in any international Suzuki Event. Suzuki brought me to international Conventions in Belgium, Sweden, Berlin, Aberdeen, Dublin, Turino and in the USA in Stevens Point many times in Bloomington, where I studied with Mimi Zweig. Most recently, in 2013, I attended the international Suzuki Convention in Japan, and the Indiana Summer String Academy and Teachers Retreat in Bloomington