KUCHING: International Music House (IMH) is promoting its latest Junior Violin Course (JVC) introduced under the dynamic guidance of Hara Vitara, a specialist trained in the internationally proven arena of the Suzuki and Kodaly method of teaching.
YOUNG APPRENTICES: A file photograph of children trained by a teacher.
The course has been integrated into the Junior Music Course of IMH – designed by IMH’s children’s music specialist, Florida Law and Executive Director of Studies Dr Geraldine Law-Lee.
It is specially tailored for children aged between three and six years, according to an IMH press statement issued yesterday.
“It uses the Suzuki method to jumpstart the music learning process in children as young as three years old who are introduced to music one step at a time.
“It is an individualistic method that ensures that each child progresses at their own pace, whereby no child proceeds to the next step until the previous one has been fully mastered, no matter how long it takes,” the statement said.
Developed by Dr Shinichi Suzuki from Japan, IMH’s primary aim is to develop character in children by teaching them the means to achieve an intensive artistic experience.
“The method is a carefully structured technique of musical instruction that has as a principal goal of the training of accomplished musical performance in young children.
“Unlike many traditional approaches to music instruction which overloads the pupil with numerous repetitive, reading, theoretical and boring exercises, the Suzuki method begins with the children having an actual contact with real music,” the statement said.
Suzuki training begins with frequent exposure to recorded and live music, particularly recording of great classical performances.
Individual instruction on an instrument follows a structured curriculum that includes daily listening to the Suzuki repertoire, particularly the song the child is learning to play.”
Initially, songs are learnt by ear.
Children learn to play the same way they learn to speak, by hearing a sound and then reproducing it using the ‘mother-tongue’ method.
The Suzuki Method is based on the ideas of multi-perceptual and plural intelligence learning which have shown, in recent scientific studies, that early musical training shapes a child’s growing brains and boosts their learning power, aiding in the development of logic, abstract thinking, memory, and creativity.
Children, however, are first interviewed and auditioned at IMH since classes are limited in numbers.
These are conducted in small group environment and later they will be included in an ensemble environment organised to supplement the normal class instruction.
This consists of games and other exercises designed to reinforce the learning of the repertoire and to begin instilling in the young players a sense for playing in an ensemble.
The performance part of the IMH Junior Music Course promises results.
Also integrated into the course will be fun aural, coordination, musical notation and lateral thinking that is very valuable for development.
To find out more about how the JVC via the Suzuki Method will nurture a child’s love for and talent in playing the violin, JVC classes are available at IMH Rock Road and at its Tabuan Jaya branch.
To enrol children in the JVC or for more information, the public are advised to contact Surie at 082-424658.