Reading Music 4

(part 4 of 6 from the article Reading Music)

When does my child actually get printed music?

The answer varies with each student.  Most children are ready to begin working with printed music somewhere near the middle of Book 1–later with younger beginners, sooner with older beginners.  Remember, your baby spoke for several years before starting to read and write!  After printed music is introduced, skills will continue to develop and grow.  In Book 1, the printed Suzuki repertoire music is almost exclusively for parent and teacher reference.  By Book 2, the Suzuki music might be helpful to your child in learning some parts of songs, but most of the learning is done through listening first and reading second.  Generally by somewhere in Suzuki Book 3 the students’ reading skills are strong enough to guide their learning of the Suzuki repertoire.