Certificate of Merit and Other "Non-Suzuki" Approaches
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
3y ago
 Prepare yourself for the rabbit hole that is TEACHER TRAIN OF THOUGHT.  You've been warned. I'm joking around lightly, of course.  But it is funny to me how, in retrospect, I end up exploring new opportunities and approaches. So COVID-19 happened.  As we all know.  And with that came a series of massive teaching environment changes.  My home studio and what was on my music stand and how far I had to reach for my tuner was all totally set up and perfect pre-COVID.  It was an environment that allowed me to create this lovely Suzuki environment for all my stude ..read more
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Forget Perfection
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
3y ago
Since the quarantine I have taken on, with some trepidation, new students.  As in, they were not studying with me before the shutdown.  100% fresh start... and all online. This experience has been interesting, to say the least.  I will admit that I approached the whole "starting an online new student" thing with a toe dip rather than a full cannonball into the pool.  The first one I took on was older (seven), her mom used to play violin in middle school, and I've taught her grandmother violin for some time now.  Can't get much better than that, right? I have become bol ..read more
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An Imperfect Instrument: Jennifer Stumm @ TEDxAldeburgh
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
3y ago
Jennifer Strum calls the viola the "middle child of the string instruments." Through a mixture of talk and performance, she offers a compelling meditation on the viola's capacity for emotion-- and for making beautiful music  Violist Jennifer Stumm has forged a unique musical path as a dynamic advocate for her instrument. Hailed by the Washington Post for the "opal-like beauty" of her playing, she brings the viola into the spotlight with innovative programming and irrepressible enthusiasm. Jennifer recently made solo debuts at the Kennedy Center, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Rav ..read more
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Never Assume!
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
3y ago
Just like any other job, certain aspects of teaching become routine.  I generally know when I want to introduce two-octave scales.  Nuances of course may change and evolve with time and more training.  But I am almost never reinventing my entire approach with each student.  This allows me the flexibility to be creative in lessons when necessary but also able to stay on track with progress somewhere in the back of my mind. What I didn't realize was that with these routines I started to inadvertently assume things.  I taught the parents of my older students how ..read more
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What if every child had access to music education from birth?
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
4y ago
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Anita Collins shares how learning music influences our brain development, and what this means for musical education.  Anita Collins was handed a clarinet at the age of 9, and it changed her life. This single event dictated her future career as a musician, music educator and academic ..read more
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Virtually Relearning Everything About Teaching During COVID-19
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
4y ago
My apologies for the lag in blog posts!  As of writing this post, we have been in COVID-19 quarantine lockdown for about five weeks.  I find the memes and jokes about suddenly finding all this time on your hands hilarious but they don't exactly ring true if you have young children. While there have been quiet moments for me, I haven't felt the willpower to write anything.  Writing--even if it's nonfiction--requires a certain amount of "creative juice" and I found that I just didn't have that in me at first.  Too many things were changing.  Too many little stresses add ..read more
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Suzuki Early Childhood Education Skills
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
4y ago
Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) can best be described as a "musical readiness" class.  While parent-child bonding certainly takes place, the goals differ from a typical "mommy and me" style of class.  Each activity is designed to not only develop life skills but to also prepare the child for lessons on a musical instrument. As an example, each class begins with ball rolling.  Music is played softly in the background while the children take turns rolling the ball to each other with parental help when necessary.  This is such a simple activity that, on the surface, could be seen as just ..read more
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The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
4y ago
Quick (but informative!) summary/review of The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle.  Link to read the full book here ..read more
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Is My Baby Too Young for Baby Music Class?
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
4y ago
This is a question that often gets asked or, more commonly, "My baby can't even walk yet!  What could he possibly get out of a music class?  Shouldn't we wait until he can do more things?" The short answer: the earlier you start, the better! The long answer: While the nature of this question is completely understandable, it is flawed logic.  It would be like asking, "Well, shouldn't we wait before she can read more words before reading books?" or "Shouldn't we wait until he can take more steps before we can try walking?" I make this point not to sound snarky.  As I said, it is completely u ..read more
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The Value of Group Playing
Rethinking Genius
by Danielle Kravitz
4y ago
I am always continually surprised how playing an instrument is always somehow "different" than other arts and pastimes.  Assumptions we would never make about other intellectual pursuits somehow become reasonable logic when learning music.  Like how the number of pieces a student knows should somehow be a reflection of the student's proficiency. Even though we must spend countless hours practicing, playing an instrument should not be a solitary activity. Nothing opens up a student musically more than playing with a group. Now, this is not to say that we cannot find enjoyment in playing alon ..read more
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