Every Suzuki violinist starts with the same book. The Suzuki Violin School has ten volumes, and all Suzuki violin students learn the pieces in the same order, each one building on the last. Here is what is in Book 1, what its pieces are known for teaching, and how review and the recording fit in.

The pieces in Book 1

Book 1 has seventeen pieces. In order, they are:

  • "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" Variations, by Shinichi Suzuki
  • Lightly Row, a folk song
  • Song of the Wind, a folk song
  • Go Tell Aunt Rhody, a folk song
  • O Come, Little Children, a folk song
  • May Song, a folk song
  • Long, Long Ago, by Bayly
  • Allegro, by Suzuki
  • Perpetual Motion, by Suzuki
  • Allegretto, by Suzuki
  • Andantino, by Suzuki
  • Etude, by Suzuki
  • Minuet 1, by J. S. Bach
  • Minuet 2, credited to Bach
  • Minuet 3, credited to Bach
  • The Happy Farmer, by Schumann
  • Gavotte, by François-Joseph Gossec

Dr. Suzuki wrote six of the pieces himself, and five are folk songs. Music historians have questioned whether Bach wrote Minuets 2 and 3. Minuet 3 is now known to be by Christian Petzold, though the book still credits Bach.

The list has hardly changed in decades. Across the three English editions since the first American edition in 1978, no piece has been removed and the order is the same. Some markings did change in newer printings, among them the letters of two Twinkle variations, so an older copy may not match a newer one exactly.

The Twinkle variations

The book opens with variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." A variation is the tune played a new way. In each one, a short rhythm repeats on every note of the melody, and teachers often teach each rhythm with a few words said aloud in the same rhythm.

The variations let a beginner learn to cross from one string to another, set fingers down and lift them, and move the bow, all before playing the plain tune, called the Theme. Each variation prepares the player for the next.

The Twinkle rhythms stay in use long after. Teachers have students play scales in the Twinkle rhythms, and some move the Twinkles onto other strings so a student meets a new string with a tune they already know.

What the later pieces add

The first songs stay mostly on the E and A strings, and later pieces reach the D and G strings. Dr. Suzuki asked for an even tone on every string, and students who master Perpetual Motion learn to play it, and the pieces before it, on the D and G strings too.

  • Perpetual Motion brings the first use of the fourth finger (the little finger), and practice crossing between the A and E strings that the minuets use later.
  • Etude adds a new finger pattern, with the second finger placed low, close to the first, on the A and E strings.
  • The minuets bring new bowing patterns: a down, up, up pattern and two short, separated up-bows in a row in Minuet 1, and string crossings at the start of Minuet 2. Minuet 1 is also longer than the pieces before it, and it is in G major. Dr. Suzuki stressed playing G major carefully in tune, since G major resonates well on the violin.
  • The last two pieces, The Happy Farmer and the Gavotte, each bring bow strokes of their own.

How a child first holds the bow can depend on the child's level. Some teachers start young beginners with the thumb under the frog (the end of the bow you hold) and move it to its regular place later. By the end of Book 1, one university Suzuki school expects students to hold the bow with the thumb in its regular place, use the fourth finger, play louder and softer on purpose, play G and A scales over two octaves and a D scale over one, learn music by ear, and play every Book 1 piece from memory. Our free Bowings and articulations game lets you practice reading bow markings.

Why Suzuki students review

Suzuki students keep playing their earlier pieces as they learn new ones. Repeating pieces strengthens old skills and builds new ones, and Suzuki teachers use review of earlier pieces to introduce and reinforce skills.

Because review pieces are memorized, a student can play one while thinking about a single new idea. Playing a run of review pieces without stopping, such as Lightly Row through Allegro, also builds the stamina a longer piece like Minuet 1 needs. Our article Practice Makes Progress has more ideas for home practice.

The role of the recording

Listening sits at the center of the Suzuki method. Book 1 has its own recording, and students listen every day to the pieces they will learn, taking in music the way young children take in their first language.

Listening ahead helps too. Listening to the minuets before starting them, even moving along with the music, trains a student to listen well before learning a piece on the violin. Our article Listening at Home has more on how families fit the recordings into the day.

If you have questions about Book 1 or about starting lessons, we are happy to talk. You can also book a free trial lesson.

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