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About

Chicago Violin Teacher Adam Davidowitz


I started Suzuki violin lessons when I was 4 years old.  I received my Bachelor of Music with Performance Honors from Syracuse University and Masters of Music from The Boston Conservatory.  I came to Chicago in 2005 to play with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and started teaching soon after I arrived.  After a few years of teaching at schools around the city, I decided I wanted to teach according to my own vision while standing on the shoulders of the giants of Suzuki education who have come before me.  I am a fully trained Suzuki teacher and registered with the Suzuki Association of the Americas to teach Volumes 1-10.

I founded Third Floor Suzuki Violin in 2010 with the intent of providing high quality violin instruction in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. 

 

While taking lessons, children as young as 4 years old learn life skills such as focus, discipline, patience and teamwork.

 

My goal for teaching children is to train them to become professional human beings rather than training them to be professional musicians.  I’ve committed myself to taking teacher training courses, gaining perspective of how to teach according to the Suzuki Method from teachers who have been teaching for decades.

 

I also take on students who need remedial work with their technique, including issues with posture, tone and intonation.  I focus on getting them into better shape so they can play with ease.

About the Suzuki Method

 

The Suzuki Method was developed in the 20th century by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.  He observed that all children learn to speak their native language by imitating and repeating their parents.  Building on this observation, three areas of the method were developed: A philosophy, a curriculum and techniques.

 

Philosophy

  • Every Child Can Learn

  • Creating an environment where children can succeed

  • Using the Method as a tool to create good human beings rather than train professional musicians

 

Curriculum

  • The 10 volumes of the Suzuki Method are a set of well thought out musical pieces.

  • Skills are added little by little and refined while learning good music rather than dry exercises.  Students start with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and end with a Mozart Concerto.

  • All Suzuki students play the same repertoire which is great for learning how to play together in group class.

 

Techniques

  • The Suzuki Triangle – Student, Parent and Teacher working together toward a common goal

  • Parental Involvement/Parent as the home teacher

  • Delaying Note Reading – the eyes are free to look at what the hands are doing rather than deciphering symbols on a page

  • Listening to recordings of music being learned and that have been learned.

  • Imitating the Recording – Learning how to choose notes with listening games

  • Stressing the importance of review and repetition to build up skill level.

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