Libro 7 en BA

As some of you know, we have been traveling around South America for five months with a violin in tow.  Aside from the fun desert photo ops, we have been practicing and preparing for a Suzuki pedagogy workshop in Buenos Aires.  

Ruby having a lesson

After four intense days, I’m officially certified to teach Book 7, and both Ruby and I have made new friends from Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. 

Ruby and I were both a bit nervous about doing violin training in Spanish.  But all those language lessons in Ecuador and Peru paid off.   Kudos to Ruby for dealing with the triple challenge of taking violin lessons in public, in a foreign language, with a completely new teacher.  (Needless to say, she did it with aplomb.)  As for me, it was really fascinating to learn violin lingo in Spanish – doble cuerdas, afinación, arcos arribas y abajos, ligando y suelto, etc.  Fortunately, much of the approach to violin teaching was similar – the emphasis on la postura, la sonidad, los tres aspectos del arco y mucho más.  Eduardo Ludueña, the wonderful teacher trainer who taught the course, often said, “si le funciona, no cambiamos.”  -- a good catch phrase for both violin and life. 

Group class

In addition to playing in master classes, Ruby had rehearsals and group classes with a friendly group of kids from Argentina and Paraguay (a big thank you to the Wang family from Asuncion for taking such good care of Ruby while I was in training).  It’s quite amazing to travel so far away and go into a violin group class and feel so at home, with familiar repertoire and games.  The kids literally had hours of music memorized to play together, and they also learned some fiddle tunes and a Bartok duo.  The training ended with a playdown for everyone – alumnos y profesores – including a memorable Bach Double, Witches Dance with dance movements, and Twinkle, of course.

Things got crazy on the last day of training

I really enjoyed getting to know the other Suzuki violin teachers.  They teach and perform in all different kinds of settings – private studios, state music schools, capital cities and small towns, all kinds of orchestras, tango and classical).  Two of them are even former lawyers!  I also got a lesson in the ins and outs of sharing mate (you say “gracias” only to signal you’re done). 

I look forward to keeping in touch and perhaps crossing paths again at Suzuki conferences or, ojalá, Libro 8 el año próximo . . . en Brazil?!