Traditional VS. Suzuki Method: Which Method Of Teaching Is More Effective for Beginning Strings
Item
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Title
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Traditional VS. Suzuki Method: Which Method Of Teaching Is More Effective for Beginning Strings
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Creator
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Gregory Eggleston
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Degree Name
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action_research
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Master of Arts in Teaching (initial licensure)
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Project Type
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action_research
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Date
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6/15/2024
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Abstract
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This research paper dives into the differences between the Suzuki method, and the Traditional method of teaching beginning strings in a public school setting. The literature included professional insights on both teaching methods, as well as activities and strategies used within each teaching method that previous teachers have used to find success. The literature also covered building lesson plans and effective pacing for music instruction. Through reading the literature I discovered that the core of the Suzuki Method in the beginning stages is largely focused on teaching/learning by ear, and the core of the traditional method is learning through reading musical notation. Therefore, I crafted lesson sequences, exit tickets, and analysis documents to understand these two teaching methods and how they affected my classroom instruction, and the student’s education. My goal was to improve each student’s ear for intonation. It was found that using the Suzuki method that students were more likely to focus on the intonation and their finger placement rather than the notes they were playing. When learning using the Traditional method, students were less focused on intonation and more focused on the note names in the book. This resulted in less consistent intonation when using the traditional method. At the end students were also asked which style they preferred learning in, and 10/16 students stated that they would rather learn using the traditional method even though their intonation was not as strong. I recommend that all teachers start their beginning strings classes by teaching students by ear, before moving into the traditional method. This way, students get a stronger foundation of intonation before they get distracted while reading musical notation.
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Committee Member
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Xiaopeng Gong
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Richard Greenwood
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Rights
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https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en
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Western Oregon University Library has determined, as of 6/29/2024, this item is in copyright, which is held by the author. Users may use the item in accordance with copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use. For other uses, please ask permission from the author.
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Language
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English
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Type
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Text
