We welcomed Dr. Lauretta Werner for a Masterclass. Read on to learn about the class and find a few tips for yourself!

One of the hallmarks of Suzuki Method Education is Group Class. When discussing the additional classes, I often hear the response, “Group Class Stinks!” from both parents and children! Let’s dive deeper into that sentiment and see why or why not this may be the case.

Everywhere you look, there is connection. The threads in our clothes are weaved and sewn together to create our outfits. Roads and bridges intersect to create our cities. Our letters group together to form our language. This Summer of 2023 at PMA, we will explore all types of #connections and how they can deepen our understanding of music and ourselves.

Welcome to The PMA Post, our blog! I’m the Academy Director of The Pittsburgh Music Academy and here’s the story of why I teach - I always knew I wanted to help people, even be so bold as to say heal people.

What a joyful day!  Eight weeks of masked group classes for violin, viola and cello students culminated in this concert.  We needed some new rules to navigate the pandemic, but the magic I remembered from the past was still there, and even magnified!  This performance also marked the first combined instrument performance since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is happening? How do we make sense of it all? Initial reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic shut down.

This organization has been compiling a comprehensive database (The Violence Project Mass Shooter Database) including the demographics, life history, crisis points, warning signs, contagion, motivations and community factors of these individuals. Education is one of the statistics being examined in this study. I am curious about what music education these individuals may have had. My theory is little to none. I believe that people who form a deep connection to music find no need to engage in violence.

Young children are not capable of “bringing their ‘A’ game” at any given moment. Teachers must provide them with an actual performance opportunity in order for them to put into practice what we cultivate in the lesson. Sometimes we wait to schedule a child for a performance until we see them demonstrate the desired result in the lesson. I’m not suggesting that we should push a student to perform when not prepared, but I do encourage you to give the student the actual concert to practice true focus and concentration.

One of the differences between the traditional method and the Suzuki method is the Group Class. So many of the issues I didn’t love about my music study experience are completely eliminated by the Suzuki Group Class! Students of approximately the same level gather together with a teacher to review and refine the literature from where they are back to the very basic Twinkle. Instruments that are mobile usually play together as an ensemble and pianists usually take turns playing for each other.