Students beginning their first lesson should bring a music bag with a binder with lined paper and a few pencils. I will provide a violin, bow, and other materials needed for the lesson.
For the second lesson, students should have the following list of supplies in addition to the binder and pencils:
-violin and bow in case with Hill rosin or Salchow rosin, and violin sponge or shoulder rest with two or more thin elastics
-red sponge for adjusting shoulder rest
Make sure to check that the size of violin sponge and shoulder rest match the size of violin. Please do not purchase a violin without first consulting the teacher! Purchasing from a local shop is recommended as it will ensure you can get adjustments, replacement strings, etc easily, quickly, and inexpensively. Most shops will allow trade-ins. Renting is possible from 1/8 size up to 1/2 size, but purchasing is recommended from 3/4 to full size.
For young beginners (under age 8), the following materials may be purchased and used before the first lesson:
-Theraputty (yellow most common level for children, you can also get green, next level)
-Dogs and Birds British piano method book (recommended but not required- fun introduction to note-reading and piano playing as supplementary instrument)
-Suzuki Book One - book and recording. The CD is for the car, but consider whether your car has a CD player and what you will use at home (sirius speaker system with apple or amazon music?).
-CD player - consider finding or purchasing an inexpensive CD player that does not connect to a phone or the internet. This will reduce distractions for young children. Active listening assignments allow the children to develop independence in practice and learn dramatically faster and more easily. Listening to music on a parent's phone or complicated tv or laptop system that requires parental help usually does not work.
For all students using Suzuki method, consider listening to the CD/recording of Book One daily for a full month before your first lesson. Similarly to learning a language, it is important to first hear and then imitate.