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Suzuki Bass
comes to the UK
Pippa MacMillan,one of the first Suzuki-trained Bass teachers in the UK,
shares her experiences gained on the training programme.
he Suzuki approach originated on the violin those using Kodaly and Dalcroze methods. I am fortunate

T and quickly spread to cello and piano. As so often

happens, the double bass lagged behind the other
string instruments. Rodney Slatford and others
investigated adapting the Suzuki approach for double
bass in 1984, but chose to start the Yorke Mini-Bass project
in that my own three young bass pupils all learn Suzuki
piano with my mother, so they had already had extensive
musical training before starting the double bass (two at
the age of seven and one at the age of eight).
The other problem of course is that there are so many
instead. Suzuki double bass was started in the US soon ways to play the double bass. Standing, sitting, German bow,
after this but until now it has been available only in French bow, different fingering systems – not to mention
America. In November 2008 the first ever European Suzuki whether it’s best to use powder rosin or sticky rosin! On the
double bass teacher training course was held in Denmark. teacher training course we were encouraged to learn to
Nine of us gathered there to be trained by experienced teach in the style with which we play – if we normally sit
Suzuki double bass teacher Virginia Dixon from Chicago. down to play, we should learn to teach our pupils to sit
Dr Shinichi Suzuki (1898-1998) called his method the down. Consequently, Suzuki double bass is a very adaptable
“mother tongue” approach. Noting how rapidly children approach, moulding to fit the needs of children in different
learn to speak their own language – through constant countries, where playing styles are different.
exposure, imitation, repetition and parental praise – he The Danish Suzuki Association together with the
realised that the same approach could be used for learning European Suzuki Association had organised the teacher
music. He reasoned that every child has the ability to make training course at the music school in Albertslund, 20km
music if given the appropriate training and learning outside the centre of Copenhagen. Over the four days of
environment. There are a number of differences between the first course we discussed Suzuki philosophy, early
the Suzuki approach and conventional teaching methods. games designed to build basic skills for young children
These include the young age at which children start, the (and older ones too!) and how to teach the Twinkle,Twinkle
observation of other pupils’ lessons, parental involvement, Little Star theme and variations – the cornerstone of all
extensive listening to music, learning from demonstration, Suzuki teaching.
step-by-step mastery of each technique, use of a common So where does one start, faced with a new 7-year-old
repertoire, playing from memory, reviewing old pieces, and bass pupil? Certainly not with learning to read music – that
group work to complement individual lessons. is a separate skill. First, children must become comfortable
Several problems arise when adapting the Suzuki with the instrument itself, whether standing or sitting.
approach to the double bass. It simply isn’t practical for a 3 Many games can be played to develop good posture with
or 4-year-old to start learning such a large instrument. the instrument and to gain a feeling of the whole
Although smaller double basses can be found, the smallest instrument, for example by doing ski jumps (bringing both
double basses easily sourced (in the UK at least) are 1/10 hands to the nut then sliding them down the fingerboard
size – suitable for a 6 or 7-year-old. Cello-basses (full-size towards the bridge and plucking the strings when you get
cellos strung with bass guitar strings) are also used by to the end of the fingerboard). Rhythm games help
some teachers. However there is no reason why a child develop a sense of pulse, and singing helps train the ear.
cannot receive other musical training before getting their Virginia gave individual and group lessons to the pupils of
hands on a double bass, and a rich music-learning one of the teacher trainees, Peter Strøm Skriver, so we were
environment can still be created from birth. There are able to see many of the games we had been shown put
many early music groups for young children, including into practice.

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Pippa teaching bass to 8-year-old Lisa

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teaching methods

the double bass are considerably more difficult than on the

other instruments. Again we observed Virginia teaching
Peter’s pupils, and we also had to teach each other (with the
‘pupils’acting as unruly children!).On each course we had our
own individual lesson with Virginia, giving us a chance to
work at our personal playing technique.
The third and final course, in November 2009, was a little
hectic for me as I was rehearsing an opera in London at the
same time. Nevertheless, with two trips to Denmark in six
days, it all worked out! We were now able to consolidate
what we had learnt over the year. Each of us taught Peter’s
pupils for the first time under the careful guidance of
Virginia, who was incredibly supportive of us at every step of
the way. The atmosphere was always sociable throughout
the courses, and we all became great friends. It’s wonderful
to feel oneself within a community of teachers, able to share
ideas and tips. By this point we had all been able to try out
what we had learnt on the training courses back home with
our own pupils, so we were able to ask questions, discuss
what teaching techniques suited us, and gain ideas as to
how to improve our own teaching.
At the end of this course, eight of us took our exams –
either Level 1 (covering the first repertoire book) or Levels 1
Above: Playing group and 2 (the first three repertoire books).Two European Suzuki
lesson games!
cello teacher trainers had flown over to examine us along
Left: Maintaining good bow with Virginia in the first ever Suzuki double bass exams (they
holds don’t have exams in America), and everyone passed, to great
Below: Suzuki bass trainees relief! We now look forward to the next course, in 2011. RR

For more information about training to become a Suzuki

double bass teacher, please contact the European Suzuki
It was fascinating to meet the others on the course – Association: esa@europeansuzuki.org.
from Denmark, England, France, Holland, Iceland, Italy and
Switzerland. Three had done some training already with Pippa Macmillan lives in London and is studying at the Royal
Virginia in the US, two were trained Suzuki cello teachers, Academy of Music. She teaches in Cambridge as part of the
some were Suzuki parents and some were coming to Cambridge Suzuki Group. www.pippamacmillan.co.uk
Suzuki for the first time. We ranged in age from 20 to 60,
with some professional symphony orchestra players and
some full-time teachers.This mix gave us a fantastic
opportunity to learn a great deal from each other.
The second course, lasting six days, was held in March
2009. During this time we discussed all the pieces in the first
three Suzuki repertoire books, as well as supplementary
pieces that can be taught as necessary. The repertoire is
carefully designed so that one new technique is introduced
in each piece, whilst also consolidating techniques learnt in
previous pieces.Due to the size of the instrument,it is difficult
to find pieces that lie under the fingers on the double bass,
and many of the pieces selected for the Suzuki double bass
repertoire contain a lot of shifting, which some children
struggle with. A number of pieces are common with the
cello, violin and piano repertoire, but when transcribed for

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