Where children don't just learn music — they belong to it.
Suzuki violin, piano, cello, guitar and musical theatre in Halifax.
The Suzuki Method at
Scotia Suzuki School of Music in Halifax
The Suzuki method teaches children to play music the same way they learn to speak: by listening, copying, and building in small, joyful steps, with a parent and teacher working together. At Scotia Suzuki, we've been helping Halifax families learn this way since 2017, with violin, piano, cello, guitar, voice and early childhood programs.
What is the Suzuki method?
The Suzuki method is a beautiful partnership between the child, the parent, and the teacher. Together, they help a child grow qualities through music that will help them succeed in so many areas of life.
Children learn to play by ear, the same way they learn language. A toddler learns small words first, then puts them together into little phrases, then sentences, then conversations. In Suzuki, children learn music in small pieces and build them up the same way, until they can express themselves through music as naturally as they do through speech.
Learning by ear also uses a different part of the brain than reading notes. Reading and analyzing is how children learn at school all day long. Learning music by ear develops a part of their brain that regular school rarely uses, which is an amazing opportunity.
How is Suzuki different at Scotia Suzuki?
We support the parents. This isn't a drop-off lesson where your child comes home with a practice assignment. You sit in the lesson, hear what your teacher explains, and understand what your child will practise at home and why. We give you plenty of support and fun practice ideas for home.
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We learn through play. Young children start with children's songs from all over the world, and explore music through games and play. Repetition is how children learn, so we find many creative ways to make repetition fun.
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Our teachers are trained to teach children. Our teachers aren't only talented performers. They're educated in how children learn, and they're continually supported and trained by our school. Teachers stay with us for years because they love our families, and our families love them.
Suzuki vs. Traditional music lessons
Suzuki at Scotia Suzuki
Traditional Lessons
When children start
Before starting
How they learn first
Daily listening
Rhythm and note reading
Reading from the Page
Instruments
Pace
Shared Pieces
Teacher Training
Parent's role
Performing
Group Classes
As young as 3 (and from birth in our early childhood program)
Usually school age
Families are encouraged and welcome to watch a lesson first
Usually start straight into lessons
By ear and by memory, like learning a language
By reading notes from the beginning, so children can only learn to play as fast as they can learn to read notes
Children listen to recordings of their pieces every day at home, the way they hear language before speaking it
Not usually part of practice
Community
Begins as young as 3, alongside playing by ear
From the first lesson
Starts in Book 2 on every instrument, after the child can easily play the instrument and is technically set up
From the first lesson
Small, child-sized violins and cellos so even 3-year-olds can play comfortably
Usually started when children are bigger
Children move on when a piece is truly mastered, and keep reviewing and upgrading earlier pieces
Often follows graded books or exam levels: turn the page, start a new song, and leave the old songs behind
Every student learns the same core pieces, so children at different levels can play together
Each student usually has their own pieces
Teachers with many hours of training specifically in how to teach children, plus ongoing training and certification
Teachers may have a teaching degree or performance and music experience, often without formal training in teaching music to children
In every lesson, and the practice partner at home
Usually drops off and picks up
20 Saturdays over the year, as part of the program
Not usually included or available
Frequent, relaxed performances of well-learned pieces
Usually occasional recitals or exams
A musical family of students and parents who grow up together, with more than one teacher
Mostly one student, one teacher
Both approaches can produce fine musicians.
Suzuki is especially suited to young children and to families who want to be part of the learning.
What age can my child start?
Children can start violin at age 3. Before that, our Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) program, for babies and toddlers with their grown-ups, prepares children for violin, piano, voice, cello, and guitar lessons when they turn 3 or 4.
Dr. Suzuki used to say the best time to start music lessons is when the mother is a child. In other words, you can't start too young.
Do I need to be musical to help my child?
Absolutely not. You need to be involved and supportive, but you don't need any musical background. Because you're in every lesson, you learn right alongside your child.
Two of our families come to mind:
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One of our students is now a teenager who travels the world performing. His parents weren't musical at all and were very worried at the start. We supported them every step of the way.
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Another student is at Juilliard today. His mum had no musical background either. She worked hard, and we supported her all the way through.
Many parents take lessons too, either private lessons or through our Adult Community Art Centre, where grown-ups learn the same instruments as their children in a supportive group, so they can play along at home.
We also encourage parents to become their child's student. One mum learned an entire Suzuki book taught completely by her two sons, whom I first taught to hold tiny violins when they were very small. One of those boys is now at university. He still plays, and he credits much of his success in life to the violin and the Suzuki method.
Do Suzuki students learn to read music?
Yes. Children as young as 3 learn rhythm and note reading, even complicated rhythms, separately from their Suzuki Book 1 songs. In Book 2, once they can easily play their instrument and are technically set up, they start reading their music from the page. That's true on every instrument we teach.
By then, they can move easily around their instrument with beautiful technique, express themselves, and play about 30 minutes of music by ear and from memory. It's spectacular to see. And because playing by ear is actually the harder skill, reading music comes easily after that. It's a gift to learn in this order.
How much practice is expected?
There isn't a set number of minutes. What matters is that your child practises every day, as a habit.
The easiest way is to anchor practice to something you already do every day:
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As soon as your child gets home from school, before a snack, TV, or going out to play
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After bath time, once pyjamas are on and teeth are brushed, before story time
Every family is different. When my own children were young, we practised before school. We just got up a little earlier.
Is Suzuki right for our family?
Suzuki isn't a good fit if you'd like to drop your child off, do the groceries, and pick them up afterwards. It isn't like hockey, ballet, or gymnastics, where all the work happens at class. In Suzuki, you come with your child, learn how to help, and practise together as a team at home.
It also isn't for families who want to push their child into exams and competitions to win. That's not our school. We're a community that lifts each other up.
Strangely enough, our students win often, because winning isn't the focus. One of our students recently won the Rose Bowl at the Kiwanis Music Festival. She wasn't nervous, she didn't go in to compete, and she didn't make a big deal of it. She simply went to share music she loved. I found out later that she'd won.
Because our students don't compete with each other, they're friends. Because they aren't critical of each other, they're kinder to themselves. They love their instruments, and they keep playing long after they leave us.
Why are group classes so important?
Group classes are where students come together to celebrate what they've learned, share with each other, and make friends.
Jack and Lauchlan met at our school when they were 5 or 6 years old. They're in Grade 12 now. They've grown up together, performed together in British Columbia and even in Ireland, and this spring they're giving their graduation concert together. They've kept each other practising, playing, and sharing music the whole way through.
What will I see change in my child?
Daily habits. Many families I've taught have struggled to do anything consistently. Through music, we work on it together, and learning to do a little bit every day becomes a lifelong gift. Over time, a little adds up to a lot.
Smart learning. As students grow, they learn how to tackle big things: listen to a piece for months before learning it, and practise the hardest parts first. They learn far faster and more easily this way.
No last-minute cramming. At our school, children perform pieces they've been playing comfortably for at least three months. They learn that when something matters, you don't leave it to the night before, which is a huge life lesson for children and parents alike.
Confidence. A boy joined us in Book 1 who was afraid to perform. I asked him, "Do you want to be afraid?" He said, "No. I wish I wasn't." So he came to our Friday concert nights and played easy, familiar songs in two concerts, including as a special guest for our littlest students. After a few months, performing felt easy. In Grade 12, he played his last piece for me, a Haydn sonata I'd played in university, and thanked me for all the encouragement over the years. He loved performing and was never nervous.
Why I chose the Suzuki method
From Christy Hodder, founder and director
When I found the Suzuki method, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. I had three young children, and I immediately flew to Miami to train with Ronda Cole. I brought Suzuki to Nova Scotia for my children, then for my community in Wolfville, then the Valley, then Halifax, and it grew into the Scotia Suzuki School of Music.
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I believe in it because of what I see week after week, month after month, and year after year: children developing confidence, and parents developing confidence in their ability to support their child in a positive way.
I love what it gives teachers, too. I had a music degree, but I was never taught how to teach. The Suzuki method gives teachers so much support, and at our school, we keep teaching and supporting our teachers.
I choose the Suzuki method over and over. Now my grandchildren are here, and I get to teach them Suzuki violin. How cool is that? It's beautiful.
Come see it for yourself!
The best way to understand Suzuki is to see it. Families are encouraged and welcome to watch a lesson, with no pressure and no commitment.
Prefer to talk? Call 902-476-7776