One of the building blocks of Suzuki music education is braking down all skills needed to play the violin (or any instrument) in very small pieces to be absorbed by our children’s minds. This approach is very successful, but requires consistent, repetitive daily practice of all the skill-building exercises, games, posture, movements, and musical concepts. The Suzuki Talent Education process also requires a great dose of patience in the part of the parent, as well as the expert guidance from the Suzuki music teacher.

I am passionate about helping every one of my students develop his/her full music potential and ability. In my effort to help the learning process, I have written an outline of the steps we follow to practice and get excellent at our Twinkle Variations and Theme. Enjoy!

– Rigo Murillo

The Successful Path to Suzuki Violin Twinkle Graduation

• Taking a bow (“I’m eager to learn!” – “Thank you for teaching me.”)
• Violin hand, bow hand
• Violin hold
• Bow hold (while listening to recording)
• Bow Song (“Up like a rocket…”)
• Violin hand shape/position (finger tunnel)
• Twinkle Variations Rhythms (5 variations and Theme):
  • A – TTTT-Ta-Ta – Practice Video!!
  • B – 1-2-shh-4
  • C – Jack-Rabbit-Eats-Carrots
  • D – Blueberry-Strawberry
  • E – Wish-I-had-a-motorcycle
  • Twinkle Theme
• Practicing Rhythms (Implementation):
  • Clapping
  • Rhythm movements (hands on legs, stomp, march, etc.)
  • Bow in the air (up and down rhythmic movement)
  • Bow on violin shoulder (without violin)
  • Twinkle Rock (TTTT-Ta-Ta 12 times and a Ta at the end)
  • Play all rhythms on E string
  • String Crossings w/ Twinkle Rhythms (E & A strings)
• Twinkle Variations Prep Songs
  • Flower Song (A, E, E1, E)
    • Practice/review violin hand shape/finger tunnel
    • 1st finger on E string (arched, with fingertip on string)
  • Monkey Song (A, A1, A2, A3, A3, A2, A1)
    • Practice without bow hand, just fingers
    • Parent/teacher plays the bow  with every rhythm while student puts fingers down
    • Student plays bow and fingers with all rhythms with a brief stop in between notes
    • Student plays bow and fingers with all rhythms without stop between notes
    • The Monkey Song can also be played on E string, and later, D string
• TWINKLE VARIATIONS AND THEME (Twinkle Burger/Sandwich – Album Tracks 1 through 6)
  • Bread (A, E, E1, E, A3, A2, A1, A)
  • Meat/Middle of sandwich (E, A3, A2, A1, E, A3, A2, A1)
  • Practice only breads and only meats with every rhythm
  • Put burger together with each rhythm variation (stopping before putting fingers 1, 2, & 3)
  • Practice burger with each rhythm variation (reducing the stop before putting fingers 1, 2, & 3 until is gone)
  • Practice the whole burger, same variation many times (repetition) with each one
  • Practice two, three variation rhythms at a time until stamina is built
  • Practice ALL Twinkle Variations in “one take” with NO STOPPING – Here’s a Twinkle Var. A Practice Video
  • Practice ALL Twinkle Variations in “one take” WITH PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT (live or from the recording)
  • Practice PERFORMING ALL Twinkle Variations in “one take” WITH PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT (live or from the recording) for friends and family
  • Perform all, beautifully played Twinkle Variations in a lesson
• GET TWINKLE GRADUATION CERTIFICATE!
• Perform Twinkle Variations at a Play-In or Concert
• KEEP REVIEWING TWINKLE VARIATIONS DAILY
• Learn other variations / make up your own
• Play “music/mental skill” games with Twinkle Variations: Ghost game, clapping game, on/off switch game, etc.These games increase the level of concentration and mindfulness and prevent children from playing on “auto-pilot” mode.
• PLAY BETTER!!

More Help on Suzuki Violin

• Twinkle Rock
• Twinkle Var. A Practice Video
• Learning Twinkle “Burger” Outline
• Mr. Rigo’s Audio Practice Play-Along Tutorials
• 100-Day Practice Chart
• Violin Anatomy (parts of the violin)
• Practice Tips from the “Pro” Suzuki Parents