Only 2 months to go! Yikes! Our exams are on Saturday June 27th. We had one weekend of training in March, one more day with All levels on May 9th. Then it's the prep day on June 26th. And then The Big Event. Haven't been writing much, but playing instead - which is kinda important at this point of my studies... :) Check below what this blog is about!
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| Fireflies Chronicles (by Noelle Perrin) on November 17th 2013, at the 30th Anniversary weekend of the Finnish Flute Association. We had 80 kids + handful of adults on stage! I'm in the middle with the fancy white wings... :) |
* Update in November 2014 *
This is my last year of Suzuki training. It's weird and terrifying and exciting and all in between. We've laughed about establishing the "level 6", so we could still meet, talk about this stuff (teaching, philosophy, pupils, materials, everything!). I want to meet these Suzuki alumni with whom I've grown a lot, as a teacher but also as a human. This Fall we had one weekend of training and there'll be one more during Spring semester. And probably a "prep day" just before the exams. Aaaaand the exams are in the end of June -15, it's kind of official now.
I started as a flute pupil in the local music school at the age of 7,5 (not as Suzuki pupil), slowly growing to the idea of becoming a flute teacher. Or a flutist. Or well, both! Studied in Helsinki Polytechnical in 2000-2005, then did some advanced special studies (musician, the diploma exam) in 2009-2010, also in Helsinki. Suzuki studies started in Fall semester 2004, so it'll be a total of 11 years next summer.
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| A year ago in a local paper :) |
One more point: we're studying with the European syllabus, which is somewhat different from the American system (or so I've been told :)). We have 5 teacher levels and go through 9 first books, with all the philosophy & parent education & other points. We write essays, observe a lot of master and group classes, teach classes ourselves during the training weekends, practice performing etc. I am actually quite interested in how the training system goes in other continents, maybe I'll find out more about it later... :)
Thus spoke Eeva, on November 18th, 2014.
*** (Older stuff) ***
So begins my 10th year as a Suzuki flute teacher trainee - if you don't count that one year I moved a bit too far to participate actively. Last December me & another colleague had the level 4 examination and started level 5 after it. It is the "Grand Finale" - didn't want to quit now when there's only 2 more years to go. Which means our goal for the examination is the beginning of July 2015. Yikes...
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| Me at our town library, May 2013 (non-Suzuki repertoire there...). :) |
The blog got started as I pondered on how to combine these specialization studies to maybe a Master's degree. It came to my mind that this would be a good way of putting together some thoughts, review subjects from different levels (with my notes as a backup source), to share my experiences from the training, to keep a rehearsing diary of my own flute playing... The purpose is to write from a graduated music/flute pedagogue's point of view, as a student who's been working for years already.
This is not a collection of articles, essays or facts like a magazine or a book - although you might bumb into some of all those mentioned, from time to time. This is a place of contemplating and making observations, maybe even answering these questions I hear every so often... :) "How do you have the energy/motivation to still study? What's the use/joy of it?"
To put it shortly: It is the Use and Joy in particular why I'm studying this, in everyday teaching as well as my life as a musician and a person. "Our goal is to raise better human beings."
This is me and these are my thoughts on Tuesday, September 10th 2013.
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