Four-year-old Lilijana Branch stands, pint-sized violin and bow in hand, ready to bow for the start of her violin lesson with Dr. Carol Linsenmeier. During her lesson, she and Dr. Linsenmeier will play musical games that help her improve her violin playing technique and coordination, encouraged by her mother, who attends her lessons and practices with her at home.

Lilijana is a student in the Ashtabula Art Center's new Suzuki program. Suzuki violin instruction is a method of teaching young children, ages three or four and up, to play violin through a process that is modeled after the way children learn language. With the constant encouragement of parent and teacher, children master a series of many small steps that start with music skill and coordination games, moves on to playing variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and progresses through the ten books of the Suzuki Violin School to playing Mozart violin concerti. In the beginning, children learn to play by ear. After they are comfortable with playing the violin, these children learn to read music, just as children learn to read words after they can speak fluently. Parents do not need to know how to play a musical instrument.During lessons they are taught how to work with their child.

In Suzuki instruction, parent and child attend a half-hour long private lesson and a group class each week. During the private lessons, the child learns to develop the skills of playing the violin. In group classes, young violinists play both music and games together to gain musical skills, and share the joy and camaraderie of making music together.

Private lessons cost $16 per half hour. To be eligible to be in the group Suzuki class, students must be taking Suzuki violin private lessons. The group class, will be offered at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays at a cost of $25 for a 5-week session.

Suzuki will be taught by our Dr. Carol Linsenmeier. Dr. Linsenmeier has degrees in music education from the College of Wooster and the University of Georgia and a Ph. D. from Kent State University in Special Education. She received her Suzuki teacher training from Ithaca College Suzuki Institute.