Last night I got home and had a package in the package room.  Teacher told me to order Suzuki Book Two, so I did – I got the one that comes with the CD.  I opened it, started leafing through the book, and started getting excited about what’s to come!

For one thing, it looks like I’ll be going beyond first position, which is a little thrilling to me.  I was telling Michael last night that I don’t think I did so as I learned to play when I was a child.  I think I quit just before it was time to go beyond first position.  I’ve always felt like shifting positions is a major difference between really playing and just tinkering with the violin.  Last night I told Michael that saying I can play the violin is like saying reciting the alphabet is reading.  Of course there’s a degree to which saying the alphabet can be reading, but…

Another exciting sideshow is that the CD comes with piano accompaniments, so if I want to do a little recital in my living room for Michael and the window washers (they’ve been at it all week), I can.

Also, gone are the numbers demarking finger positions over most notes, which were ever-present in Book One.  I read that the Suzuki method doesn’t focus on reading music until Book Four, but there will be no getting around it if I’m to use this Book Two either!  Perhaps by “read music” we mean affix note names – indeed that doesn’t seem too prominently featured in the book.

And yes, today’s my birthday – 38.  So far so good!

Thanks for reading.

Ryan