Teaching Approach < Policies & Perks < Tuition < Enrollment Process
DETROIT YOUTH VOLUME 2019/2020 Parent Handbook
Let’s make the world a better place! DYV teaches youth ages 3-18 to play violin using the world-class Suzuki method & social justice pedagogies to nurture creativity, resilience, collaboration & higher-order thinking skills. Both as a community of people and a non-profit, we strive to function as an anti-racist, pro-Black organization through our practices inside and outside of the classroom. Collaborations with local artists as guest instructors develop positive cultural identities in our students as Detroiters and as youth of color (applicable to 65% of our kids). Check out our Special Projects from past years resulting in albums celebrating hip hop, jazz, techno, and Detroit Voices. Since 2010, DYV has made quality arts education accessible to low-income families, especially youth from Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Paying and scholarship students alike receive the same excellent music education. Weekly private lessons & monthly group classes are located in the Cathedral Church of St Paul 4800 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201.
Teaching Approach
The vast majority of the following list describes the traditional Suzuki Method. To this tried-and-true teaching approach, Detroit Youth Volume adds place-based education through workshops with guest musicians to embrace genres special to Detroit. Improvising, composition & collaboration are also celebrated music-making strategies at DYV. All of our teaching is done with the purpose of nurturing critical thinkers who can change the world with their creativity, resilience, and empathy. Learn more: detroityouthvolume.org/teaching-approach.html
1. Private Lessons & Group Class - both are required. This allows for a rich music education in which students get individualized instruction and also learn to play with a group, developing empathy for others.
2. Parent participation - one caretaker is required to attend every lesson, take notes and facilitate home practice until child is able to practice independently. This job can be shared by more than one caretaker but they must communicate with each other consistently to best support the child.
3. Early beginning - traditionally between 3 & 5 years old but children can begin anytime.
4. Positive learning environment - teachers usenurturing language and strategies to encourage confidence and emotional resilience which leads to will for
mastery. Parents are guided to use the same language and approach at home during daily practice.
5. Ear before eye note-reading - students learn to read notes after they have a solid foundation of musicality,strong posture and are reading words at school.
6. Repetition - often skills are learned by practicing a section or exercise over and over
7. Review - we play the songs we know every week during practice and performances. Songs are not “done” and forgotten after they are memorized. This allows students to keep all of their techniques sharp to support them in learning new songs. It also keeps confidence up for children to hear themselves play songs beautifully while they are learning more difficult songs simultaneously.
8. Step-by-step & layered learning - students given small, achievable sections of the new song each week, instead of the entire piece. Before they have memorized this song, teacher begins a “preview” of the next songs. The child sees themselves constantly progressing with this approach and develops a will for mastery, always excited and happy to learn more because they are confident they can do it.
9. DYV music-making strategies includes:
10. Listening - students are expected to listen to the Suzuki songs daily to support their learning.
2. Parent participation - one caretaker is required to attend every lesson, take notes and facilitate home practice until child is able to practice independently. This job can be shared by more than one caretaker but they must communicate with each other consistently to best support the child.
3. Early beginning - traditionally between 3 & 5 years old but children can begin anytime.
4. Positive learning environment - teachers usenurturing language and strategies to encourage confidence and emotional resilience which leads to will for
mastery. Parents are guided to use the same language and approach at home during daily practice.
5. Ear before eye note-reading - students learn to read notes after they have a solid foundation of musicality,strong posture and are reading words at school.
6. Repetition - often skills are learned by practicing a section or exercise over and over
7. Review - we play the songs we know every week during practice and performances. Songs are not “done” and forgotten after they are memorized. This allows students to keep all of their techniques sharp to support them in learning new songs. It also keeps confidence up for children to hear themselves play songs beautifully while they are learning more difficult songs simultaneously.
8. Step-by-step & layered learning - students given small, achievable sections of the new song each week, instead of the entire piece. Before they have memorized this song, teacher begins a “preview” of the next songs. The child sees themselves constantly progressing with this approach and develops a will for mastery, always excited and happy to learn more because they are confident they can do it.
9. DYV music-making strategies includes:
- memorizing classical Suzuki songs played by children all over the world
- playing in genres special to Detroit during guest artists workshops
- improvising, composition & collaboration
- note-reading beginning with I Can Read Music
10. Listening - students are expected to listen to the Suzuki songs daily to support their learning.