Our New Logo is Here! (4/26/24)
Music is both sounds and symbols. While we know that music is meant to be heard, music notation has developed to represent these sounds so music may be passed to others through written form. It is because of notation that music from the pre-recording era could survive after a composer died, and can even be revived through careful study of manuscripts (like J.S. Bach's compositions, which, largely forgotten by the public after Bach's death, were revived by Felix Mendelssohn). The notation we know today is mostly derived from music developed in Western Europe in the second half of the 18th Century through the present time. Musical cultures in other parts of the world developed their own traditional systems of notation as well (such as in Japan, China, and India, to name a few). However, as early as the 20th century, new notation systems and symbols were being invented as composers began using new sounds and techniques in their music. Understanding this language of musical symbols is important to the musician.
We spend time in our music lessons and musicianship classes to understand how music notation works. When we look at notation, the goal of our curriculum is to teach the students how to hear the notes in their head. Imagine Beethoven in the years when he was composing as he became deaf, how important a skill that was for him! When I first started teaching, and as a piano student, I would often go to music stores to purchase sheet music. I also went there to peruse music scores and piano method books to find new and interesting pieces. I do not need to play pieces on the piano to hear them. I can see the notes and hear them in my head. This is the inner-hearing skill we teach and develop when we ask children to sing our musicianship exercises. By seeing the notes and then being able to sing the notes correctly, a person must hear the pitch in their head and understand the symbols that give us the rhythm and meter of a piece.
We are different people and some find written notation easier to follow than learning a piece by ear. LIkewise, as one learns a foreign language, some feel more comfortable working from a textbook and writing out sentences and vocabulary. To develop fluency we are encouraged to immerse ourselves in the language and even travel and live in the place where a certain language is spoken in order to learn it well. A very wise and respected Suzuki teacher trainer, Doris Harrel, encouraged us to nurture skills in our students that they may find difficult. The aural learner should learn to read music as early as possible. The student who likes to see the notation should be encouraged to learn by ear as much as possible.
The Suzuki School of Newton has a new logo! It is a symbol of school, our community, and our learning environment. We believe it has many different elements that reflect our students: a joyful spirit, encouragement, music, and musical instruments. What do you see in this image? Perhaps you can even hear something when you look at our new logo as a symbol of our Suzuki School of Newton!
- Sachiko