• Parents must create a rich, supportive learning environment for their child and serve as “home teacher” between lessons.
• Children are encouraged to begin violin from an early age, when their minds are ready to absorb the nuances of musical language and become “fluent” on their instrument of choice.
• The goal is not simply excellence in violin, but nobility of character.
• Through violin study, the child develops not only their artistic capability, but also physical dexterity, concentration, critical thinking, discipline, patience, and a loving nature.
• Music is a language and should be learned first by ear. Students play more fluently and expressively when they can “sing” each melody in their mind, rather than rotely performing symbols on a page.

How does Kaleidoscopes reflect Suzuki principles?

The simplicity and shorter length of Book 1 songs makes them a natural choice for very young children.

The Kaleidoscopes listening provides a beautiful model of singing and violin playing.

Songs are melodically memorable and lend themselves well to by-ear learning.

Kaleidoscopes Book 1 includes a comprehensive parent guide with essential information such as how to tune the violin, structuring violin practice, key points of each song, and elements of good posture.[/modal]

• Every child’s first instrument is their voice (singing) and their body (rhythmic movement). These form the foundation for instrumental study.
• Music selected for children should be only of the finest quality – especially time-honored folk melodies and works by esteemed composers.
• Children’s musical training should balance “a well-trained ear, a well-trained intelligence, a well-trained heart, and a well-trained hand.”
• Literacy should be introduced from the beginning in a natural way.
• Rhythms and pitches are introduced in the order of children’s natural musical development, which may be different from the order that “seems” logical from a musically literate point of view.
• Movable do solfége is used to illuminate tonal relationships and allows melodies to be easily understood in different keys.
• Movable do is the most musical option for teaching literacy. The alternative would be alphabetic names (which change from key to key) or numeric note positions (which are not beautiful to sing).

How does Kaleidoscopes reflect Kodály principles?

Kaleidoscopes uses solfége to allow children easy access to finding melodies on their instrument.

Meanwhile, children follow a traditional Kodály literacy sequence in their Lines & Spaces (note-reading) book and group classes.

Transposing songs into various keys helps children discover tonal patterns, intervals and melodic relationships.[/modal]

• Learning materials are beautiful and child-size
• Children choose their own activities. Self-initiated interaction (rather than teacher-driven instruction) is the primary source of learning; the teacher serves as a support and guide.
• Empowered to make their own choices and discoveries, children develop curiosity, independence, and joyous learning that sustains over a lifetime.
• Children learn in different ways; materials should be designed for all learning styles.
• The environment reflects beauty and order, nurturing the child’s spirit.
• Children’s learning is inspired by making fine artwork and knowledge reachable, rather than making materials “kid-like.”

How does Kaleidoscopes reflect Montessori principles?

With a more gently sloped curriculum, the majority of pieces in Kaleidoscopes can be learned independently by the student at home. This increases students’ sense of autonomy and mastery.

Children are given accessible challenges such as transposing already-learned songs into new keys, giving them an opportunity for creative thinking and problem-solving.

The Kaleidoscopes books are child-friendly and aesthetically beautiful.

The piano setting are not simplified chords overtop a melody, but fully textured and harmonically interesting musical pieces, providing a rich palette.[/modal]

• Movements originate in the whole body; the weight, momentum and energy of these motions is then transferred into smaller movements of the fingers and hand.
• When large movements are trained from the beginning, the playing of beginning violinists reflects vitality, naturalness, energy and balance.
• Proper understanding of whole-body dynamics yield greater ease of playing and a more beautiful tone.

How does Kaleidoscopes reflect Rolland principles?

Young children learn the movement building blocks of playing violin without the instrument, so these motions are mastered in a risk-free and vibrant way.

As the children progress, movement activities and experiential exercises accompany them at every step, building their awareness and connection to the physical embodiment of playing the violin.[/modal]