How to teach note reading to beginner violin students

Once a student understands some basic theory (what a staff, measure, bar–line, time signature, treble clef and bass clef are), knows the note values with the Kodály syllables, has learnt about eight or nine pieces, and can use all four fingers (the equivalent of Suzuki’s Perpetual Motion), the following sequence of tasks will ensure good music-reading abilities. The student should master each task before going on to the next. This is not difficult to accomplish if (and this is the important part) the task is practised daily.

• Learn the names of the notes on the A string by answering the question, ‘What are the names of the notes under the first, second and third fingers?’ Ask the student to play the note and say its name