Suzuki violin Book 1 songs in order, and what each one teaches

Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1, has 17 pieces. A student learns them in order, from the Twinkle Variations to a gavotte by Gossec. This page lists every piece, who wrote it, and what it adds.

The 17 pieces in order

No.	Piece	Composer
1	Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Variations	Shinichi Suzuki, on a folk tune
2	Lightly Row	Folk song
3	Song of the Wind	Folk song
4	Go Tell Aunt Rhody	Folk song
5	O Come, Little Children	Folk song
6	May Song	Folk song
7	Long, Long Ago	T. H. Bayly
8	Allegro	Shinichi Suzuki
9	Perpetual Motion	Shinichi Suzuki
10	Allegretto	Shinichi Suzuki
11	Andantino	Shinichi Suzuki
12	Etude	Shinichi Suzuki
13	Minuet 1	J. S. Bach
14	Minuet 2	J. S. Bach
15	Minuet 3	J. S. Bach
16	The Happy Farmer	Robert Schumann
17	Gavotte	F. J. Gossec

The list is the same in the book and on the recording. The current book is the International Edition. Hilary Hahn plays the violin on its recording.

What the book is built to do

The pieces come in four groups. Each group has a job.

Piece 1: the Twinkle Variations. The child learns to hold the violin and the bow, and to play short, clear strokes. There are five rhythm variations and then the plain tune. Read Suzuki Twinkle variations explained.

Pieces 2 to 7: six songs. These use the finger pattern the child learned in Twinkle. Each song adds one small thing. The child’s ear does most of the work, since the tunes are easy to sing.

Pieces 8 to 12: five pieces by Suzuki. Suzuki wrote these to train the bow arm and the fingers. They are faster and ask for more control.

Pieces 13 to 17: music by Bach, Schumann, and Gossec. These are the first pieces by famous composers. They are longer and have more than one section.

What each piece adds

1. Twinkle Variations. Posture, the bow hold, and short strokes with a stop after each note. The first finger pattern.

2. Lightly Row. A second tune with the same fingers. The child finds out that the fingers already know the notes.

3. Song of the Wind. Lifting the bow and setting it down again. Teachers call this a bow circle or a retake. The fingers also hop from one string to the next.

4. Go Tell Aunt Rhody. A tune in three parts. The first part comes back at the end. Many teachers use it for loud and soft.

5. O Come, Little Children. A tune that starts on an up-bow. The first note is a pickup, a note that comes before the first strong beat.

6. May Song. A dotted rhythm: one long note and one short. The tune climbs the notes of a chord.

7. Long, Long Ago. A slower song. Teachers use it for smooth bows and a singing tone.

8. Allegro. Big, short strokes at the start and smoother playing in the middle. Before the first tune returns, the music slows and stops on a held note. The book tells the student to stop the bow there.

9. Perpetual Motion. Steady, even notes with no rests. The book also has a variation with each note played twice. It marks places for the fourth finger.

10. Allegretto and 11. Andantino. Two more short pieces by Suzuki. Ask the teacher what each one is for in your child’s lessons. Teachers differ in what they stress.

12. Etude. A new finger pattern. The second finger moves back to sit beside the first finger. Teachers call this a low second finger. It lets the child play in the key of G major.

13 to 15. The three minuets. A minuet is a dance in three beats. The book credits all three to Bach. Each one is longer than the songs before it.

16. The Happy Farmer. A piano piece by Schumann, from his Album for the Young. It has a strong dotted rhythm.

17. Gavotte. The longest piece in the book, with quick notes and changes of mood. Many teachers treat it as the Book 1 graduation piece.

How long Book 1 takes

For a young beginner, Book 1 often takes longer than any later book. It lays the base for posture, tone, and listening. A young beginner may spend a year or two in it. An older beginner may move faster. There is no set time.

What a parent does

• Play the recording every day. The child learns each piece by ear before the fingers try it. Read Suzuki listening.
• Keep the old pieces going. A child on piece 12 still plays pieces 1 to 11. Review is where tone and ease grow.
• Follow the teacher’s point for each piece. Each piece has one main point. Ask the teacher to name it, and practice that point first.
• Track review. List the pieces on a chart with the practice chart maker.

Read the Suzuki parent guide for the parent’s role.

The composers

• The book credits the three minuets to Bach. RCM’s list marks Minuets 2 and 3 as attributed to Bach, which means scholars are not sure he wrote them. Minuet 3 is now credited to Christian Petzold. Read who wrote the Minuet in G.
• Schumann wrote “The Happy Farmer.”
• François-Joseph Gossec was a French composer who lived from 1734 to 1829.
• Thomas Haynes Bayly was an English songwriter. “Long, Long Ago” was one of his songs.
• Shinichi Suzuki wrote pieces 8 to 12 and the Twinkle variations.

Read composers in the Suzuki violin books.

Book 1 and exams

Several Book 1 pieces are on the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) violin lists. Go Tell Aunt Rhody, May Song, and Song of the Wind are listed at the Preparatory level. Andantino, Allegretto, Minuet 1, and The Happy Farmer are listed at Level 1. Read RCM violin levels explained.

What comes next

For tunes from other methods too, read first violin songs for kids. Book 2 has 12 pieces, with music by Handel, Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven. Read Suzuki violin Book 2 songs in order and Suzuki violin books 1 to 10.

Sources

Checked in November 2026.

• Alfred Music. Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1, International Edition.
• International Suzuki Association. Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1, violin part: sample pages. Summy-Birchard. Hosted by Hickey’s Music.
• The Sound Post. Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1, contents.
• University of Northern Iowa School of Music. Suzuki violin book revisions.
• The Royal Conservatory. Suzuki repertoire and the RCM Violin Syllabus, 2021 Edition.