Violin method books compared for parents

Updated 2026-11-14

A violin teacher picks the method book. A parent still gains from knowing what kind of book it is, since each kind asks for something different at home. This page compares three well-known beginner violin books and the idea behind each.

Three kinds of violin book

	Suzuki Violin School	Essential Elements for Strings	Early Start on the Violin
Authors	Shinichi Suzuki	Robert Gillespie, Pamela Tellejohn Hayes, and Michael Allen	Egon and Kurt Sassmannshaus
Publisher	Summy-Birchard and Alfred Music	Hal Leonard	Bärenreiter
Built for	Private lessons with a parent, plus group class	A school orchestra class	Private lessons for young children
Starts with	Listening and playing by ear	Plucked notes read from the page	Open strings read from the page
Reading music	Later	From the first pages	From the first pages
First tune	Twinkle Variations	Short plucked tunes on two strings	Nursery rhymes with words
Number of books	10	3	4

Suzuki Violin School

The idea. A child learns music the way a child learns to speak: by hearing it every day. The child listens to a recording of the pieces, learns them by ear, and learns to read later.

How Book 1 starts. The first piece is a set of rhythm variations on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Folk songs follow, then pieces by Suzuki, Bach, and Schumann. There are 17 pieces. Read Suzuki violin Book 1 songs in order.

What it asks of a parent. A great deal. The parent attends lessons, plays the recording daily, and leads practice at home. Read the Suzuki parent guide.

Who it suits. Children who start young, and families who can give daily time. The method depends on a trained teacher.

Essential Elements for Strings

The idea. A whole class learns together. Violins, violas, cellos, and basses play the same numbered exercises at once.

How Book 1 starts. Children pluck before they bow. The first notes are on two strings. Students read from the first pages, with note names printed to help. Rhythms arrive one at a time.

What it adds. Rounds, duets, and pieces for the whole orchestra. Short notes on theory and music history. A website with a recording of every exercise, a tuner, and a metronome comes free with the book.

Who it suits. A child in a school orchestra, and an older beginner who wants to read from the start. Read Essential Elements Book 1 explained.

Early Start on the Violin

The idea. A reading-based method made for small children. Egon Sassmannshaus published the German original in 1976. His son Kurt adapted it for English-speaking children. The publisher lists it for children aged four and older.

How Book 1 starts. The child starts on open strings with simple note values. Next comes the falling “cuckoo” call, which trains the ear to hear a clean interval. The tunes are nursery rhymes with the words printed, in large notes.

What sets it apart. The publisher says the method brings in advanced skills early in a simple form. It names shifting and varied bow strokes. It also encourages playing with others from the beginning.

Who it suits. A young child in private lessons whose teacher wants reading from the first week. Some teachers use it beside Suzuki Book 1. One teacher’s review on a music store’s page describes starting Suzuki partway through this book.

Ear first or reading first?

This is the main choice. Both roads reach the same place.

Ear first. Teachers who favor it point to a strong sense of pitch and a big store of memorized pieces. A common worry is weak reading later. A good Suzuki teacher plans for this and adds reading at a set point. Read Suzuki vs traditional music lessons.

Reading first. Teachers who favor it point to a child who can open a new book and play. A common worry is a child who watches the page and forgets to listen. A good teacher adds listening and memory work.

Some teachers mix the two. A child may play Suzuki pieces by ear and read from a second book.

Etude books come later

An etude is a study piece that trains one skill. After the first year or two, teachers add an etude book to the method book. Wohlfahrt’s 60 Studies, Op. 45, is one that exam lists use. The Royal Conservatory of Music lists studies from it at Level 3. Read RCM violin levels explained.

Questions to ask a teacher

Which book do you start with, and why?
When do your students begin to read music?
How much listening or recorded play-along do you expect at home?
Do I attend the lessons?
Is there a group class or an ensemble?
When do you add scales and etudes?

A skilled teacher can get good results with any of these three.

What to buy

Buy only the book the teacher names, in the edition the teacher names. Suzuki and Sassmannshaus books have separate piano parts and recordings. Ask whether you need them. The Essential Elements book includes its online tools.