Suzuki-Inspired (but also use for other/no methods) Practice Games/Gimmicks I have found:

Music Fortune Teller: http://www.cphmusic.net/2012/0.....eller.html (used here to review musical concepts, but I think you could also use this to write the names of songs in for 'random' revision sessions)

Spinners: http://musicnotesandtips.blogs.....nners.html (there are two: one for the different variations of Twinkle, and one for all the songs in the book. I've made a single one and can change the spinner arrow to the relevant side)

Dice: http://www.thepracticeshoppe.c.....ok-1a-dice (not too pricey if you live in the US, but if you live elsewhere like me, I think they could be easily made)

Cards: http://practicemakesiteasy.blo.....cards.html

Workout: http://practicemakesiteasy.blo.....k-out.html

^_^ Glad you liked it @Ripton!

Day one of the 35 day challenge for me.

I've finished reading Suzuki's Nurtured by Love and most of The Suzuki Violinist (Which is subtitled "A guide for teachers and parents", but I found very useful for the self-teacher also, and there is a section at the back aimed at older students practicing without parental involvement).

I know not everyone has access to these books (or perhaps the time/inclination to read them!) so I thought I'd share a few bits I found interesting:

• Suzuki tells the story of a little girl with infantile paralysis who could not play more than 2 notes of Twinkle without the bow flying out of her grip as her arm was seized by a violent twitch. (NBL) This made me re-think my frustrations with my own control and age, and I was impressed at her perseverance (and that of her teacher & parents)
• I was interested to see that Suzuki didn't administer tests to students before they were admitted to his training. (NBL) (One of the reasons I didn't start my musical education earlier was because I wasn't among the chosen few in my class who did well in a test - apparently I didn't have a 'musical ear'. Interestingly, to the best of my knowledge, those who were selected didn't choose to continue their musical studies. When I was finally admitted, I was recommended to play a cello, but as there weren't enough, ended up with the violin)
• In one of the more autobiographical parts of the book (it's a kind of memoir/philosophical book) Suzuki says "I heard the concerts of great musicians that only discouraged me more... "What a pity! Without talent, trying so hard, every day - it's not worth it," I told myself... This kind of feeling more or less affects every young person [Suzuki himself started violin study at 17 it seems]... But instead of living such a sad life without hope, they should begin by saying, "Talent is not inborn, it has to be created."" (pp. 37-38, NBL)
• I learned that the violin and s[h]amisen have a common anscestor, the ra[v]anostron! (NBL)This was of interest to me, as one of my friends plays the shamisen, and one of my current goals is to learn to play Sakura together!
• Suzuki's best students practiced for three hours a day or more (NBL)
• Suzuki asked students questions like "How many legs have you?" while they were playing Twinkle, to see how easily and freely they could do it. (NBL) I might ask my very patient husband to do the same for me!
• One of Suzuki's dreams was apparently for the world to finally live up to the Children's Charter which states that all children must be cared for. (NBL) I found this particularly interesting (and disheartening) given the recent UN announcement.
• Starr reports that Suzuki asked his students to give a 'home concert' for their parents once a week. (TSV) I think this is a great idea, and once again, my lovely husband has agreed to listen to me play.
• Starr also says that when his children studied in Matsumoto, they participated in bi-monthly groups. (TSV)
• It is intended that the teacher/student find short excerpts to practice instead of prescribed exercises. (TSV)
• One Suzuki mother marked passages in other than first position with coloured pencils. (TSV)
• Pieces in the early books are generally in A maj, D maj & G maj. (TSV)
• Suzuki used foot papers to encourage good posture (TSV) - somewhat like this. Sometimes, students would be asked to raise their right foot off the ground to emphasise the necessity of placing weight on the left.
• Suzuki/Starr recommends standing to your full height, exhaling a tiny bit, and stopping your breath to 'centre' yourself. (TSV)

To my delight, The Suzuki Violinist has a whole section which goes through the books piece by piece, providing guidance and exercises for each song. I'll be following this closely over the next month or so, especially as I get to the pieces I have never tackled before (the 3 Minuets, the Happy Farmer, and Gavotte). Here are some more tips I found about structuring study of the pieces:

• The Suzuki method is a 'pyramid approach' where, for example, Suzuki keeps the beginner playing the Twinkle variations daily until the completion of Perpetual Motion. (TSV)
• Twinkle can be practiced on the D string also, and the difficult group of 8x 16tth notes in Gavotte can be practiced in advance, e.g. 2-3 pieces before studying the entire piece. (TSV)
• Starr recommends Chorus from Judas Maccabeus in Book 2, and Gounod's Ave Maria as a supplementary piece, for vibrato (TSV)

I hope some of these points are useful for others too

For me, all I'm concentrating on today is "Exercise for Proper E-String Posture" and "Exercise for Changing Strings". It's a good thing I'm not doing anything more complex, as I need to buy a new 9v battery for my violin! >_<

Thanks @pky. I must admit I find the search function a bit hit-and-miss on the forums, so wasn't sure how much previous discussion of the Suzuki method there had been.

I agree completely about the recordings - it is really helpful. I recently worked my way through Strictly Strings book 1, which I found far more useful for its explanations, but I had much more difficulty finding recordings to go with it.

I've found a way to make recordings of the pieces I'm working on, and then review them. It's been really helpful, as I've been able to pick up mistakes I didn't even realise I was making at the time! But I've also discovered, upon playing the recordings back (yesterday's was "Lightly Row"), I don't sound as awful as I thought!

Today my challenge is "Song of the Wind".

Here's my schedule (mainly for my own memory!) with extra preparation built in for the few songs I've never tackled before (the Minuets, The Happy Farmer & Gavotte):

1. Exercise for proper E-string posture & Exercise for changing strings (p. 12)
2. Exercises for quick placement of fingers (p. 13)
3. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star A (p. 14)
4. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star other variations (p. 15)
5. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star theme (p. 15)
6. Lightly Row (p. 16), start practicing "Down-Up Twinkle" in preparation for Minuet 1
7. Song of the Wind (p. 16)
8. Go Tell Aunt Rhody (p. 17)
9. O Come Little Children (p. 17)
10. Tonalization (p. 18)
11. May Song (p. 19)
12. Long, Long Ago (p. 19)
13. Allegro (p. 20)
14. Perpetual Motion (p. 21)
15. Perpetual Motion variation A (p. 21)
16. Perpetual Motion variation B (p. 21), can stop reviewing all variations of Twinkle each day here
17. Exercises for the 4th Finger (p. 22)
18. Tonalization (p. 22)
19. D maj scale (p. 22), D string variations of Twinkle
20. Perpetual Motion in D maj (p. 23)
21. Perpetual Motion in D maj variation (p. 23)
22. Allegretto (p. 23)
23. Andantino (p. 24)
24. Tonalization (p. 24)
25. G maj scale (p. 25)
26. Etude (p. 25)
27. Etude variation (p. 25)
28. Minuet 1 (p. 26), start practicing "Hooked Bow Twinkle" in preparation for The Happy Farmer
29. Minuet 2 (p. 27), start practicing sixteenth note (p. 31) in preparation for Gavotte
30. Minuet 3 (p. 28)
31. The Happy Farmer (p. 29)
32. Gavotte (p. 30)

Each practice session also contains the scales I learned from Strictly Strings and Fiddlerman's beginners etudes to warm up, as well as some of the first position etudes from Suzuki's Position Etudes and Quint Etudes as a challenge at the end. I find these are what are really making my left hand ache!

No worries @Schaick glad you found it of use!

I've actually just gone through the beginner pieces here: https://fiddlerman.com/studies.....and-music/ and realised that you could learn a fair chunk of the early recommended songs from that list using the sheet music available on Fiddlerman:

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
2. Oh! Susanna
3. Lightly Row
4. Go Tell Aunt Rhody
5. Amazing Grace

I'll add these to my list above, again, largely for my own reference!

<Edited to add: Oh, it looks like I can only edit my most recent post, so I'll add an abridged version below>

@pky, that's interesting. I guess a few teachers must do the same thing. I'm starting my preparation for the difficult parts of Gavotte, as even though I find it tricky, I have it in my head as a kind of end-goal now. But it's good to know that it's not just me, that it is recognised as a step up from the other pieces in book 1!

<Added: pieces from Suzuki with some supplements, abridged version:>

1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star A (p. 14) followed by other variations and theme (p. 15) [Fiddlerman sheet music here] 
2. [Insert: Oh! Susanna from MOC, Fiddlerman sheet music here]
3. Lightly Row (p. 16) [Fiddlerman sheet music here], start practicing "Down-Up Twinkle" in preparation for Minuet 1
4. Song of the Wind (p. 16)
5. Go Tell Aunt Rhody (p. 17) [Fiddlerman sheet music here]
6. O Come Little Children (p. 17)
7. May Song (p. 19)
8. Long, Long Ago (p. 19) [Fiddlerman sheet music here]
9. Allegro (p. 20)
10. [Insert: Amazing Grace from MOC, Fiddlerman sheet music here]
11. Perpetual Motion (p. 21), variations A & B (p. 21), can stop reviewing all variations of Twinkle each day here
12. Perpetual Motion in D maj (p. 23) & variation
13. Allegretto (p. 23)
14. Andantino (p. 24)
15. Etude (p. 25) & variation
16. Minuet 1 (p. 26), start practicing "Hooked Bow Twinkle" in preparation for The Happy Farmer
17. Minuet 2 (p. 27), start practicing sixteenth note (p. 31) in preparation for Gavotte
18. Minuet 3 (p. 28)
19. The Happy Farmer (p. 29)
20. Gavotte (p. 30)