Dr. Shinichi
Suzuki
Early beginning
Education begins at birth and lessons can start as early as age 3, but it is never too late to learn!
Every Child Can
Dr. Suzuki believed that every child can be educated. He believed that tests for so-called “musical talent” were a waste of time since every child has the potential succeed. The most important factor is devoted commitment and time every day from the teacher and home practicing in addition to listening.
Nurturing Environment
Enjoyment is the basis of the learning process, not something added later. The teacher demonstrates constructive ways to praise the child’s success as well as supportive and creative ways to work for further improvement. A positive and encouraging environment is key to success.
Individual Approach
Each child works at his/her own rate with individualized methods of learning. The initial rate of progress has little to do with the final level of achievement. Many fine students have started very slowly, and students learn how to use patience in addition to practice techniques to master any new skills.
Parental Involvement
Children develop many skills from their parents and surroundings. Dr. Suzuki believed students can learn the same way. Training the parent as the home teacher greatly increases the amount of instructional time and makes it available where the child is most comfortable learning. Parents can see the learning process from the perspective of the beginner, and gain an appreciation of the skills involved. When the parent first learns on the child’s small instrument, the child can see someone succeeding on the instrument they play. Enthusiasm and patience are more important than musical experience. Many parents have so much fun learning the basics that they go on and get their own instrument to play for their own enjoyment.
Listening
Just as children learn to speak by listening, Dr. Suzuki believed children should listen each day to recordings of the pieces they are studying, as well as performances by concert artists to develop memory and musical sensitivity. Children don’t learn to read at the same time they learn to speak, and Dr. Suzuki found great success with the same concept in music. They learn the music naturally while doing other things.
Constant Review
Like repeating words when children are learning to speak, students review their old pieces with the recordings daily to improve their technique, as well as sensitivity to phrasing and musical feeling.
Group Classes
In addition to the individual lesson, children learn ensemble skills while gaining confidence and enthusiasm through games, solos, and group practice at the weekly group lesson.
Practicing with Recordings
After careful study of the teaching points of each piece, students practice with the accompaniment recordings to improve rhythmic skills, timing, and musical expression. Ensemble students learn their parts much more quickly by working with the special ensemble practice recordings of their own part.
Learning to Read Music
Children learn to speak before they learn to read. Likewise, students learn to play with good tone, posture, and musical technique before learning the musical symbols for the sounds they make. The Kodály music class teaches the basic skills of singing, ear training, and music theory through songs and games. This prepares students for music reading class and string ensemble. Music reading learning materials are provided by SIB.
Graded Repertoire
Children do not use practice exercises when learning to talk, but use language naturally while communicating instead. Every pieces in the Suzuki repertoire are designed to present technical problems to be learned in the context of the music, rather than through dry technical exercises.
Hear Dr. Suzuki with his own words
Dr. Suzuki listened to 12,000 to 15,000 graduation tapes a year. Each day the staff carried two full shopping bags full of cassettes that were sent by students from around the country for him to hear. He listened until the early hours of the morning and recorded some brief comments for the students at the end. Students from English speaking countries, especially Australia and New Zealand, gradually became aware of this and wanted to send tapes as well. Dr. Suzuki did not have the time to record separate comments in English for all of the foreign students, so he wrote down a general comment in Japanese which was then translated into English by Lili Selden. He then read the result on tape around 1985. By listening to this recording, you can get a sense of Dr. Suzuki’s warmth and care for the growth and development of each individual student. Our hope is that this recording will inspire more students to practice carefully and with the practice recordings Dr. Suzuki provided according to his teachings.