About The Suzuki Method

A child learns to speak by being immersed in an environment where the language is being spoken daily. When the child utters the first mumblings, he is encouraged to repeat the sounds over and over, the mother intuitively repeating the words with clarity and smiling with joy. The child is “nurtured by love”. The mumblings become clearer. The vocabulary increases. It is this natural mother-tongue method that inspired Suzuki to develop his method of teaching music.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything”
(Plato)

In a Suzuki environment, the child hears recordings of beautiful music every day, performed by great players. The child hears daily the pieces that will be studied, as well as a great variety of fine music. In addition, the Suzuki teacher will encourage the family to attend live concerts. Through exposure to only the finest music, a child will aspire to producing a beautiful tone on the instrument, and will play with beautiful musicality.

“The characteristics of a good musician can be summarized as follows: 1. A well-trained ear. 2. A well-trained intelligence. 3. A well-trained heart. 4. A well-trained hand. All four must develop together, in constant equilibrium. As soon as one lags behind or rushes ahead, there is something wrong. So far most of you have met only the requirement of the fourth point: The training of your fingers has left the rest far behind. You would have achieved the same results more quickly and easily, however, if your training in the other three had kept pace.”
Zoltán Kodály

A parent’s role in the child’s musical training is as important as it is in the learning of language. In Suzuki Method the parent is a partner with the teacher in developing the ability of the child. This is known as the “Suzuki Triangle”.

Suzuki was concerned for the well being of children. He believed that the learning environment should be positive and filled with fun and joy. He also believed that children should be raised to become good citizens. He would give his young students little tasks, such as straightening the shoes in the entrance to their homes without expecting to be noticed for this. Suzuki believed in the importance of surrounding children with people who would be fine models of character.