The Suzuki Method
Dr Shinichi Suzuki believed that every child could learn to play a musical instrument to the best of their ability if given the right motivation. He developed a unique way of learning which he called the Mother Tongue Method.
A very young child learns to master their native language, it is an inbuilt capacity that every human being has and it begins at a very early age. They understand and learn right from the beginning by listening and following or copying what they hear and see. Although De Suzuki harnessed this ability to develop a method for learning music.
Dr Suzuki understood that with encouragement, care and love a child can develop his or her potential. He believed that very young children could begin their musical learning just as they learnt to walk, talk and take responsibility for themselves.
​
The main principles of the Suzuki Method are; listening, encouragement and praise, parental involvement, developing confidence and repeating the sounds many times to develop expertise.
​
Hearing the sounds before playing them is an important part of the Suzuki approach.Hearing the sounds perfectly played means that mistakes are not continually embedded in the memory. In other words hear, copy, hear copy. The parent and child are able to use this as a teaching tool that consolidates learning and acts as a ‘deputy’ teacher in effect.
​
Dr Suzuki felt that just as a parent teaches the child to speak through speaking the mother tongue language and the child listening and absorbing sounds and words, it was important that the parent should practise with the child and attend lessons so the parent knows how to help the child to practise. Listening to the recording to absorb the whole piece and listening to short sections immediately before playing that section themselves. The parent reminds the child what the teacher has taught them in combination with the recording to reinforce perfect practice.
Parents and teachers need to provide a safe environment where a child can take small steps that develop skills gradually and progressively enable the child to gain confidence. Genuine praise is vital so the child knows when they are achieving but also to encourage the child to want to learn more and to get better. All humans learn more effectively when praised and encouraged with fun and kindness, this way children will be encouraged and therefore motivated.
​
Practise every day with the parent is vital for developing memory patterns. Once a young child has learned words, they don’t stop using them because they now know them and then use an entirely new vocabulary. They use the same words combined in different ways and used in different contexts. Music is just the same; new skills are learnt and practised repeatedly to consolidate learning and to refine skills.
While new pieces are being learnt, the old pieces are reviewed so that balance, melody, hand co-ordination and phrase endings are refined and expertise are continually developed. The aim is that these pieces will eventually become part of the child itself. “A seed that is planted becomes stronger when tended”.
​
Dr Suzuki believed that talent is not dependent on where or into which family they are born. The expectations are the same for all and each child is born with natural ability. Talent, he maintained, is not inherited but can be developed through the right approach, and dependent on the way a child is raised. Dr Suzuki believed that “It is the responsibility of adults to improve everything in their control to create an environment worthy of the noble spirit with which every child is born”
