Schinichi Suzuki
Shinichi Suzuki was born in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. Son of a founder of a violin factory, he started studying the violin at the age of 17. He studied in Tokyo, then went to Germany for 8 years where he became the student of Karl Klinger in Berlin. During this journey, he developed a good friendship with Albert Schweitzer and Albert Einstein ( who was apparently a very good beginner violinist). Once back in Japan he became one of the first Japanese concert violinists and formed a quartet with his brothers.
He also taught the violin using the traditional method at The Imperial Academy of Tokyo. After the Second World War, he developed his own teaching method: “The method of the mother tongue” which has expanded progressively throughout the whole world. He died in 1998 and students and teachers prepared concerts to commemorate his 100th birthday worldwide. Currently, more than 1 million children follow the Suzuki method on all continents.
Suzuki Method
The Suzuki method is based on respect for the child and his/her own rhythm of development. One is not born with innate talent, it is learned and develops with practice. The capacity of children to learn is much greater than we think, we just have to be patient, open and allow them to make mistakes so that they can grow.
When Shinichi Suzuki was on his trip to Germany, he found himself confronted by the challenge of understanding a foreign language. Fascinated by the ease at which little German children could speak their language and thinking about the complicated dialects that Japanese children master, he realised that children were able to speak their mother tongue with ease. He became interested in the mechanisms behind learning one’s mother tongue and wondered how it would be possible to apply this to music, as both cases relate to a world of sounds.
He observed that:
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Listening plays an important role, well before the child starts learning to speak at the next level.
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A positive attitude and family encouragement are essential elements to success
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The language is practiced daily
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The child learns to express him/herself a few years before they learn to read
He developed his teaching method through other observations:
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The younger siblings also want to start learning ( role of the environment) and they learn faster than the older sibling
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Little children naturally make short and quick gestures, so it is pointless to make them start by playing slowly, this does not correspond to their temperament
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Children are motivated by learning in group
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Games facilitate children in learning complicated gestures better than repetitive exercises
The key points of the method therefore are:
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To place the child in an musical environment as early as possible
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To start as young as possible
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To listen (using the CD, concerts….) before they start playing and begin their musical journey
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As a parent, be active and help the child improve
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Practice everyday
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Learn the pieces by heart before learning to sight read
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Not wanting to skip the stages
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Keep a good, positive spirit during challenging phases
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Combine both individual and group lessons