What is Suzuki? 

Suzuki method is a pedagogical approach developed by Shinichi Suzuki in the early 1940’s. He realized that young children were able to learn their native tongue from their parents with a 100% success rate just by being immersed in hearing their parents speak. Dr. Suzuki believed that every child could learn to play music. He was one of the first to teach that talent is developed and not inborn. He believed that music creates beautiful hearts and his aim was to create good citizens of the world. 

 

How does Suzuki Method work? 

The parent is considered the student’s most important teacher and their learning environment. If the parent can be positive and loving, the student’s experience will reflect that. No previous musical experience is required on the part of the parent.  The parent and teacher are partners in helping the child learn. The teacher instructs the parent during lessons. The parent then helps the child learn by attending the lesson, writing notes, and reproducing the lesson given by the teacher at home during practicing sessions. Another crucial component is the recordings which the child should listen to every day to learn their pieces deeply, develop their sense of pitch, rhythm and tone, as well as provide a sense of what they can achieve through practice. Students are given the opportunity to participate in group classes once a month which builds community, invites learning from their peers, and helps them learn to work with others. 

 

Why take Suzuki lessons?

Professionals in every field have benefitted from participation in the Suzuki method. My goal is not to have every student major in music or become a professional musician. However, I do hope that each student will learn to have a growth mindset. For example: 

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- Even if I don’t have the skills right now, I can develop them

- I can break down information and projects into small, manageable tasks

- Mistakes are not a sign of weakness, they are part of learning.

  
Other skills they’ll learn include:

- What mastery feels like

- Being confident giving presentations for groups and individuals (or at least tolerable discomfort while doing so)

- working with others