Suzuki Method

By Nobel L. Queaño

“When the human race created the culture of speech and writing, it also produced the
sublime culture called music . It is a language that goes beyond speech and letters- a living art
that is almost mystical”- Sinichi Suzuki1

Sinichi Suzuki revolutionized string education with his philosophy of early childhood
music education. He emphasized rote memorization and learning by ear with students as young
as 3 years old and gained a major following around the world during the second half of the 20th
century. Dr. Suzuki’s primary philosophy was that there are no limitations to the capabilities of
children and that they can pick up their native language very quickly. This is regarded as the
mother tongue approach in teaching music that builds on language acquisition . Because all
children learn and master their own language, Suzuki believed all children could learn and
master music in the same way. He sometimes called this “talent education” which means that
musical talent is not inborn, but can be developed in everyone. 2

Dr. Suzuki also incorporated the following philosophies into his music pedagogy schools: 3

 That the human being is a product of his environment

 Emphasis on playing from a very young age
 Repetition of experiences is important for learning
 Teachers and parents which are regarded as the adult human environment must
be at high level and continue to grow to provide a better learning situation for the
child.
 Listening to music every day is important
 As with language, the child’s effort to learn an instrument should be met with
sincere praise and encouragement.
 Children practice their language skills by talking with friends their age. In the
same way, children develop their musical skills by playing with other children who
are playing the same music. The group lessons builds motivation as children see
other students’ accomplishments
  Children learn to read after their ability to talk has been well established. In the
same way, children should build technical competence on their instruments
before being taught to read music.

Suzuki called his approach a "philosophy" and not a method; saying teachers must all
devise their own methods. Suzuki began by teaching the violin, then his "philosophy" grew to
encompass viola, cello, bass, flute, guitar, harp, piano, organ, voice, recorder and early
childhood education. 4

The Suzuki method and its application

The suzuki approach is similar to the process of acquiring the native language of the
child which is regarded as the mother tongue method. In acquiring a language , the child is
raised in an environment where people are constantly using language to speak and
communicate. Through listening and observation, he begins to recognize patterns and meaning.
The child begins to imitate the sound he recognizes but the first attempts are not accurate but
then these are praised by the parents and the child is urged to repeat or say the words again.
By repetition, the child then gains accuracy and mastery of the words and its meaning. The child
is not expected to read immediately . Once the child has several number of words that can form
phrases and sentences , he will eventually notice that the words in the book related to the
sounds and meaning of the language being produced. 5

Sinichi Suzuki applied this process of language acquisition to learning music. The
children listen to recordings at home and observe other students and parents playing the
instrument in lessons. The listening and observation foster the desire to imitate what the other
students are doing. The teacher guides the student towards increase accuracy giving the
parent clear guidelines on how to practice at home. Each success was nurtured and praised
and repetition for mastery was encouraged through games until the student gains confidence
and ownership of the process . Reading is taught when the student has a good understanding of
the vocabulary of music such as symbols related to a sound the student already knew from
experience. 6
 The Suzuki method involves the so-called Suzuki Triangle in which the teacher and the
parent work together with the the learning child . They are of equal importance and must all
contribute so that the child can learn in the most positive environment possible. In every
direction of the triangle there must be trust and respect. The teacher is there to give both the
child and the parent the tools to learn the instrument and the support needed for educating the
child. The parent is considered the practise teacher and is expected to take notes during the
lesson and to work to understand every technique being taught. The child is expected to listen
to the teacher and to treat the parent as they would their teacher during practice times at home.
One parent often learns to play before the child, so that she/he understands what the child is
expected to do. Parents work with the teacher to create an enjoyable learning environment. 7

Common Criticisms and Issues of Suzuki Method

Suzuki method has had many followers around the world but it has also faced many
criticisms on its belief and practices. Among these critcisms concerns with beginning age of
learning an instrument, repertoire and curriculum, replacement of traditional etudes and theory
books, frequency of group performances, and tendency towards rote learning.8

Students of the suzuki method begin very early even as young as age 3. Suzuki
teachers believe that the early years are often considered prime for developing muscle
coordination and mental processing However some educators believe that student that young
doesn’t really understand what is going on, and the high demand for structured practice is
detrimental in their overall progress. Although suzuki teachers believe that musical ability can be
developed in all children, it is best to use judgement on individual child’s maturity and
developmental readiness before beginning any instrument.

Critics also view the common repertoire and the standardized curriculum will limit the
playing styles of the students unless the Suzuki teachers are flexible in adopting materials
from outside sources.

Traditional etudes and theory books are replaced by learning the Suzuki repertoire.
Suzuki believed that every technical problem or difficulty that a student needs to learn can be
taught right in the context of their song book repertoire. Each piece is reviewed and repeated
until it is mastered to be able for the student to advance to the next level piece.
 Traditional etudes are considered to be wonderful warm ups. If etudes are not
included in the instrument learning process, students may miss out on building a repertoire of
useful etudes that are designed to enhance a specific technique.

I agree on group performances when learning an instrument. It sustains student

motivation and naturally encourages and challenges each student to be better in learning
valuable playing skills. The downside of this is that student may develop a tendency of
mechanical playing at the expense of individual musicianship. Students who perform frequently
in a group tends to perform poorly as a soloist . 9

Lastly and I think the most common criticism that I always hear is that the suzuki
students have a tendency towards rote learning. Though Suzuki ‘s belief is that students
develop a good ear , delay in note reading may compromise sight reading ability. Students may
also have the tendency to be overly dependent on others and thus may struggle to develop
10
their own style and own interpretation which greatly affects true musicianship.

The Suzuki approach may have its own benefits and disadvantage in a student learning
music. Presented with the pros and cons of the Suzuki method, I believe that the approach
will still be a great tool to add to a teacher’s repertoire techniques in music education . The
Suzuki students especially the young ones have continued to amaze me of how they can
manage to execute the technical aspects of selected Suzuki pieces . Imitation and repetition in
the suzuki method may have disadvantage effects on learning later on but this can be
remedied if the The teacher is flexible and creative enough in adopting or mixing other effective
music education methods in dealing with problems of students’ music learning .
ENDNOTES

1Lois Shepheard, Memories of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki: Son of His Environment.Carindale, Qld: Interactive
Publications, 2012. Available from ebook collection (EBSCohost), Ipswich, MA, p. 1

2Violinist.com. “What is the Suzuki Method?” Laurie Niles.

http://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20122/13212/ (accessed Oct. 30, 2014).

3Mercury Learning Systems. “Suzuki Method:Accelerated Method of Playing Instruments.” Brad Davis.
http://www.acceleratedlearningmethods.com/suzuki-method.html (accessed Oct. 30 2014).

4 Laurie Niles, “What is the Suzuki Method?”

5Suzuki Association of the Americas. “About the Suzuki Method.” Suzuki Association of the Americas.
https://suzukiassociation.org/teachers/twinkler/ (accessed Oct. 30, 2014).

6 Ibid.

7Suzuki Talent Education of Waterloo. “ About the Suzuki Method.” Suzuki Assoziation of the Americas.
http://suzukiwaterloo.ca/AboutSuzuki.aspx (accessed Oct. 30, 2014).

8The Violin.com. “Learning with Suzuki Violin Method: Introduction to the Suzuki Violin Method.” The
Violin.com . http://www.the-violin.com/suzuki-violin-method.html (accessed Oct. 31, 2014).

9 Ibid.

10 Wikipedia, s.v. “Suzuki Method,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method (accesses Oct 30, 2014).

REFERENCES

Mercury Learning Systems. “Suzuki Method:Accelerated Method of Playing Instruments.” Brad Davis.
http://www.acceleratedlearningmethods.com/suzuki-method.html (accessed Oct. 30 2014).

Shepheard, Lois. Memories of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki: Son of His Environment.Carindale, Qld: Interactive
Publications, 2012. Available from ebook collection (EBSCohost), Ipswich, MA. Accessed
October 30,2014

Suzuki Association of the Americas. “About the Suzuki Method.” Suzuki Association of the Americas.
https://suzukiassociation.org/teachers/twinkler/ (accessed Oct. 30, 2014).

Suzuki Talent Education of Waterloo. “ About the Suzuki Method.” Suzuki Assoziation of the Americas.
http://suzukiwaterloo.ca/AboutSuzuki.aspx (accessed Oct. 30, 2014).

The Violin.com. “Learning with Suzuki Violin Method: Introduction to the Suzuki Violin Method.” The
Violin.com . http://www.the-violin.com/suzuki-violin-method.html (accessed Oct. 31, 2014).

Wikipedia, s.v. “Suzuki Method,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method (accesses Oct 30, 2014).

Violinist.com. “What is the Suzuki Method?” Laurie Niles.

http://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20122/13212/ (accessed Oct. 30, 2014).