The Suzuki Method – More than music

Nurtured by Love

A. What does the Suzuki Method offer that is different to other methods?
A safe and loving environment that provides your child with care and individual attention to grow
and develop with freedom and flexibility as a person firstly and secondly as a great musician who
deeply understands their craft and can speak the language of music fluently with a beautiful quality
of sound and technique. EVERYONE CAN.

B. Why give your child an education in music?

It builds character – WHY?
• Consistency – in their efforts
• Determination – to achieve and understand something challenging
• Controlling, balancing and managing their emotions
• Respect – for their parent and teacher
• Developing – patience and humility
• Nurturing inner peace and self-belief – through the ART of practice
• Ability – to express the soul with beauty
• SELF ESTEEM
• Reduces stress and increases contentment and energy when playing well known material
(another reason for review)
• Helps develop good posture & poise for life (see Alexander method
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_technique)
• Learn to LISTEN to yourself, parent and your teacher
• Huge social benefit

C. What are the benefits of a non-graded musical education that requires such an initial
commitment from parents?
• Can focus on every single aspect of the students’ individual needs without unnecessary
pressure.
• They already have so many exams in school, music as a state exam and private exams (eg.
RIAM, ABRSM) are already examined as conventional methods for teaching.
• Students receive certification / accreditation / medals with recitals and national concerts –
the only difference is a % is not placed on their ability.
• A greater relationship is developed between all members of the triangle:

Student

Parent Teacher

D. An effective, efficient and global Pedagogy

• The methodology and nurtured approach to developing the students’ ability in the Suzuki
method.
• Clear structure.
• Intelligent design that was considered very carefully by global experts for years.
• Concert level of performance refined through the twinkles – ultimate vehicle for developing
the correct technique and ability to play music comfortably, effectively and beautifully.
 • Ability for everything required for the highest level of playing is set out in book 1.
• Pieces link throughout all levels of repertoire
• Regular contact with parent is to ensure the most beneficial return on the commitment the
family has invested.

E. Concerns regarding the Suzuki Method: Some typical FAQ’s and parent worries
1. What are all these twinkles about?
2. Are these the children that don’t know how to read music?
3. Why do they stay so long on book 1?
4. Why are they always playing the same material over and over again?
5. Are these the children that play like robots?
6. Is it a really strict structure – is there no flexibility on what the student can play?
7. Are they not just playing ‘old music’ from a series of piano books – how is this different to
other teaching methods?
8. There’s too much commitment for the parent, how is this going to benefit my child or me?
9. Why do I have to bother with these group classes, none of my friends kids have to go?

F. Aspects of Suzuki’s own Book – Nurtured By Love

• All Japanese children speak Japanese – page 1
• What does not exist in the environment – cannot be developed – page 12
• The joy of thirty workers – page 38
• The high jumping ability of the Ninjutsu, a lesson to be learned – page 41
• The beauty of earnest repetition (calligraphy example) – page 42
• Develop excellence through repetition – page 43
• Dr. Einstein becomes my guardian – page 76
• One must be able to put things into practice – page 87

G. How long does it take to develop ability in music?

When we plant a daffodil bulb, we don’t dig it up every week to see if it’s growing, we trust the
conditions and the course of nature that it will bloom the following spring.

Equally, in the Suzuki method, the conditions of the teaching are right, the teacher is trained to
know what to do, all the student and parent have to do is trust the process, and over time, you will
inevitably see green shoots of ability appearing, even if there is a tough winter!

• Each student can take it as slow or fast as they need within their schedule and what
commitment the family can make to musical activities outside the individual and group
classes.
• On average a foundation is cemented in the first two years, but also depends a lot on their
age, how much practise is attempted and how many other commitments they have.
• 2-4 years of practising an instrument with individual lessons, group classes, concerts, camps
and attending musical performances will allow the student to have the ability to explore and
have the independence, knowledge and physical skill to do a lot of work on their own.
• Anyone who plays on one instrument beyond four years with regular weekly practise is on
the road towards mastery.

H. How long did it take to teach them to:

• How do you help them with their English and Maths homework if you’re not a linguist or
maths lecturer?
• Put on their clothes?
• Brush their teeth?
 • Comb their hair?
• Use a knife and fork?
• Say please and thank you?
• Ride a scooter / bike (Suzuki is like the balanced bike approach)?

More importantly –
• How did you teach them to speak, walk or run?
• How did you teach them to laugh, cry, scream, sulk, bargain, dig in their heels etc.?

THE GENERAL STRUCTURE

Individual classes
• One to one attention and supervision with preparation during the week at home

Group classes
• Community interaction and group peer-to-peer learning through music games

Summer camps:
• Full scale national experience with other instruments and individual lessons with other
teachers
• Meeting students from other countries an d seeing the international nature of the Suzuki
repertoire
• Loughrea mini-camp
• Harmania mini camps
• International camps
• Being a part of something bigger,....something Global, actually, Universal
Suggestions for greater parent interaction / participation within our communuity:
• Facebook group
• Newsletter by email

What are the Twinkles about?

• Teaches the highest level of concert level technique
• Everything you need to play highest standard of piano and producing beautiful tone
• If the twinkles reach a very high standard, the student will also have developed the ability to
play with ease and comfort, thereby reducing any possibility of strain
Book 1
• The foundation for all future playing, take time to prepare this book to a high standard
• Everything learned in Book 1 is training ground for all advanced and higher playing , even up
to concerto level

The importance of exploring outside repertoire

• Shows the students they can choose their own music and explore the value of all areas of
their ability
• Paves the way for musical composing and improvisation
• Pop, rock, blues, jazz, traditional etc.

Importance of the Group classes:

• Sociability
• Enemble playing
• Listening exercises – ability to listen to themselves and others
• Team work
 • Theory in action
• Basic musicality
• Music fundamentals
• Performance – confidence, experience, works in progress (not up to concert standard yet,
but still well prepared)
• Positive associations with performing and playing together
• Sense of being apart of something bigger
• Motivation through observing and interacting with other students who are playing the same
repertoire
• All aspects of reading

HOW DO WE GET THEM TO PRACTICE

Practise pointers 1

Motivation:
• 2 types of listening

1. Passive – put on so quietly, that they barely hear it, this allows it to subconsciously
absorbed
2. Active – needed for specific tasks (eg. listening to track 11 to really hear the melody)

• Parent in charge of putting on cd (or downloading albums from itunes) – don’t leave this up
to the child (they won’t do it!)
• When friends and family call over, gently suggest that they ask if your child could play ‘their
favourite piece’, this might even lead to more being played. It’s huge encouragement for
their self esteem.
• Small bits, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.....
• How many times have you used the word ‘The’ in your lifetime?
• Do you discard the word because it’s a baby/first word?
• It’s part of your vocabulary, it’s needed to complete every sentence
• This is how important the twinkles and book 1 are as part of a healthy balance diet of music


Practise pointers 2

• Take something that you all enjoy in your family and make it part of the music games
• Avoid making it a chore
• Avoid saying things like “if I hear Mary had a little lamb once more...” – although you mean
the best, they will hear it as “Mum/Dad doesnt like my playing” and it will prevent them
wanting to play known material. Known material is usually their safe place, it’s like a teddy
they carry around with them.
• Avoid saying things like “no, that’s wrong”

Replace with....:
• “Good job for trying, now let’s see if we can get it like our cd”
• “I really like the sound you made there”
• “That was a great playing, I really enjoyed listening to your playing”
Practise pointers 3

Concerts and Events – making music a ‘normal’ part of life:

• Friends and family visiting

• Always a chance to perform
• Any performance for anybody – is still a performance
• Attending any concert – from the national concert, pantomime, school play etc. it all feeds
into their musical environment, it becomes their musical landscape, these events are as
important as
• Observing musical events such as – a live concert of any genre on television, listening to
different radio stations, seeing a busker on Grafton street, seeing a performer in a
restaurant or pub.
• Dancing classes
• Going to a friend’s house and playing ‘anything’ together. It’s like kicking a football around
the back garden of a friend’s house.
• Local authority festivals, street festivals, a sing song in a pub
• Singing book 1 in the car – mix it up with ‘Taylor Swift’

Practise pointers 4

Games & Resources:

• Bribery
• Stickers
• Sweets & treats
• Lego
• Minions
• Lucky dip
• Fan
• Dice game
• Counters game
• Table of contents roulette
• Sing & clap along to the tunes
• Teddies

Practise pointers 5

Little & often:

• Build very slowly on only a few minutes in the beginning as often as you can
• We can practise anywhere
• Hands
• Laps
• In the car
• On a kitchen table
• Following sheet music listening to the cd – brings a whole new area of understanding of both
reading and the composition, gives a whole new perception to it
• Sometimes even just sitting a t the piano and playing ‘gobbledy gook’, if we call it
improvising, they don’t feel as intimidated by the instrument. Sets up a ‘kinder’ routine
 • Morning routine – 5 mins after breakfast if you can manage it. Start with one day a week and
see if you can get it to two days on so forth.
• When we establish routine in anything without placing a major stress or chore on it – we
begin to need it in our lives. Human beings like routine; it makes us feel safe and happy.

My role – Teachers role

• A musical role model – teach them how to play beautifully with ease
• A friend and guide
• I am your co-helper for your child’s musical education
• To help the student accept themselves at their best but more importantly at their worst.
• I’m also there as part of a larger community to help your child grow
• To ensure they have a positive experience of music and knowing that They CAN!

EVERY CHILD CAN – is the very core of the Suzuki philosophy

Youtube Presentations for further viewing:

1. How playing an instrument benefits your brain - Anita Collins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0JKCYZ8hng

2. Evelyn Glennie: How to truly listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3V6zNER4g

3. Benjamin Zander: The transformative power of classical music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LCwI5iErE

4. Do Schools Kill Creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED Talks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

5. John Cleese on Creativity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qby0ed4aVpo