Suzuki method
The Suzuki method, (or Talent Education, or the Mother Tongue method, or the Suzuki movement) is a way of teaching. It teaches people to be morally better through a caring environment. It normally uses a musical instrument such as the violin or piano to do this. It can also use other musical instruments like the flute, recorder, piano, guitar, cello, viola, bass, organ, harp and voice. The Suzuki method uses the same environment that people have when they learn their mother-tongue. This means that each student sees and hears music and good moral character all of the time. Other people tell them that they will do well. The students learn one thing at a time. They learn new things when they are ready. The term "Suzuki method" is also used to mean only the Suzuki sheet music books and songs.
It was created in Japan in the mid-20th century by Dr. Shin'ichi Suzuki. He was a violinist who wanted to bring some beauty to the lives of children in his country after World War II. Dr. Suzuki saw that all children learn their own language very quickly. Even dialects which adults thought were hard to learn are spoken with ease by 5 or 6-year-old children. He thought that if a person can speak their mother tongue, then they can learn to play a musical instrument. He came up with the idea that any pre-school age child could begin to play the violin.
Just as a child learns to speak before reading, Suzuki students learn by ear and generally only learn to read sheet music at a much later age.
Suzuki students will always play with a "beautiful tone and a beautiful heart".
Suzuki Method Media
A group of Suzuki method students performing on violin.
