Dr. Suzuki's philosophy of music education is based around his observations of how children learn to speak. From birth they are surrounded by their native language. For many months they don't speak, yet they are constantly exposed to the language. Eventually, they learn to form the basic sounds of their native tongue, and still later they will begin forming words. All the while being constantly exposed to this language. So then we transfer this to the violin....in an ideal Suzuki violin world, the child would begin listening to the Suzuki pieces being played live by people he/she loves every single day. Then when s/he is ready, the ability to play is pieced together in very tiny bits coupled with much praise. Throughout the day, the student would have access to the violin and be able to try things in 3 to 5min increments, gradually building stamina as ability is acquired. Constantly being surrounded by the music s/he will learn to play. Pressure to play "better and better" is non-existent, yet the environment is always conducive to learning, and the instrument is always available. This is a tricky environment to create in our over-booked American lifestyles, so we modify. Thankfully we live in an era when technology is so accessible. It is easier than ever to find ways to listen to the Suzuki recordings. So often when I encounter students who are struggling to learn new pieces, or struggling to remember notes in old pieces I discover that the parent is not yet understanding how or why their child should be listening to the Suzuki CD. It is so sad to me to see a child brimming full of talent, who would love to play and who puts great effort into practicing....who has loving parents willing to sacrifice time and finances to get the child to their lessons and to practice with the child....it is sad to me to see this, only to recognize the child is genuinely struggling week after week to learn and retain simply because the "play" button is not being pressed reliably at home. I recognize that we feel demands and pressure on all sides, and that adding the task of "listening" seems to be just another thing to add to the list. I'd like to list below why I think that daily listening to the entire CD will actually decrease your feelings of stress and pressure regarding the violin:
I fact – I will go so far as to say, that listening is so important for your child’s violinistic happiness, that if there is not enough time to listen at home, I think it’d be a better use of lesson time for me to play the Suzuki pieces for him or her in the lesson, rather than teach him or her the notes of a foreign piece they simply can’t recall mentally.
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February 2015
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