The Suzuki method is very simple but also ingenious: every child can learn his mothertongue language. The central belief of Dr Suzuki, based on his language acquisition, is that all people are capable of learning from their environment.
Suzuki or mother tongue method is a method which enables young children to learn to play a musical instrument, from the age of 4 onward. This method was developed almost 70 years ago by the Japanese violinist and violin teacher Shin’ichi Suzuki.
The essential components of this method spring from the desire to create the right environment for learning music. He also believed that this positive environment would also help to foster character in students. Suzuki called this talent education.
The most important elements of talent education include the following:
- An early start (3 – 5 years)
- The importance of listening to music
- Learning to play before learning to read
- The involvement of the parent(s)
- A nurturing and positive learning environment
- Core repertoire with folksongs and a lot of Baroque and Classical pieces
- Individual lessons and group lessons are complementary
This method can in principle be applied on each instrument, but the methodology has been worked out according to the guidelines of the International Suzuki Association for violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, recorder, piano, organ, guitar, harp, mandolin, vocals and trumpet is very recently added.
