Suzuki: The “Mother Tongue Method” of Music Education Comes to Stelle In January of 1979, I discovered a book in a Chicago music store that struck my fancy. The cover read: “The Suzuki Concept: An Introduction to a Successful Method of Early Music Education.” It showed a little girl who appeared to be four years old holding a violin with excellent posture and hand positions. My first thought was that I would certainly like to see the children of Stelle in such a pose, all neatly arranged on stage playing a string Serenade by Mozart or a concerto by Bach. At the time, I was-teaching a music-appreciation course at the Stelle Elementary School. Though the children and I were enjoying the experience, I had a feeling that their ultimate appreciation of music would come from learning to play an instrument. Thus, they could express the deep positive emotions that fine music fosters. Several months later, two Stelle mothers attended the Better Baby Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Institute was founded by Glenn Doman to promote and practice methods of early education that result in exceptionally high achievement levels in its students. While there, these Stelle mothers excitedly witnessed three-, four-, and five-year-old children playing violin music skillfully and with good form. Those mothers from Stelle who subsequently attended the Institute were equally impressed with its music students’ performances, and returned with glowing reports of the tiny violinists’ skill. These children had been trained by the “Mother Tongue Method” of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, whose ideas were described in the book I had stumbled upon in Chicago. The excitement the mothers expressed prompted me to act on the idea of starting a Suzuki program in Stelle. In November of 1979, the Stelle School purchased “The Books I & II Suzuki Method” records and began using them with all Stelle mothers, who, with their children faithfully listen to them every day. The Suzuki Method includes listening to a specific musical repertoire as one of the major divisions of a student’s daily schedule. The other two divisions are “tonalization” (exercises to enhance the child’s tone production), and the playing of selected pieces. The listening phase starts first, and serves as a preparation to playing an instrument, be it violin, viola, cello, piano or flute, and continues throughout the student’s life. By this constant exposure to good music, his knowledge and sense of pitch grow immeasurably. Suzuki avers that more importantly, the student’s soul is ennobled and his heart enriched through this constant association with the vibrations of the best of musical development. After the elementary school mothers had listened to the music for four months, I began giving them lessons in violin performance. They learned the basics of playing in order to teach their children at home. Since Dr. Suzuki created his unique approach to “talent education” over thirty years ago, he has stressed maternal involvement in the teaching process. Japanese mothers often accompany their children to lessons until they are 21 years old! They also teach them at home during the early stages. At Stelle, we adhere to this ideal approach by having mothers attend group lessons and teach their children at home. This rather unorthodox method is gaining a wide following in the United States. This has probably occurred due to its emphasis on love and enjoyment as the keynotes of all education. Suzuki students usually display high self-esteem and a great desire to play their chosen instrument. The mothers use a loving, low-pressure approach to encourage them to practice. This, coupled with constant listening, fosters rapid growth in their sense of true pitch and a fast progression into complex violin literature. Beginning students are often able to play Bach minuets after a year or so of playing. This varies somewhat with the age and manual skills of the children. Dr. Suzuki came upon his “talent education” way of teaching by observing how Japanese children learned their mother tongue. He noticed that they assimilated language in a natural, unfettered way from their environment. Loving interaction of family and friends with the child provided the medium. This simple phenomenon is basic to the acquisition of all cultural traits. He perceived that music or any other subject could be taught in this way. Listening to tapes or records could be the basis for learning music, just as listening to speech is the basis for learning a language. A child can thus get “ear training” at a very early age, and can apply it to playing a musical instrument as soon as he can control it. Children as young as two years of age can be started on practice violins made of cardboard (a margarine box) and wood (a ruler). When they can hold the violin under their chin in the correct posture, they are transferred to small violins. To date we have begun the elementary school children on the violin method, and are already seeing encouraging results after only ten weeks. Many can play five variations on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (the first song in Suzuki Book I) in tune and with good posture. Several of our high school students are also successfully learning the violin via this method. It is our goal that these string studies will lay the groundwork for an active orchestra and chamber music program in Stelle. We will soon be starting the children from ages one to five, as well as some adults on their road to a musical life. This musical “talent education” can only lead to a general upliftment of our community life. As Dr. Suzuki has stated it, “We were all born with a high potential, and if we try hard, we can all become superior human beings and acquire talent and ability. If you have really understood my message, you will not put it off until tomorrow, but will put it into action right now, today.”
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