Dr Shinichi Suzuki was the founder of the Suzuki Method. He was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1898 and was the son of Japan's first violin manufacturer. He worked for his father in the factory as a child but he never actually played the violin.
After hearing a beautiful music recording, Suzuki decided to teach himself to play the violin. Over years, he totally dedicated himself to the violin. When he was 22, he traveled to Berlin to study with a famous violinist named Karl Klinger. He soon met Albert Einstein. It was then that he became associated with many of the world's leading artists and thinkers. Soon Suzuki met and married Waltraud Prange, a concert soprano. Not long after their marriage they decided to returned to Japan where he began teaching and performing with the Suzuki Quartet.
Suzuki was asked by a colleague at the Imperial Conservatory to teach his young son. This made him very curious about how this could be done at such a young age. He began to ponder about the ways in which children learn. Then with the outbreak of World War II food was very scarce and Suzuki became very ill, taking months to recover. He saw the devastation that the war was doing to children. From this experience he grew more determined to positively influence the lives of children.
In Germany, Suzuki began to observe how easily the young children could learn to speak German, a language he was struggling to master. He also realized that all Japanese children could easily learn to speak Japanese, a highly complex language. He found that all children were able to learn their mother tongue effortlessly through listening, imitation and repetition from their loving mother. He figured that children could also learn music this way, if taught with love and dedication.
Suzuki began teaching young children using the concept 'character first, ability second'. His goal was to embrace the whole child, nurturing a love of music and the development of a fine character rather than just the mastering of a musical instrument. Suzuki called his idea 'Talent Education' and soon established a school in Matsumoto. His ultimate desire was create World Peace, starting the youngest of children.
Talent Education refers to the development of skill, knowledge and character. The word 'saino' (talent) in the Japanese language means both ability and talent. There is no distinction between the two meanings as there can be in English. 'Saino' can also be used to mean the development of ability and talent in a skills area such as music and in a personal development area such as one's character.
Suzuki took a great deal of time and care developing the repertoire, which presents technical and musical concepts in a logical sequence. Eventually other teachers from around the world heard of his work with young children and came to Japan to study. Teaching of the method then started to spread around Japan and materials were developed for cello, flute and piano.
In 1958, a film of very young Suzuki children performing very difficult music was shown to a group of string teachers in Ohio. The film motivated a great deal of interest among the musical teaching population and prompted many American teachers to learn about the method. Suzuki took a group of Japanese students to the United States to perform at a music educators conference in 1964. This provoked the desire to know more about this method and how it was approached. Since that time, the ideas of Talent Education have spread throughout the world. Many teachers have been to Japan to study directly with Dr Suzuki.
In January of 1998, Dr Shinicki Suzuki died at the age of 99 in Matsumoto, Japan. His legacy will continue to profoundly influence the lives of young children and their families.
*The above picture was taken at the Suzuki Association at Washington State.
After hearing a beautiful music recording, Suzuki decided to teach himself to play the violin. Over years, he totally dedicated himself to the violin. When he was 22, he traveled to Berlin to study with a famous violinist named Karl Klinger. He soon met Albert Einstein. It was then that he became associated with many of the world's leading artists and thinkers. Soon Suzuki met and married Waltraud Prange, a concert soprano. Not long after their marriage they decided to returned to Japan where he began teaching and performing with the Suzuki Quartet.
Suzuki was asked by a colleague at the Imperial Conservatory to teach his young son. This made him very curious about how this could be done at such a young age. He began to ponder about the ways in which children learn. Then with the outbreak of World War II food was very scarce and Suzuki became very ill, taking months to recover. He saw the devastation that the war was doing to children. From this experience he grew more determined to positively influence the lives of children.
In Germany, Suzuki began to observe how easily the young children could learn to speak German, a language he was struggling to master. He also realized that all Japanese children could easily learn to speak Japanese, a highly complex language. He found that all children were able to learn their mother tongue effortlessly through listening, imitation and repetition from their loving mother. He figured that children could also learn music this way, if taught with love and dedication.
Suzuki began teaching young children using the concept 'character first, ability second'. His goal was to embrace the whole child, nurturing a love of music and the development of a fine character rather than just the mastering of a musical instrument. Suzuki called his idea 'Talent Education' and soon established a school in Matsumoto. His ultimate desire was create World Peace, starting the youngest of children.
Talent Education refers to the development of skill, knowledge and character. The word 'saino' (talent) in the Japanese language means both ability and talent. There is no distinction between the two meanings as there can be in English. 'Saino' can also be used to mean the development of ability and talent in a skills area such as music and in a personal development area such as one's character.
Suzuki took a great deal of time and care developing the repertoire, which presents technical and musical concepts in a logical sequence. Eventually other teachers from around the world heard of his work with young children and came to Japan to study. Teaching of the method then started to spread around Japan and materials were developed for cello, flute and piano.
In 1958, a film of very young Suzuki children performing very difficult music was shown to a group of string teachers in Ohio. The film motivated a great deal of interest among the musical teaching population and prompted many American teachers to learn about the method. Suzuki took a group of Japanese students to the United States to perform at a music educators conference in 1964. This provoked the desire to know more about this method and how it was approached. Since that time, the ideas of Talent Education have spread throughout the world. Many teachers have been to Japan to study directly with Dr Suzuki.
In January of 1998, Dr Shinicki Suzuki died at the age of 99 in Matsumoto, Japan. His legacy will continue to profoundly influence the lives of young children and their families.
*The above picture was taken at the Suzuki Association at Washington State.