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UVMC Suzuki School

Shinichi Suzuki‘s goal (1898-1998) was not just to teach people how to play musical instruments, but also to build well-rounded personalities through music instruction.  Suzuki believed that every human being has a talent.  Success is dependent not on a person's level of talent, but on the method and means in which the student is provided the appropriate resources.  When children are not succeeding, the teacher may be at fault for not creating a proper learning environment or using the right training techniques, students might not be properly motivated, or may not know how to achieve their goals because of lack of proper practice instruction.

The Suzuki method is based a spoken language acquisition model (mother tongue method).  Infants learn their native language by listening, repeating, interacting with their parents and others on a daily basis.  A baby usually tries imitating the way parents speak first and then by building small steps, the child learns to speak and gradually learns more quickly, mastering complex words and phrases.  Suzuki applies this same method in musical teaching, starting with simple concepts and practice habits and building one piece at a time to complex repertoire and technique.

The Suzuki philosophy discourages competitive attitudes between players, and advocates collaboration and mutual encouragement for those of every ability and at every level.

Another important feature is that the parent of the young student is expected to supervise instrument practice every day (instead of leaving the child to practice alone between lessons).  Parents are expected to attend every lesson to be able to supervise home practice effectively. It often proves successful for parents to begin lessons with their child to understand some of the basic hands-on concepts and challenges of the instrument their child is studying however, it is not necessary that the parent have any music experience.  Rather, the parent should know how and what the child should be doing in practice time at home.  Suzuki teachers are trained in techniques to guide and assist parents with any level of musical experience in working with their child. Parental involvement is key for Suzuki instruction as it creates more productive practice for the child and builds in a natural reinforcement system for their studies.