Tone Has a Living Soul
"Tone has a living soul." Dr, Shinichi Suzuki
Suzuki teachers undergo special training under the auspices of the Suzuki Association of the Americas to honor the principles of Dr. Suzuki's mother tongue method of teaching, a method that he himself called "Talent Education." The first course for this training is called "Every Child Can" because this is a fundamental belief that we Suzuki teachers truly espouse. Every child at his own pace, but s/he will surely get there as in the way every child can learn to speak. We do not rely on talent whether a child can speak her native language. We believe s/he can, and we provide smiling encouragement as babies begin to babble and say their first words. We do not scold, we model our correct pronunciation, and we repeat again and again. Language immersion is effective in learning any language. And so, music immersion, too, is extremely effective in learning an instrument.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy in music, but did you know his father was a music teacher giving lessons daily? Mozart's older sister was also a talented musician in both piano and violin, and young Amadeus had the good fortune to hear music lessons all day long taught by his father and hear his sister's lessons and her practicing since he was a baby. Yes, Mozart was a special person, but he had an environment that made it possible for him to become the musician he was.
And so, a gentle reminder to all our parents that our students will all develop talent. Dr. Suzuki would say it is not knowledge that allows one to play the violin, it is that knowledge plus practicing 1,000 times. After this repetition, something that was difficult is not only made easy, but becomes "automatic" or seemingly effortless. One would say, "Oh, that person plays with such ease, he is so talented!" Truth be told, hard work got that person to where he could then exemplify this extreme ability.
Hard work is not enough. We need to be inspired. This inspiration comes from listening to beautiful music. Dr. Suzujki's pedagogy has at its core a lot of technical expertise. It is only through this good technique that one can produce the most beautiful sounds. But let us not focus on the technique but rather focus on the sound of beautiful music. Dr. Suzuki said that "beautiful tone comes from a beautiful heart." We share our music as a way to share our emotions and creativity with others. We are giving part of ourselves in being able to perform in front of others.
Tomorrow, Saturday, January 30th is the 2nd Faculty Concert featuring your teachers. Their music may serve as an inspiration for all our students to strive for beautiful tone and effortless playing. I hope you can join us for this concert to support our teachers and bring our community together. But even if you cannot, I urge you to listen to beautiful music daily. By taking a brief moment every day to hear something beautiful, you can warm your heart and lift your spirit. Furthermore, by providing this musical environment for your child, s/he becomes accustomed to the sounds of beautiful music, and will reach the goal of making beautiful sounds that much sooner.
Sachiko Isihara
Executive Director