Living Through the Senses (10/6/23)

This is an expression we use in child development that recognizes that early learning is based upon using all our senses--hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, tasting-- are all very important to the growing child.  Moreover, I consider these vital primary experiences.  Children and all generations should continue to use all their senses to thrive and to live happily.  The feeling the child has when sliding down on a slide or swinging on a swing is very strong in their experiencing their bodies, their breathing, and their environment. With older adults getting them outdoors to breathe fresh air, take a short walk, or talk with others allows them to stay connected to their environment rather than retreating into an often silent world as they age. Our use of TV, video games, virtual worlds is removing ourselves from the important stimulus of all of our senses.  

As we teach using the Suzuki method, we want our students to observe, hear, and feel the vibrations in the room.  This is why we emphasize the importance of an acoustic piano over a digital piano.   (The vibrations are different.) We try to minimize the amount of verbal instruction because this is limiting the primary experience of learning. Most importantly, being together in the same room allows children to learn more about body position, facial expressions, and read these important non-verbal cues. Children will learn more and see more--if all the adults remain silent while the teacher is demonstrating a particular musical point on their instrument. We should all refrain from talking as much as possible so that children can learn and absorb through their senses.  

In our current technology, there is an immediate "answer" to everything. I am constantly using "google" to seek answers to all sorts of questions such as when is the best time to trim my evergreen bushes or what is the recipe for a vegan dessert. This is intellectual knowledge. I seek this information after I have experienced a situation where I needed the information. I wanted to clean up my yard, or I know people who are vegan.  The situation is what prompts the need for information.

We must consider the environment in which we are raising our students. If they hear music--Suzuki, classical, jazz, blues, folk, world musics, etc.--then the desire to learn becomes stronger. Attending group class and hearing other children play motivates the student to wanting to learn and practice. Being out in the backyard building a tree house, repairing a fence, building a special hiding place may lead to the desire to learn measurements, weight capacity, or engineering of trusses which then leads to a desire to learn more math and the formulas for calculating these measurements.  We want our students to desire to learn how to make music by listening to it daily.  The learning experience is more easily progressed if the repertoire is listened to regularly.   We have suggested the October Listening Challenge to make this a school-wide fun project, but also to build this awareness. The primary experience of listening to music must come before the intellectual and practical side of practicing will easily take place.

In our very busy world, we must take time to breathe. When we go for a walk, we observe and feel the living creatures around us. We become curious and are able to be better learners.  The hour before a meal, we start to become hungry.   Rather than starting to nibble to curb the hunger, I remember learning that we should relish this feeling of hunger because it is important to feel hungry before we start to eat.  In this way, eating allows us to feel less and less hungry and we can stop eating when we no longer feel hungry.  This is a primary experience that we sometimes ignore, and thus end up eating our meals until we are "full" and not until we are "no longer hungry."

This is a recovery time for all of us post-pandemic. The return to in-person instruction is important because we learn so much more by being in the room together with our teachers. Let us continue to consider allowing ourselves the time for empty spaces in our schedules and to regain a chance to breathe, take a walk, and feel the world around us.

Sachiko Isihara

Executive Director

Suzuki School of Newton