When we teach using the Suzuki pedagogy, even with our youngest beginners, we use analogies to help produce the sounds and tone colors on our instruments.  Light staccato on the piano may sound like popcorn popping, or long legato sounds may sound like melting chocolate!  Many of these stimulate the imagination and trigger the part of the brain that is emotional and sensitive.  In the Suzuki pedagogy we are teaching through these senses. We rely on hearing the music, using the body, and feeling emotion even at the earliest stages of learning. 

This is very different from the traditional way of teaching classical music which starts with reading. By looking at the notes on the page, one is using a different part of the brain. Focusing on reading makes it much harder for the beginning student (child or adult) to hear the music, listen to their own playing, and feel how their body is producing the sounds on the instrument. When I tell my students to feel how their arm is heavy to produce a deeper tone, I say to pretend they are holding a five pound bag of oranges hung from their arm---food again! We are imagining and feeling our bodies, not looking at the f for forte on the printed page and thinking we need to play loudly. As we play a deep legato tone, a teacher might say "imagine some creamy fudge for this phrase."

We are a community of learners. The Suzuki School has two main programs, our music school and our Suzuki Preschool. According to the philosophy of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, we believe that talent is developed through a nurturing environment created by expert teachers, caring adults, and an encouraging peer group. It is a combination of these conditions that make our learning environment successful, but also a true community. Our teachers are excellent musicians and early childhood specialists, and our leaders are made up of experienced professionals who bring this expertise in guiding faculty and staff. We, the adults, are always learning and improving. Our board of directors play an active role in this and so do the parents of the students in our school. Without all of you, we are not the Suzuki School of Newton. For that, I am so grateful.

I am a Newton resident, and one of the aspects of living here has always been the spirit of volunteerism in the community. People are active and busy, but they also are even finding the time to volunteer.  Our Suzuki School community--many from far away towns--are also very generous with their time. I am so grateful to all of you who have been helping us for so many years!

Sleep is also extremely important for brain function and mental health. We are now a society that often does not have adequate nor consistent nightly sleep patterns. For learning (and memorizing music) sleep is essential to giving the brain time for processing and filtering information. Memory is dependent upon this filtering process each night, and when sleep patterns are disturbed it is harder to remember essential information. Dr. Suzuki is quoted as saying "without hurry, without rest" meaning that consistency is very important. However, he did not say to skip sleep nor to overlap too many activities.

We spend time in our music lessons and musicianship classes to understand how music notation works. When we look at notation, the goal of our curriculum is to teach the students how to hear the notes in their head. Imagine Beethoven in the years when he was composing as he became deaf, how important a skill that was for him! When I first started teaching, and as a piano student, I would often go to music stores to purchase sheet music. I also went there to peruse music scores and piano method books to find new and interesting pieces. I do not need to play pieces on the piano to hear them. I can see the notes and hear them in my head. This is the inner-hearing skill we teach and develop when we ask children to sing our musicianship exercises. By seeing the notes and then being able to sing the notes correctly, a person must hear the pitch in their head and understand the symbols that give us the rhythm and meter of a piece.

I believe that we can acknowledge that the excess of performance evaluations, winning or losing, and the emphasis on just the end product may not be leading to the best results overall in having confident and empathetic adults. Likewise, these opportunities may be learning and growth opportunities when supported by warmth and love. Most of all, a supportive environment that focuses on the process and a shared journey can be the most beneficial to all--to the students, for the parents, and for our society as a whole.

I spoke with Congressman Auchincloss to share my views on the importance of cultural exchanges to bring people together. Congressman Auchincloss is already aware of how the arts were badly hit during the pandemic. Nonetheless, cities and towns have started leaning on the performing arts to play a major role in revitalizing local businesses and commercial districts.  It is music and the arts that draw people together.

This was Dr. Suzuki's message in post-World War II Japan.  We need to nurture our children with music, so that they will cultivate beauty in their hearts and deepen their humanity. When this is a part of our children's education and they become leaders, perhaps we can sustain a peaceful world and believe in a brighter future.

As Dr. Suzuki was training teachers in his Institute in Matsumoto, he would encourage others to seek their best by not only working a lot, practicing, devoting themselves to numerous repetitions of exercises, but he would encourage human behavior to be reflective, to be kind, and to be caring. These were as important as just practicing. In the preface to his book, Nurtured by Love, Dr. Suzuki says "I cannot deny the thing called fate. This is because the very fact that any of us are born into this world, like the fact that we will eventually die, is something about which we can do nothing...And thus, the unavoidable question arises about how we ought to live. Ability that has not been fostered, is something we must create on our own...We must not give up; nor is there any need to give up. This is something which is within the reach of every person, each in his or her own way." (p. 2-3, Nurtured by Love by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki)

Like the roots of a tree, our roots go deep. This time of year, there are many religious and cultural celebrations.  Ramadan has started, Holi (the Hindi Festival of Colors) was on March 25th, Easter and Passover are coming up. We are busy planning our Multicultural Festival to be celebrated outdoors on our lawn on Saturday, May 11th, 2024. We are bringing multiple art forms and events to celebrate together including World Music and Klezmer, Odaiko Japanese drumming and the Chinese art of paper cutting.  We will have our Suzuki violins and our Preschool art show that same afternoon, and a new exhibit from the Newton Art Association. Thinking about the many cultures we represent in our school, we have very rich stories to tell and to share.  These are our roots.

There is also a new undercurrent among all of us—change is in the air.  We want to be more inclusive via usage of multiple languages and also inclusive of other styles of music outside Western classical music. Perhaps it is the influence of ASTA, but we are hearing fiddling, jazz, alternative styles and jam sessions! At the Suzuki piano masterclass, for example, we heard Beethoven, Handel, and Oscar Peterson! 

As we are also developing a sense of helping others through our fundraising goal via the Playathon to support need-based scholarships, we are allowing our children to learn about helping one another and realizing that their music can provide a meaningful contribution to others.  Whether through sharing the music itself through a performance or sharing the knowledge learned with a peer or less-experienced student, we are providing an opportunity for our students to grow as human beings and to connect our community together. In the end, we are learning through our music a sense of "being" and a sense of "belonging." Through this kind of experience, we believe our children can be both caring and kind.

Reflection is not easy to encourage in our children. We are often led to "tell" them what to do. Dr. Suzuki wrote in his book Ability Development from Age Zero: "reflection is also an ability...Human growth is completed upon a reflective base..." (p. 85) In order to encourage reflection, we guide parents to think about asking their children questions during their practice sessions: Which finger plays this note? Does this part sound right to you? Let's listen to the recording, and then can you tell me what parts might sound different?

Teaching our children to reflect can be a slower and longer process, but can be the most beneficial in the long term.

As parents, our most important responsibility may be to raise our children well. Although we may push them to get terrific grades in school, excel in sports and mathematics, or take music lessons, our most important role is to love them and to nurture them to be kind hearted and good human beings. Although we may say we want our children to have successful careers--have monetary success--more importantly if they are admirable in character, learn to work hard and be caring people, then we will have parenting success.

We all need courage when times are tough. One would think that when times are so uncertain, we should take important measures quickly and aggressively. This may not be the best way to make decisions. Yes, the conditions that are present must be observed, acknowledged and analyzed. Nevertheless, we must not lose sight of our vision for our families' lives, for our society, and for our world. We must adhere to our core values and find strength to be courageously moving step by step in the right direction. We must not shut down and seek short term remedies, but reflect on the longer range goals. We all need courage and must stay the course even in turbulent waters.

In our Suzuki community we encourage the growth and nurturing of the whole child and the whole student. The patience our Suzuki teachers exemplify is the result of our knowing and believing in the potential of each student. The relationship built over time is one of mutual respect and love. Our Suzuki preschool encourages feelings of gratitude and feelings of kindness. We want these emotions to be valued and freely expressed. As a sign of love, what if we all thought of the small acts of kindness we can do for each other. Bringing someone a cup of coffee when they are busy, washing the dishes when there are a few in the sink, observing a chore that needs to be done and doing it---can all be small acts of kindness. We can encourage our children that on Valentine's Day, the best gift of love is giving a hug and going to practice without being reminded!

Sometimes, however, there are some who do not like the time spent in a group class or a lesson to chat about the weather, what a student might have done over the weekend, or during their vacation. This is important time because it creates connection between the teacher and the student and builds the student's sense of belonging. When we are only serious and only focused on gaining information, the experiences that build a sense of belonging are lost. It is through this sense of belonging that students do not quit. Students persevere and feel motivated by connecting with their peers.

I believe these elements are so important in making our school what it is. Our teachers are there and fully committed to the learning and happiness of their students. We must all work to encourage our students to keep trying and work to become better. We want parents to feel that they, too, belong to our school and can learn about how their children learn, meet other parents, or sit and have a cup of coffee! It is this sense of belonging that then allows our students to venture outside of their "comfort zone" on the journey of learning and aspiring for excellence.

February is Black History month. This is important because we must recognize that so much of Black History is not known. Many of us have not listened to their stories and conversations. This has led to our efforts to reverse the centuries of discrimination by consciously taking steps to recognize past mistakes and take positive actions now. We want to build inclusionary practices that accept people of all skin colors, cultures, and backgrounds. We want to welcome others and make us all feel that we all belong. Music can do this---we can come together and make our voices and music heard.

We must allow time for persons to build this sense of belonging. This starts with emotional connection and language that is not focused on "we" and "them" but rather "us." In order to feel a sense of belonging we must spend time doing so. In truth, a little less activity and hustle and bustle, will make us all feel more like we belong to a community and make us happier and healthier.

In the Suzuki pedagogy, Dr. Suzuki would say "human character first" rather than 'win competitions" when referring to his approach to teaching the violin. He was known for practicing and teaching tirelessly throughout his long life. In his book, Ability Development from Age Zero Dr. Suzuki talks about the graduation tapes he would listen to and then send back comments to the students and to their teachers. HIs messages to the teachers were focused on the technical improvements that could be made. His comments to the students always emphasized playing from the heart, being a good person, and encouraging to continue to be kind to others. This is an aspect of the Japanese culture: to feel that one has a responsibility to society to the point where one's contribution to others is greater than one's desires as an individual.

What is excellent musical technique? It is the ability to use one's body and physiology in a natural and efficient manner towards producing the best musical tone and expression.

This can only be done by developing the student's technique step-by-step, developing the ear, nurturing the heart of the student so that their spirit and emotions can be transmitted through the music, and surrounding the musician with an environment where the ongoing process and growth continues to be nurtured. The pedagogy training Suzuki teachers receive has specific teaching points at every level, emphasizing small steps and repetition, but also an accumulative attitude towards skills and repertoire. Similar to vocabulary in any language, we reuse our repertoire over and over building more advanced control and technique and leading us to what appears to be "effortless" playing.

As many are aware, western Classical music originating in western Europe has a centuries old history that is the basis of the repertoire in the Suzuki pedagogy. 

This has brought millions of children throughout the world to learn about European music. Furthermore, it comes from Japan where there is a different culture of Asian classical music that is also centuries old. Interestingly, it is the music of Bach, Beethoven, Clementi, von Paradis or even Dutton that have brought children from many cultures together.  By attending Festivals and summer Institutes, children from around the world can learn, play music, and be in harmony together.

Children learn to be optimistic from their parents. We model the behavior of looking at challenges as growth opportunities. Dr Suzuki said "Children learn to smile from their parents." Perhaps this comes even when facing a particular challenge or seemingly insurmountable task. As adult caregivers we need to moderate that tasks are not so overwhelming as to ensure failure. However, we must also allow our children to fail so that we can share in the learning experience. Can we encourage our children to try something just to see what will happen and not whether they will win or lose? What was the outcome of the disappointment? What steps were needed to better succeed? When children learn that situations are not "win-lose" but "learn-learn" then we can build optimism into accepting new challenges. When risks can be taken with hope and a positive attitude, the results can be surprisingly better than expected.