A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO SUZUKI TALENT EDUCATION

Abstract

The Suzuki teaching method was created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. The central tenet of his philosophy was that talent is not inborn, it can be gained through proper education. Therefore assuming that a child does not have some physical handicap 'every child can play'. Eventually it became one of the most popular teaching methods in the world. Suzuki started with the insight that if all children learn to speak their native tongues with the utmost fluency they must have the ability to learn to play an instrument fluently. The method is thus referred to as the 'Mother Tongue Method'. He believed that if a child starts at an early age learns with small steps and uses a violin of an appropriate size he or she could play the violin. The difference between the Mother Tongue Method and other traditional methods is that it starts at a very early age and includes the family - especially the mother - in the learning process. The formation of a cooperative triangle of teacher-parent-student is very important. Perhaps the most important factor in the success of this method is that Suzuki believed that children need to be taken seriously and that if they are they have the ability to learn and achieve anything.