The Suzuki approach
Children learn music the same way they learn a language.
Often called 'the mother toung method'. Babies start with listening before they imitate and expand their vocabulary. Long before a child reads a word, they can hold a conversation. After 3 or 4 years the child begins to learn to read. Dr. Shinichi Suzuki noticed this and approached music education the same way. Listen first, imitate, expand your vocabulary, hold a conversation then learn to read.
What it looks like in practice
Every child can
Ability is grown, not handed out at birth. With patient teaching and steady support at home, children arrive far beyond where anyone expected them to.
Learning music the way children learn language
Dr. Suzuki called this the mother-tongue approach. Nobody asks a toddler to read before they speak. Students here play by ear first, and reading follows once the music is already familiar.
Listening, and plenty of it
Children pick up words by hearing them over and over. Music works the same way. Recordings played at home during breakfast or in the car do a surprising amount of the teaching.
A parent in the room
A parent, grandparent or guardian sits in on lessons with younger students and becomes the home teacher. It is the single biggest predictor of how a young student does.
Encouragement first
Lessons are warm and unhurried. Children learn quickest when they are enjoying themselves and nobody is anxious about mistakes.
Playing together, and playing for people
Group lessons and performances sit alongside private study. Students learn a great deal from one another, and enjoy making musical friends.
What a Suzuki family actually does
More than most parents expect, and it matters more than they expect. Recordings must be played at home. A parent sits in on lessons with each student and helps with practice each day at home. This is a big commitment from the parents and the method doesn't work without them.
Group sessions run two or three times a month, and students perform 3 times a year alongside the community performances.
Starting age
Suzuki string students often begin at two or three. Lessons at that age are built around play and must involve the parent. Beginners can start at any age and adult beginners are also welcome in the studio.
Ask about a first lessonOr call 470-744-1574.
Students gather for a composer celebration. Group study and playing together are part of the approach, not extras bolted onto it.
Dr. Snyder is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, which sets teacher training standards across the continent. You can read their own account of the method at suzukiassociation.org.
Give us a Call
Dr. Snyder would be glad to hear from you.
Smyrna, GA, and welcoming families from Vinings, Mableton, Marietta and Austell.