Teamwork in Suzuki Families

Learning an instrument is hard work – no bones about it. It could be the piano, cello, flute, or any instrument. In this case, my instrument is the violin.

For a Suzuki family, there should always be a team. The student, the teacher, and the parent. Many times it is easy to focus on the student and the teacher. After all, the teacher teaches, while the student practices, learns, and improves in skill.

However, Dr. Suzuki compared young children learning an instrument to young children learning a language.

He realized that much like young kids pick up on their native tongue – be it English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, etc. – by absorbing their surroundings, and copying them, children pick up on other things from their parents at a very early age, and this can very well include music. Part of the teacher’s job is to instruct the parent on how to instruct the child (musically) at home.

Of course once students are older, schedules change some and so on. But if at no other time, certainly when the student is very young (age 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.) the parent ideally should be involved as an instructor, and the child respect that relationship.

For added emphasis on teamwork, I have attached a photo I found from the last year’s Talent Show at the Virginia Suzuki Institute, where I am currently studying. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂