Utahns who went to the Assembly Hall on May 26, or to Matsumoto Day during the recent America Japan Week, experienced Suzuki violin as it is played in Japan. Small, uniformed virtuosos in straight lines punched out amazing displays of precision, with fine tone and technical freedom.
For Suzuki in America, keep the fine tone and technical freedom if you can, but cast out the straight lines, said Debbie Moench, violin teacher and president of the Suzuki Association of Utah. "I think our kids have more fun, more joy in musicmaking and being with friends, and they don't work so competitively. Learning is very intense in Japan. Here we are less rigid, and we use Suzuki as Americans use everything: We never accept anything as final."What actually is the Suzuki method? It differs from the note-reading, conventional approach in that the student learns "rote before note," using his highly developed powers of observation and imagination, she said. The child is taught lovingly, with much positive reinforcement, and the parent is involved to a greater degree than usual, giving somewhat the same attention to the child's advancement as a responsible Japanese mother would.
"The Suzuki system is also known as the Mother Tongue method," said Moench. "Shinichi Suzuki saw that every child learned to speak by imitation, daily repetition, constant observation and encouragement, and he believed music could be learned in the same way. Starting very young is crucial, and it's most effective if there are older brothers and sisters to watch.
"Beginning children need lots of demonstration, without much talking; observation is better than a lecture. A 3-year-old may watch for just 10 minutes, but he's learning a lot.
"Rote before note seemed logical to Suzuki, since we all learn to speak before we write. He also observed that the young child repeats things over and over, he wants the same story book every day. Adults might grow tired of repetition, but children never do.
"Turning this repetitive instinct to advantage, Suzuki incorporated the daily review. Hence the child plays through his whole book every day, adding a new skill with each piece. Suzuki was clever in choosing a repertory that is easy to listen to. I never tire of the tunes.
"He was interested in developing character more than fantastic technique," she said. "He has said again and again that he wants the child to develop a beautiful heart, to grow in an environment filled with caring people, support and discipline. Music is a happy way to foster total development, not produce child prodigies or future concert artists."
Suzuki was born in 1898, the son of a violin maker. He went to Berlin in the 1920s to study, and his struggles with the German language sowed the seeds of the Mother Tongue method within him.
After World War II he saw the devastation in his country and wanted to help develop a well-rounded, compassionate, peace-loving people, said Moench. He began in his neighborhood, teaching children. There were few violins, so the children shared them. When he saw how much the lessons did for their self-esteem, he knew he was on the right track. At 93, Suzuki is still active ("in streaks," said Moench) at his Talent Development Institute in Matsumoto, experimenting with slightly different ways to operate.
The Suzuki method came to America in the mid-'60s and has spread across the country. Some of America's foremost Suzuki centers surround Kendall Camp in Illinois, Doris Preucil (mother of William Preucil) in Iowa, and William Starr in Boulder, Colo.
Suzuki has been taught in Utah for many years, with varying degrees of satisfaction. Many teachers have abandoned the technique, but there is a large, loyal faction that thinks Suzuki is the only way to go.
Utah's supportive state organization has 1,200 or more family units. Moench estimates that those studying Suzuki piano number about 900, with 700 in violin, and fewer than 100 each in harp, flute, guitar, cello andviola. In all, Utah has about 190 Suzuki teachers.
"When kids see other small children playing well, they get motivated," she said. "They hear the repertory, they know what's coming up for them, and they think, `I will play that too.' They immediately get a sense of progress. Then through review of the pieces, they learn and maintain."
Each student sets his own rate of progress, she said. "Getting to Book IV may take some students five years; others only a year. In the first year, students learn `Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' in its five variations. Learning their `Twinkles' is basic, a standard that must be met before they can go on. There are 200 skills, melodic, rhythmic and tonal, that a child learns from these exercises."
How old should a child be to learn Suzuki? Moench has taught children 3, 4 and 5 years old; on the other hand, children 8-10 still have a place in Suzuki. Moench's own 45 pupils range from beginners with lessons of 15 to 20 minutes to advanced who take up to an hour. Her lesson format includes a new piece and a piece to be polished for expression and musicianship, as well as the play-through.
Where many conventional teachers part ways with Suzuki is in bridging over to note reading. After so much memorizing, some students find it hard and distasteful to make the connection.
Moench admits that she had trouble with the transition, until she learned how. "Possibly such disillusioned teachers never really knew how to teach Suzuki," she said. "They went to one workshop, bought the materials and set up shop. After 12 years, I am still learning, changing my approach, finding new ways of thinking, deeper understanding and feeling for the students' needs."
Moench does not attempt to teach notes until the child is reading in school. "Even when they are ready to read notes, they still like to memorize," she said. "Memorizing is a valuable skill, with many carry-over abilities, and there are many ways to memorize - by finger numbers, by the melody line, by motor memory of how their fingers and bows feel."
When teaching notes, she deals with two basics separately: pitch on the page and instrument, and then rhythm. "It must be easy at first, or you will defeat your purpose," she said. "When they know the notes that occur naturally on their open strings, we add sharps and flats, then they know the whole staff. Pitch reading is much easier to teach than rhythm.
"Children don't have peripheral vision until they are 9 or 10, which is needed to anticipate ahead in note reading, the beat goes on," she said. "This is not required in reading a school book. Also, kids don't have fine vision, optometrists say they are expected to read things too small. They need big notes, so we enlarge the music for their lessons."
In Japan, children often quit their instrument around 11 or 12 because of heavy school schedules, as they do in America. It's often because the child never "owned" the instrument, Moench says - "he doesn't have a sense of being in charge, of running his or her own progress. Students must progress from the imitative stage to being in charge. And if a child is not succeeding, it's up to the teacher to be very creative, to help him find some pleasure and motivation."
Though many Suzuki students lay their instruments aside for a time or permanently, most have happy memories and respect for their Suzuki days. They often take up their instruments again as young adults or in later life.
"After having studied the 10 Suzuki books and a few concertos, a pupil is easy to teach, because he has learned to learn. He can learn anything, and whatever advanced teacher gets him will have an easy job," said Moench.