{"id":1009,"date":"2013-07-30T11:11:28","date_gmt":"2013-07-30T16:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/blog\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2013-07-30T11:11:28","modified_gmt":"2013-07-30T16:11:28","slug":"the-suzuki-guitar-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/the-suzuki-guitar-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"The Suzuki Guitar Experience – Strings By Mail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction by John Wunsch – <\/em><\/h2>\n

owner of Strings By Mail<\/em><\/h2>\n

Suzuki guitar programs have become an integral part of the ascendance of Classical Guitar and I have personally witnessed the positive impact Suzuki has had for my nieces as young musicians. I am gratified to be able to say that the Strings By Mail line fully supports Suzuki study of the guitar.<\/p>\n

Once I became owner of Strings By Mail<\/a>, I made a specific effort to extend the Suzuki product line. We quickly bolstered the CD<\/a> & book<\/a> lines, soon made additions to our fractional string<\/a> \/ kinder string <\/a>sets and then more recently added an extremely high quality but very reasonably priced line of suitable guitars for Suzuki study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mychal Gendron, known for his own music publications, has been a good friend for 40 years, and Mary Lou Roberts, has fine reputation I have been aware of for over a decade. They are fully dedicated top quality Suzuki instructors and trainers, and this article they co-authored is an excellent introduction to, and an in depth explanation of Suzuki guitar study.<\/p>\n

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The Suzuki Guitar Experience<\/b><\/h2>\n

by Mychal Gendron<\/a> and Marylou Roberts<\/a><\/i><\/h3>\n

\"SUZUKI\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Angela walks confidentially to center stage, wearing her best concert clothes, carrying her prized guitar with her right hand low on the neck and close to her side. She responds to the audience\u2019s applause with a smile and a deep bow before sitting on an adjustable stool and propping her left foot on a footrest. Almost without pause, and without a trace of anxiety or self-consciousness, Angela begins to play A Toye<\/i>, an anonymous Renaissance lute piece with an engaging melody and a simple, but effective supporting bass line. The tone she produces is focused and beautiful, she plays with expression and mature phrasing, including a masterful ritardando <\/i>at the end of the piece. The audience response is immediate and enthusiastic; Angela stands, beaming, and takes another bow before skipping off stage. Angela is seven years old \u2013 she has been playing the guitar since age three.
\nAngela is not so unusual \u2013 she is one of a growing number of children throughout the United States who learn to play the guitar through the Suzuki Method, the marvelous early childhood approach to teaching music that focuses on ear-training, developing good instrumental technique and producing a beautiful tone before introducing the complexities of music reading.
\nWhat if young guitarists grew up with a solid technical framework from the beginning, without excess tension, using nails to produce tone, all with the support of a group of peers, parents and a network of teachers? \u00a0What if those students and parents attended guitar concerts, played in master classes and listened to numerous recordings of guitarists. \u00a0What if there were guitarists who grew up playing in ensembles, accompanied violins, flutes, cellos, and felt at ease and confident on stage? \u00a0This is the idea behind the Suzuki Guitar Experience.<\/p>\n

History of the Suzuki Method<\/b>
\nThe Suzuki Method was originally developed by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki in the second half of the 20th<\/sup> century, first applying the concepts to the violin, and later to other instruments: viola, cello, bass, piano, flute and guitar. \u00a0Today the Suzuki method is a world-wide approach based on principles that Suzuki put into practice; namely that all children have unlimited potential to learn based upon what is in their environment. The idea seems obvious, but the implications and details are far reaching.
\nAfter spending eight years in Germany, where he studied violin with Karl Klingler of the Klingler Quartet, Shinichi Suzuki came into contact with notable musicians and thinkers in Berlin at that time, such as Dr. Albert Einstein, and heard many concerts by Busoni, Richard Strauss, Arthur Schnabel and the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Furtwangler.<\/p>\n

Upon returning to Japan and seeing the devastation that occurred in World War II, he realized that the world needed culture, and that music and the principles it teaches could save the world from such devastation. He noticed the ease with which German children spoke German, and Japanese children fluently spoke Japanese, including fine details of inflection and accent. \u00a0He concluded that learning language was a high level skill, a blue print that could be used as a broad model for all learning-most importantly; that talent is not inborn, but is developed by the environment in which the child is born and raised. \u00a0This auditory learning happens at a very early age, and even the slightest kinds of dialects can be detected, laying the groundwork for all later learning. \u00a0This learning model became known as the \u201cMother Tongue\u201d or \u201cTalent Education\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

Suzuki was captivated by children – he wanted to learn from them and become like them. \u00a0He noted:<\/p>\n

They have no thought of self-deception.<\/i>
\nThey trust people and do not doubt at all.<\/i>
\nThey know only how to love and know not how to hate.<\/i>
\nThey love justice and scrupulously keep the rules.<\/i>
\nThey seek joy, live cheerfully, and are full of life.<\/i><\/p>\n

Elio Galvagno, Suzuki Guitar teacher trainer from Italy suggests; \u201cSuzuki continually reminds us from his concrete experience that to love and to educate are synonymous. \u00a0His encounter with every student reinforced that anything but authentic love and educative passion was redundant. To educate means ever more to create an experience worth sharing, to involve self esteem, attitudes of calmness and optimism, feeling good about achievements, and expecting to do well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Core Elements of the Suzuki Approach:<\/b>
\nAll children have the potential to learn at a high level, given the right environment. This is achieved by:<\/p>\n