Who is Shin'ichi Suzuki?

Born in Nagoya, Japan in 1898, Shin'ichi Suzuki was surrounded by the sound of violins at his father's violin making factory. Born into a large family, one of seven children, Shin'ichi spent his childhood not learning how to play the violin, but working at the factory putting up violin soundposts. A family friend encouraged Shin'ichi to study Western culture but it wasn't until the age of 17 that he finally taught himself how to play the violin after becoming inspired by a recording of Mischa Elman. He would listen to recordings and try to imitate what he heard.

A couple of years later he took his violin to a teacher in Tokyo. At the age of 22, Shin'ichi persuaded his father to allow him to study in Germany, where Karl Klingler eventually became his violin teacher. While there, he spent several years under the guardianship of Albert Einstein. He also met, courted, and married his wife, Waltraud.

Upon his return to Japan, he formed a string quartet with his brothers and began teaching at the Imperial School of Music and at the Kunitachi Music School in Tokyo. During World War II, his father's violin factory was bombed by American war planes and Shin'ichi lost one of his brothers. The family was also left penniless and Shin'ichi decided to leave his teaching positions and move to a nearby city where he constructed parts for wooden airplanes to raise some money.

Poor and hungry, at one point almost dying, he began to teach violin lessons to the orphan children in the outer cities where he lived. He adopted an orphan boy, Matsui, and started to develop his teaching strategies and philosophies. Shin'ichi combined his new practical teaching applications with traditional Asian philosophy.

Shin'ichi Suzuki died at his home in Matsumoto, Japan on January 26, 1998. Students, teachers, and performers all around the world mourned the loss. Robert Klotman said, "With the passing of Shinichi Suzuki, the music world has lost a distinguished philosopher-pedagogue."

He was more than a music pedagogue, Suzuki was a unique human being who was concerned with the emotional welfare of all humanity and used his artistry to further his commitment. His teaching reflected his philosophy that there were no limitations to the capabilities of young people. There have been many emulators, but no one will ever replace him" (Racin, 1998).

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1.The human being is a product of his environment.

2. The earlier, the better - not only music, but all learning.

3. Repetition of experiences is important for learning.

4.Teachers and parents (adult human environment) must be at a high level and continue to grow to provide a better learning situation for the child.

5.The system or method must involve illustrations for the child based on the teacher's understanding of when, what, and how. (Kendall, 1966)

The epistemological learning aspect, or as Suzuki called it, the "mother tongue" philosophy, is that in which children learn through their own observation of their environment.

Click here to read the entire Wikipedia entry for Shin'ichi Suzuki.

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