There are several myths about Suzuki training. Most
of these myths originate from not understanding the
principles and philosophies of Talent Education or from
exposure to poor Suzuki teachers. Below I explore a few of
the most common myths:
- Myth: Suzuki students can only play back what they
hear or who are not taught to find their own
interpretations of music. I find it difficult to
imagine that Suzuki students are more susceptible to
being unable to make their own decisions about music than
traditional music students who are told when to get
louder and softer. A successful Suzuki teacher, as any
successful music teacher, will enable a student to make
her own decisions about music. In addition, Suzuki
students are encouraged to listen to music, and they will
have the opportunity to listen to many different
performances of the same music. This unique exposure to
multiple performance styles can only encourage student to
make unique and independent decisions for their own
performances.
- Myth: Suzuki students do not learn how to read
music. Unfortunately, this myth has an element of truth
in it. Every Suzuki teacher I have met teaches
reading to students, but typically only after the student
has mastered a certain level of playing technique and a
competence in the listening ear. Modern Suzuki pedagogy
addresses this issue and assumes that all students need
to learn to read. However, it is not uncommon for a
Suzuki student to resist learning to read music. This is
because the typical Suzuki student can play by ear long
before he is asked to read music. A student who plays
well by ear will not feel motivated by the simple tunes
used in early reading method books. So that my students
do not suffer this same fate, I begin teaching reading as
soon as possible. We start our reading away from the
piano, so that we can maintain the integrity of the core
Suzuki method. When the child is ready, we start a formal
reading program at the piano.
- Myth: Suzuki trained musicians do not become great
musicians. By searching the Internet, one can find
plenty of accomplished musicians with a Suzuki
background. Even some of Dr. Suzuki's first students went
on to become concertmasters of major orchestras. I
personally know many professional musicians who were
Suzuki trained. I suspect that there are two factors
contributing to this myth. The first is the relative
newness of Suzuki's methodology in the United States. It
was only introduced to the United States in the 1960s,
and the formation of a strong group of trained Suzuki
teachers in taking years to evolve. In the Ann Arbor,
Michigan area, where I used to live, there is only a
handful of Suzuki piano instructors a small percentage
of the piano teachers in the area. Because of this, there
are a greater number of musicians trained in traditional
manners than in the Suzuki method. A second source for
this myth may stem from the attitude many professionals
take towards Suzuki training. I have read that many
Suzuki trained musicians do not admit to their
professional colleagues or teachers to being Suzuki
trained. Apparently, they fear that those with
misconceptions about Talent Education will dismiss the
validity of their training.