Parent Responsibilities

Our goal is to work with you to insure your child’s success and enjoyment of music. There are four key points to success: Preparation, Consistency, Repetition, Joy and Humor.

Preparation: Yourself

The first person to prepare is yourself. Some books to read – Nurtured by Love (Shinichi Suzuki), Ability from Age Zero (S. Suzuki), Thoughts on Suzuki Piano (Haruko Kataoka), Sensibility and Education (H. Kataoka).

Spend some time thinking about what you want to get out of this program and about long-term commitment. Progress is not measured in the number of pieces learned. Equally important are – increasing attention span, ability to follow directions, coordination / control of the body.

You need a piano / string instrument in the best possible condition. In addition for the piano, it should be in tune and have good repetition action.

You need an adjustable chair / bench and some kind of footstool. You need a good sound system for tape / CD playing.

To prepare your child

Play the tape / CD as much as possible. Listening builds memory, motivation and the desire to play.

Observe other lessons regularly to get used to a routine. Encourage your child to play around at the piano. Express through actions and words that you love music.

Consistency: Listen to the CD daily. Your child heard his / her native language for about 10,000 hours before they started to speak! Observe lessons on a regular basis. Spend some time at the piano every day. Try to attend all activities pertaining to music and music lessons.

Repetition: Listen to the CD daily. Only through massive repetition will your child be able to play from their own internal knowledge. Encourage your child’s natural love of repetition. If they want to do something over and over, let them. Don’t feel you must go on to something else. Usually a child wants to repeat until s/he has truly mastered a skill.

Joy and Humor: Playing music is a joyful experience. Keep a sense of perspective. Don’t get too serious! Your child will learn to play, so have some fun along the way.

These four factors will insure that your child makes progress. Success is a self- fulfilling concept. If we help our child to succeed, more and more success will happen!

2024-2025 Suzuki Program Dates and Information for Parents