About Us
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Who was Dr. Suzuki?
Born in Nagoya, Japan in 1898, one of seven children, Shinichi spent his childhood working at the his father’s violin factory, putting up violin soundposts. A family friend encouraged Shinichi to study Western culture, but his father felt that it was beneath Suzuki to be a performer. He began to teach himself how to play the violin at 17, however, after being inspired by a recording of Mischa Elman. Without access to professional instruction, he listened to recordings and tried to imitate what he heard.
At the age of 22, the Marquis Tokugawa, a friend of Suzuki’s, persuaded his father to allow him to study in Germany, where he studied under Karl Klingler. Suzuki never attained any formal education past his high school diploma. While in Germany, he spent several years under the guardianship of Albert Einstein. He also met 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 one of his brothers died as a result. The family was left penniless by this, so Suzuki decided to leave his teaching positions and move to a nearby city, where he constructed parts for wooden airplanes to raise some money. Extremely poor, he gave lessons to orphaned children in the outer cities of where he lived. He adopted one of his students, Koji, and started to develop teaching strategies and philosophies. He then combined his new practical teaching applications with traditional Asian philosophy.
Shinichi Suzuki died at his home in Matsumoto, Japan on January 26, 1998.
What is the Suzuki Method?
The central belief of Suzuki, based on his theories of universal language acquisition, is that all people can (and will) learn from their environment. Thus, the essential components of the method spring from the desire to create the “right environment” for learning music (he believed that this positive environment would also help to foster excellent character in every student). These components include:
- Saturation in the musical community, including attendance at local concerts of classical music, exposure to and friendship with other music students, and listening to music performed by professional classical musicians of high caliber in the home every day (starting before birth if possible).
- Deliberate avoidance of musical aptitude tests or “auditions” to begin music study. Suzuki firmly believed that teachers who test for musical aptitude before taking students, or teachers who look only for “talented” students, are limiting themselves to people who have already started their music education. Just as every child is expected to learn their native language, Suzuki expected every child to be able to learn to play music well when they were surrounded with a musical environment from infancy. (This does not preclude auditions for public performances).
- Emphasis on playing from a very young age, sometimes beginning formal instruction between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.
- Using well trained teachers, preferably also trained in using the Suzuki materials and philosophy. Suzuki Associations all over the world offer ongoing teacher-training programs to prospective and continuing Suzuki teachers.
- In the beginning, learning music by ear is emphasized over reading musical notation. This follows Suzuki’s theory of language acquisition, where a child learns to speak before learning to read. Related to this, memorization of all solo repertoire is expected, even after a student begins to use sheet music as a tool to learn new pieces. There is no formal plan for the age at which reading should be introduced into the curriculum; this is left to the judgement of the teacher. The Suzuki method itself has no materials for the teaching of reading; instructors are encouraged to use whatever materials they deem proper.
- The method also encourages, in addition to individual playing, regular playing in groups (including playing in unison).
- Retaining and reviewing every piece of music ever learned on a regular basis, in order to raise technical and musical ability. Review pieces, along with “preview” parts of music a student is yet to learn, are often used in creative ways to take the place of the more traditional etude books. Traditional etudes and technical studies are not used in the Suzuki method, which focuses almost exclusively on a set of performance pieces.
- Frequent public performance, so that performing is natural and enjoyable.
The method discourages competitive attitudes between players, and advocates collaboration and mutual encouragement for those of every ability and level.
Another important feature of the method is that the parent of the young student is expected to supervise instrument practice every day (instead of leaving the child to practice alone between lessons) and to attend every lesson so as to be able to supervise the practice effectively. It is not necessary for the parent to be able to play as well as the child (or at all); only that the parent knows from the lessons what the child should be doing and how the child should be doing it.
What is the SEII?
The Suzuki Education Institute of Ireland (SEIi) is a Limited Company established in 1986 at the request of Dr. Shin’ichi Suzuki to promote his approach to music education in Ireland.
SEIi is a member of the European Suzuki Association (ESA) which, along with four other Regional associations, makes up the International Suzuki Association (ISA). The ISA owns the trademark and copyright of the Suzuki name and assigns these rights to the Regional and National Associations. Only teachers who are registered members of SEIi are legally entitled to call themselves Suzuki teachers in Ireland.
The objects of SEIi are:
- To further Dr. Suzuki’s teaching method and philosophy of education throughout Ireland
- To maintain professional standards of practice in Suzuki Education in Ireland
- To provide teacher training courses leading to ESA recognised teaching qualifications in the Suzuki Mother Tongue Method
- To assist qualified Suzuki teachers in establishing Suzuki programmes
- To support and cooperate with other national and international Suzuki organisations
- To co-ordinate the activities of Suzuki groups throughout Ireland
- To inform the public about Suzuki Education
- To protect the use of Suzuki’s name in Ireland.
Who are the SEII?
Susuki Education Institute of Ireland Directors
- Maire Ni Dhuibhir (Director – Chair)
- Catherine O’Sullivan Gallaher (Vice Chair)
- Frances Jermyn (Director – Treasurer, Memberhip Secretary)
- Vincent McMahon (Company Secretary)
- Trudy Byron-Fahy (ESA Representative)
- Concepta Casserly (Minutes secretary)
- Shiela Benney (Director – Member’s Database)
- Magsie Goor
Contact:
To contact us, please email us here.
Membership:
This website is sponsored by the Leinster Suzuki Group, Musicians in the Making and Music Matters.