How is Suzuki teaching method different?
The Suzuki teaching method is very different from other ways to learn to play the violin. It is not just a method but it is a whole new way of thinking. Suzuki students start their studies with a period of intense hearing, absorbing the repertoire they will play. As the parents put the CDs with the repertoire on, the children’s hearing is unconscious, just as children absorb their language before talking. The children are unaware of “having to listen” or of “ear training”. They are just absorbing through all of their senses. Once the music has been internalized, the Suzuki student will start to find the repertoire on his instrument, at first imitating his teacher and later letting his ear guide the fingers to find the notes, with the careful supervision of the teacher and the parent who is the home coach. In this way the children develop the important direct connection of ear to instrument. They hear the melody and their fingers find it; they hear the rhythm and their bodies perform it
