Ability Development from Age Zero

by Shinichi Suzuki, Mary Louise Nagata (Translator)

Recommended for parents of Suzuki Method students. In this sequel to Nurtured by Love, Dr. Suzuki states that "the fate of the child is in the hands of his parents." With this book he shows how to create a warm environment which will encourage any child to become a happy, loving and talented human being.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Education, Music, Philosophy

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Shinichi Suzuki (鈴木 鎮一 Suzuki Shin'ichi?, 17 October 1898 – 26 January 1998) was the inventor of the international Suzuki method of music education and developed a philosophy for educating people of all ages and abilities. Considered an influential pedagogue in music education of children, he often spoke of the ability of all children to learn things well, especially in the right environment, and of developing the heart and building the character of music students through their music education. Before his time, it was rare for children to be formally taught classical instruments from an early age and even more rare for children to be accepted by a music teacher without an audition or entrance examination. Not only did he endeavor to teach children the violin from early childhood and then infancy, his school in Matsumoto did not screen applicants for their ability upon entrance. Suzuki was also responsible for the early training of some of the earliest Japanese violinists to be successfully appointed to prominent western classical music organizations. During his lifetime, he received several honorary doctorates in music including from the New England Conservatory of Music (1956), and the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, was proclaimed a Living National Treasure of Japan, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I’m a violin teacher, I only just got around to reading this book now. As a new mom, this book had double the impact. I’d love for parents to read this and believe this is more about raising children than anything else.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is typically read by parents and teachers of the Suzuki method. However, reading it this time around, I see it more as a parenting philosophy, especially good for young children (birth to age 5). Dr. Suzuki doesn't back up his ideas with research or facts; his ideas are peppered with anecdotes from his life and experience.

While I generally prefer hard, cold facts, there's something in this book that speaks to me. A few parts made me raise an eyebrow, but for the most part, I agree with what Dr. Suzuki has to say: children are incredible bundles of potential, and the way we treat them determines how they'll turn out. Young children's bad habits are our fault. Our children need us to provide them good examples of how to live. Habits can be changed by practicing a new behavior more times than we practiced the old habit.

I would recommend this book for all parents of young children, not just Suzuki parents.

[Deb Luethy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oldie but goodie. Written by the world-renowned Dr. Suzuki in the late 1960s (he was born prior to 1900, BTW), this book is not really a guide to teaching violin, but rather his thoughts on parenting and child development in general. Many ideas are not just inspiring, but something to aspire to. In the nature vs nurture debate, Dr. Suzuki falls strongly on the nurture side. Not that I'm feeling any pressure. No, not me.

[Manh Dang Thi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading the book thinking it would show me the way to develop my child's MUSICAL ability from young age, and it turned out that the book shared much more about child raising philosophy than just about teaching music!

The fact that any child can speak his own mother tongue fluently shows that any child is a talent. It's simple fact but not many of us realize that. If we start teaching music to the child as early as he is born, and as consistantly as 'teaching' the mother tongue, he can become an amazing musician. This should start by letting him listen to famous works from birth. Famous works played by famous musician are the best learning material. And famous composers/musicians are the best 'teachers'.

In nuturing a child, parents play a crucial role in creating the atmosphere, the environment. Parents who keep quarrelling will bring up the easy-to-quarrel children. Parents who are happy and loving will bring up happy children. And only happy and loving children have the chance to develop and show their potential abilities.
As the child grows up, often parents get confused and get mad at the child's changing behaviours. They see more bad behaviours than good ones. As a result, they scold the child more than praising them. However, thay don't know that they are going on the wrong direction, and not the direction that they used to dream about. When the child was born and still very young, they keep praying for the child to be a happy, talented child. Why can't they keep these prayers when the child grows up? As a parent, this is something that really raised my eyebrow. Right, if I keep reminding myself of the good wishes for my child, I will be able to look more into the good behaviours of my child, nuturing them, and maintain a more relaxing environment between me and my child. That way, the atmotsphere in my family will be much better for my child to develop her potentials.
Also, we as parents look at our children's behaviours and provide the reflection, the guidance, the neccessary adjustments to help our child improve day by day. But what about our own behaviours? Noone is there to do such things for us. Hence, we should always do self-reflection to ensure we can be our own 'teachers', to improve the way we raise our children.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkably similar to Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education ~ the importance of the environment and respect for the child.

I loved his thoughts on playing recordings of great violin performances by the masters and insisting that these masters are the students’ teachers, not him (the instructor). It changes the way a student listens to music, not just as a piece to be appreciated, but to be learned from. It’s also the best way to “teach” things like “musicality” which can’t really be “taught” in the traditional sense.

[Pija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has value, however I enjoyed Nurtured By Love a lot more. I highly recommend both, however, start with Nurtured By Love.

[Kelsey Petersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was required to read for my daughter to start the Suzuki strings program. A lot of outdated parenting tips that aren’t backed by statistics or science.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little book. I don’t know enough about music education (or the details of Suzuki method, which is only glancingly covered in this book) to have an opinion on the method’s pedagogical merits, and any book on parenting written in the 60s (and translated from Japanese in that era) is bound to have some awkward/dated bits, but on the whole this is a nice concise statement of a philosophy centered on treating children with respect and love, on modeling the kind of behavior and attitude we want our children to absorb, and on believing in the potential of every child.

[Malvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful guide for parents wishing to nurture their children the Suzuki way. It recognises that talent is not inborn and that the fate of a child is in the hands of the parents. Suzuki emphasizes on creating the right environment to cultivate a child's talent and personality. Surprisingly, the scope of the book expands beyond the realm of music and reveals Suzuki as a humanitarian and an educator. Dedicating a few chapters on the need for parents to exemplify good behaviour as part of providing a positive environment, children will always learn from home and parents are encouraged to also learn and grow as a better person in the process. Naturally, the society will benefit from such outcomes where truth, goodness, beauty and love are seeked and practiced. Suzuki also raises a few interesting concepts around changing the education system to enable 18 year olds to graduate from university and to "act when you think" as a form of discipline. When asked if the musical aptitude test called the Sea Shore Test is effective, Suzuki simpled replied asking if there is a test for children's inclination to speak their mother tongue. As the title suggests, there is no appropriate or suitable time for children to learn and this certainly applies to learning music. An absolute pleasure to read!

[Peter Bringe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good observations on education and child raising. Suzuki doesn't operate with a theory of sin or redemption, so I believe he is overly optimistic (perhaps messianic) in the potential of education. Yet, he helpfully points out the importance of the parent's role in early childhood education. It is easy to use "inborn ability" as an excuse for poor training. It is near impossible to discern what results from inborn ability and from environmental factors. Thus, the focus is on the responsibility to shape the environment of the child.

As I understand it, his approach teaches that children adapt to their environment very well. As this ability decreases, the ability to improve oneself by reflection and judgment increase. Thus, the parent should reflect and take responsibility to take advantage of the child's ability to internalize things. Teaching by memorization, listening, example, and motivation take priority. The formation of the talents, personality, and abilities of the child should be, can be, and are formed like the ability to speak one's first language (e.g. no child has the inborn talent of speaking Japanese).

[Romie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this at a yard sale yrs ago and had only skimmed it. After reading "The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" I was so curious about Eastern parenting and teaching styles. Were they all so harsh? Since the "Tiger Mother" had mentioned the Suzuki method in her daughter's music education, I remembered this book and read it cover to cover. I want to sent Tiger Mother a copy! Does she even understand the core principles of the Suzuki method? It is so opposite of the parenting style she inflicted on her children. It emphasizes creating a loving and positive learning environment, never berating or humiliating the child as she did.
I think Mr. Suzuki must have been a wonderful person to be around. I'm definitely looking at and hopefully teaching my young children differently because of his ideas. He teaches that very young children who can learn something as complex as how to speak a language, are also capable of learning many other things so young and should be given the opportunity to.

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for parents of the Suzuki method. I read it as a required class with our piano teacher before beginning Suzuki method. I have seen first hand that learn by hearing works and I appreciate that the book focuses so much on nurturing our children. It is a good read overall for any parent and a nice reminder to always encourage and create positive environments for our kids even on those really tough days. My kids are doing great in the Suzuki method and yes- it required a lot of involvement on my part but it's so worth it with every new piano piece my kids master. They also play beautifully. I gave the book 4 stars because the translation is not very good. I have a MA in Japanese Lit and felt the book was cringe worthy at times- not what it was saying but in how it was written. It could use a retranslation.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a confirmation to me that Suzuki violin is what I was born to do! It read a lot easier to me than Nurtured by Love, and I feel like I understand better who Shinichi Suzuki was as a man. The book isn't about teaching the violin but is more about realizing the potential of children and creating an environment where they can grow and thrive. Suzuki said, "We must recognize that we were born as wonderful human beings with limitless possibilites." My translation: As children of God we have limitless possibilities. A major theme in this book is how we need to teach our children to serve others and not be self-centered, and how musician can only create what is in his heart. "The music is the man."

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be profoundly interesting in the whole nature vs. nurture question. Dr. Suzuki believes that environment plays a tremendous role in how our children develop. He firmly believes and I tend to agree more and more that children are really the product of their enviornment. When children don't excel at something early on, we often say they aren't talented in that area, when really, we perhaps haven't created the environment for them to excel. He believes, as do I, that unless there is a severe developmental disability, any child can acheive sucess if we create that natural learning enviornment for them and sincerely praise their efforts.

[Eileen Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Suzuki has done for music education of children from birth by listening, the way they learn any language, has proven phenominal! It is a totally different concept than the European method I was taught. I am adding it to my repetoire of teaching methods.

The only thing I didn't care for was the way he blamed mothers if their children did not turn out to be good citizens. Yes, the mother's nurturing of children is critical! But, each child is born with unique personalities, God given talents and the ability to make choices, which also influence how they "turn out".

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the philosophy of Mr. Suzuki, but the translation is quite dry, and the surplus of anecdotal evidence-which always has that cheesy predictable bow tied at the end of the story-is unimpressive. So although I think most of what he says rings true, I think he could have done a better job at presenting his creed.

Also, if you read his prior book, Nurtured by Love, you may experience de ja vu, as some of the stories are repeated here (verbatim?). (Kind of odd to do that, but okay.)

[Lisa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at how we learn, and how open children are to their environment when they are young. Shinichi Suzuki, the founder of the amazing musical "Suzuki Method," tell his theory of why children can learn musical instruments so young. In all, it was a wonderful book about how each of us can change and be more loving and open.

My favorite part, was when he talked about how all children can learn, because all children learn to speak their own language - in context, it was an amazing truth that I had never thought about before.

[Heather Babinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another incredible book I just reread from Dr. Suzuki. I feel like this is more aimed at parents and how to develop ability in each child. I've had so many parents come to me before their child starts violin and tell me all sorts of learning "disabilities." They soon find that these things have been taught or emphasized and can be radically changed just by how they treat the child. I love this idea!

[Rachel M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, scary, eye-opening, inspirational. Suzuki has now entered my list of people throughout history that I would like to have a chance to have coffee with, if it were possible. So many of his philosophies are pertinent not only to music, but the way to live your life. He strikes me as such a quiet, gentle, nurturing person who would help you to be a better person just by being around him.

[Annell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as one of my options to supplement my music education for Let's Play Music. I opened it thinking I'd find info relevant to only my students, but instead found more info I can use as both a parent and a teacher. I love the nurturing approach to teaching and found many ideas that I will be using in my classes and in my home. Great read.

http://dragonflowersandbooks.blogspot...

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, easy, life-altering read. Just as children pick up their native tongue in their regional dialect so easily and in such perfect imitation, so they develop the ability to play a musical instrument or the ability to be a happy and grateful person. And no, parents do not raise each of their children in exactly the same way; even the parents' own personalities change with each child.

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book from Shinichi Suzuki better than the other one that I read. The other one is more of an biography where this is more of giving tips on how to teach your child their instrument better. As well as good advice on raising kids.

[Jen Hsieh · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Mom made me read this. A bit thick for a 10 year old aspiring violinist.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic for new Suzuki Parents!!!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives insight to how children learn and understand. Written for students of music, but I found it to be helpful with raising my children in general.

[Stephani]

I'm considering starting John on the violin in the Suzuki method. However, I want to have a better understanding of the methodology before I make that choice.

[Kristi Spackman]

An easier read than Nurtured by Love.

[Suzuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suzuki Parenting in small chapters.

[Brenda Cregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I ever start a preschool, you can bet this will be my blueprint!