Sustaining the Music Learning Process Over Time: My perspective as a Suzuki student and teacher

I started studying guitar through the Suzuki Method when I was eight years old. During my entire learning process, I had many amazing experiences. I enjoyed this process so much that I decided to be a Suzuki teacher, to continue having these kind of experiences and to try to give others the same opportunities that I had. Without any doubt, being a Suzuki student was one of the best gifts that I had during my childhood. It gave me skills not only for music, but also for my life.

After reflecting on my own experiences as a student and how they can help other teachers, I found that one of the biggest challenges we have is sustaining the student’s learning process over time. Having a lot of students is relatively easy, but walking a long way and learning with them is the real challenge. This is the reason why I decided to write this article, inspired by a talk that I recently gave during the SAA/ASTA Conference in Louisville, USA.

When we think about how to sustain the learning process, the first thing that probably comes to mind is “motivation.” While it’s certainly relevant, motivation is not the only important topic. Sometimes we can believe that motivation will grow at the same time as students play more difficult pieces. But learning music is a long trip—in my case, it was about ten years—and during that period, motivation can go up and down. I think that we have to water “two plants” every day: motivation and habits.

Habits

This first group of ideas relates to establishing and promoting healthy habits in both your teaching and in your students.

Having a Routine

Establishing a routine is an essential first step for students and their families. When I have the first lesson with parents, I try to find the schedule that works best for them to practice. When I was a student, I used to practice before going to bed, but that can change according to each family. Practicing every day, or almost every day, is one of the most important things to improve, and if we can overcome challenges, we will feel more motivated. Suzuki used to say, “Success breeds success.” In a study entitled “The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance” (Ericsson et al. 1993), a group of researchers from the UK interviewed students from the Music Academy of Berlin and demonstrated a strong and direct relation between practice and achievement. The students who study more always have better results and will also be more motivated to continue learning.

Family Attitude

Children don’t necessarily know what is important and what isn’t, so they copy from their environment and family. Dr. Suzuki used to say, “Children learn to smile from their parents.” This is why I think that the family attitude is very relevant to a child’s real engagement with learning. When I was a child, we would be ready for the lessons some minutes before starting and would check that we had everything we needed. During the lessons, my parents were listening and taking notes. Additionally, they would share their pride and support with family and friends. The lesson was always first and not attending was the last option, unless in exceptional cases. As a contrast, if we have a family who is using the phone during the lessons, the student will probably think that what is happening in the lessons is not very important.

In the study “The Role of Parental Influences in the Development of Musical Ability” (1996), Davidson et al. interviewed a group of 257 families during their musical learning processes. They found that the group of students who had higher achievement had higher levels of family support and involvement during practices and lessons. The children who ceased learning lacked feedback between the teacher and the family, and parents did not follow their children’s practices.

Taking Small Responsibilities

When we were finishing our lessons, my teacher would ask me questions like: “Can you prepare it for our following lesson?” or “How many repetitions a day can you do at home?” It was a direct commitment with my teacher to get it done. I truly believe that taking small responsibilities as a student is a very important and healthy habit, not just for music learning.

Motivation

In addition to our habits, the other plant that we have to water every day is “motivation.” The following ideas are parts of my student experience that I found important to the topic of motivation.

Having a Friendly Teacher

The warmth of my teacher is one of the first memories I have in relation to the guitar. I remember very clearly the first time I went to my teacher Diana Chagalj’s house. I was sitting on my mom’s lap, watching other children playing music, playing games, and enjoying the lessons. I wanted to be a part too.

The relevance of having a friendly teacher has been researched by scholars. In subsequent interviews with the same group of families in the earlier research cited (Davidson et al. 1996), a 1998 study found that students who sustained the learning process had a friendly, relaxed, and chatty teacher. In order to sustain it at higher levels, it was important to have a teacher who encouraged them to work, pushed them to try new challenges, and whom they considered a good teacher and a good player.

Another important motivator is having a teacher and a family who believe in your potential. This is called the Pygmalion effect, and it has been well-documented in research studies. When you have people around you who really believe that you can do something, you will have higher possibilities. This is one of the strongest elements of the Suzuki Method: we believe that every child can, and that is why we make it possible.

Sharing with Others

Music is one of the most beautiful things to share with others. When I was a child, I used to love having group lessons, participating in festivals, playing with kids from other parts of the world, attending master classes, and sharing music during family visits. My grandma loved “Greensleeves,” so I would prepare this song for her every time she visited my family. I had practiced it previously, so her presence was a good motivator for review.

Additionally, having master classes is very motivating. I remember all of the master classes I played in as a student, and even what the different teachers told me. Positive feedback in a master class has a compounding effect. When a student’s individual teacher tells them something positive, it is like adding one block to their self-esteem; but when a teacher during a master class says something similar, it is like adding four blocks.

Concerts have an expansive effect because they motivate us before (in the rehearsals, group lessons, practices, etc.), during, and after the concert, remembering the ones that we enjoyed the most. María Callas said: “An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I’ve left the opera house.”

One final idea on the topic of sharing music with others is the importance of having musical friends. Having a group of friends and sharing music with them was one of the things that was most enjoyable in my adolescence. It is very positive for students, not only for their lives, but also for their music learning, because they will play music at home and with their friends too. Teachers should strive to promote spaces for social interaction between students, both during and after the lessons.

Learning to Listen

In our busy lives, taking time to listen to our own sound is very important. If we use a little time in our lessons to do sound exercises, the students will be more motivated to work on their tone, and they will listen to others with more attention.

Learning Step by Step

When I was around nine or ten years old, I used to go to a church where a group played the guitar and sang. I had started studying guitar around one year before, so I played one note at a time. When I saw them, I thought “I want to be part of the ensemble.” I went to some rehearsals and they were very friendly with me, they showed me how to play chords but for me, it was very difficult to play. I only went three or four times and then I didn’t continue. This contrasted greatly with my lessons with Diana, which she carefully designed so that I could learn step by step.

Learning Pieces by Ear

It is an incredible pleasure to learn to play a piece that you have listened to before and always wanted to learn. I remember that when I was a child, I used to listen to the advanced students playing “Allegro Vivace” by Giuliani, the last piece of Book Five, and I used to wonder if it would ever be possible for me to play it. When I finally learned to play it, it was an amazing experience.

To conclude, I would like to mention Robert Woody’s study, “The Motivations of Exceptional Musicians” (2004), in which he interviewed high level musicians. From his findings, he created the following list of suggestions for teachers to motivate students to grow musically:

• Expose young children to music by providing positive musical experiences.
• Teach young musicians with friendliness, warmth, and encouragement.
• Allow young musicians to interact with their musical peers.
• Provide opportunities for students to perform for an audience.
• Encourage parents to supervise children as they practice.
• Teach students how to set goals and monitor their own progress as they practice.

I believe that now research is finding results in accordance with the same things that Dr. Suzuki observed long ago. I hope this article will be helpful for other teachers and families. I will be grateful for my entire life for all the Suzuki Method has given to me, and I’m forever grateful to my family, my teacher Diana, and the entire Suzuki community.

References

Davidson, Moore, Sloboda and Howe. 1998. “Characteristics of Music Teachers and the Progress of Young Instrumentalists.” Journal of Research in Music Education 46, no. 1 (February) http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3345766

Davidson, Moore, Sloboda and Howe. 1996. “The Role of Parental Influences in the Development of Musical Ability.” British Journal of Developmental Psychology 14: 399-412.

K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf T. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer. 1993. “The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance.” Psychological Review 100(3): 363-406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0033-295X.100.3.363.

Woody, Robert. 2004. “The Motivations of Exceptional Musicians” Music Educators Journal 90(3) [url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3399950]http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3399950[/url].