Even Tone Deaf Children can be Developed

Has Simon given your child a "thumbs down?" Does he sing like a frog?  Or what about you?  Were those sweet lullabies you "tried" to sing to your child more of a punishment than a sweetness?  No problem, help is on the way.  

When Suzuki was working with a tone deaf child, he discovered that both his mother and grandmother were singing to him out of tune, so the child developed a bad "ear".  No wonder the poor chap couldn't twinkle!  

Rather than trade the mom and grandma in, he decided to expose the little boy to songs in tune and repeated the training over and over again.  The child was able to actually retrain his ear.  He was able to give a public recital in Canada years later.  Aaah success!  I know Simon would have given a thumbs up.  

 Now, how to keep the mum and granny quiet... ( O.K. that last part wasn't in the book)

My recap on Ability Development from Age Zero by Shinichi Suzuki, p. 7-8. 

Accomplished! Book Recitals

Once in a while, the little guys who work so hard need to be recognized.  Our hard working students had book recitals on Feb. 2, 2008.  Congratulations to students, parents and teachers.

Maggie Whitehurst: Flute Book 1

Austin Doering: Cello Book 3

Wesley Hale: Cello Book 3

Arik Burke: Violin Book 1

Allie Joiner: Violin Book 1

Sarah Krause: Violin Book 1

Priya Desai: Violin Book 4

Allison Wang: Violin Book 1

Brianna Nied: Violin Book 1

Yeah!! Good job everybody!!

All Japanese children speak Japanese!

My thoughts on:  Age Ability from Age Zero, by Shinichi Suzuki, p. 4 

Isn't he cute?  He probably even says, "KO- Nee- CHee-Waa" without any prompting from his mother.  How do I know this?  Well, it's because way back when he was a baby, he was listening to his mama and papa talking in Japanese.  In fact, he's even been listening since the womb.  

He probably won't give a lot of evidence that he understands much of it until his points and grunts don't cut it anymore.  He'll have to speak if he wants a little more Nori or tofu.  Pretty soon, he'll be corrected: here and little and there a little, until he's a fully communicating Japanese boy.  

Suzuki discovered this amazing thought, and it was totally a "gestalt" for him-- an "ah ha" moment.  This helped him discover the "mother-tongue approach" to learning.  

So, the next time your children say something, consider this: they heard it-- probably from you.

  

A sprout of talent...

The following thoughts are just my recap from the book Ability Development from Age Zero, by Shinichi Suzuki.  

Talent is not inborn; it is carefully cultivated.  Inside the little sprout up there lies the full capacity for a beautiful plant.  There also lies the possibility of it being completely dead if not nurtured at all.  

Good parents will recognize this need to cultivate their children like tiny plants.  Most of what is recognized as "natural ability" is the result of good teaching from an early age.  

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I suppose if we really believed this, there would be some changes to the amount of time our children spend doing mindless things.  What exactly does it mean to cultivate the mind of a child?  We'll be exploring these issues as we go through the book.  

A new wave!

A new Wave is starting around the Suzuki Mom blog. 

First,  I'd like to take a little time each week to summarize some of the thoughts of Suzuki's teaching for parents.  No, I'm not going to give you boring old book reports.  It will just be a few nuggets here and there... hopefully not too pre-digested.  

Also, if I can get Marti, our director, to give us a word of wisdom now and again, I'd like to post a "Marti's Meanderings"  or a "Marti's Mondays" or something great like that.  It's always nice to hear from an expert once in a while!  If you are not a Music Academy of Rockford College reader, you can just skip these.  

Thanks for your patience as I hone my blogging skills and learn what is most valuable for my reader base.  I'm encouraged to see how many people read the blog.  Don't be shy.  Leave a comment once in a while.