Beautiful Hearts
By Laura Tagawa, ASA President
“Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.” --- Shinichi Suzuki
There are many ways one can interpret beauty, whether in art or music or in human beings. Suzuki believed the two are the same and that through music, one can develop a beautiful heart. Of course parents and teachers see evidence of this in their homes and studios, where students come together to share their music together. On a daily level, it can sometimes be difficult to remember though. At times practicing can be a challenge, or a certain song can be a challenge. At these moments it may seem as though learning the notes is the goal, but rather it’s the process of the journey that leads us to the beautiful hearts.
“Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill.”--- Shinichi Suzuki
“Any child can be developed, it depends on how you do it.” --- Shinichi Suzuki
“Beautiful tone, beautiful heart.” --- Shinichi Suzuki
Suzuki gives us many tools for achieving musical development and growth including his philosophy of learning, a fine collection of repertoire, recordings and lots of “words of wisdom.” Suzuki wrote books such as Nurtured by Love and Ability Development from Age Zero which give teachers and parents valuable insight and inspiration.
We also have tools both nationally and locally to broaden our Suzuki experiences. The Suzuki Association’s web-site provides valuable information about the approach as well as current listings of upcoming summer institutes listings and teacher training courses (http://suzukiassociation.org). Our own Arizona Suzuki Association gives parents and teachers a chance to get involved locally. We provide a current list of Arizona Suzuki teachers, information about upcoming events around the state, a booklist, interesting links and informative articles in our newsletters. We encourage our members to share news of events and participate in state-wide events. This will build a strong sense of community and provide exceptional opportunities for growth and inspiration for our students.
Suzuki’s dream of creating beautiful people through music continues to be realized in Arizona and around the world.
“When love is deep, much can be accomplished.” --- Shinichi Suzuki
“Music exists for the purpose of growing an admirable heart.” --- Shinichi Suzuki
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