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Date: | Tue, 12 Jan 1999 17:14:15 -0600 |
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Professor Purl writes:
>Little things here and there in list postings keep poking at my values.
>The latest is the conjecture that the Suzuki method may play some part
>in the recent development of a disproportionate number of juvenile female
>Asian violinists . . .
>
>I wonder how humanely parental it is to pressure children to abandon
>pursuits natural to their age in order to devote themselves to the ordeal
>of mastering a musical instrument. It would seem it is more important to
>become a whole adult than to become a prodigy.
I am by no means an expert on Suzuki, nor am I at all uncritical of it,
although my teaching institution is home to one of the largest Suzuki
programs in the Midwest. Even so, I can confidently say that it is not and
never has been the purpose of the Suzuki method to produce prodigies, or
even professional musicians of any kind. Dr. Suzuki designed his approach
in part as a way to foster positive bonding experiences between parents and
children, and a large part of the method is predicated on the notion that
young children will learn music most naturally if they learn it the way
they learn their "mother toungue." The assumption is that there is talent
in each and every child waiting to be unlocked, and that this talent is
there as a source of enjoyment and enrichment, whether the child becomes a
professional musician or simply remains, in the truest sense of the word,
an "amateur," one of the 'kenner und liebhaber" for whom C.P.E. Bach was
pleased to write.
>The work of a child is to play. Play is a serious business by which the
>mind and character and morals are formed, as is the body as well. It is
>business best transacted with peers. Though adults and their values have
>a crucial part in the development of a successful human being, so too do
>childish juvenile peers in the crucibles of childhood and adolescence.
If you've ever been around a big Suzuki program on a Saturday morning,
you'll know that there is as much "playing" and as much kid-to-kid
camaraderie in the course of all the lessons, classes and ensembles
as you'll find on any ball field. I've accompanied enough Juilliard
Pre-College lessons and judged enough Midwestern piano competitions to know
that there are many parents who push their children into music in misguided
and even tragic ways. It's sad that too many people automatically assume
that a talented kid is obligated to turn their focus towards the prodigy
circuit. Music is far too important to waste only on professionals.
However, I'm almost willing to bet that for every pathological Suzuki
parent in our program, there are at least five parents out on the soccer
fields of Wheaton and Naperville loudly and loutishly wringing all the
childhood joy out of their kids' athletic experiences.
DPHorn, who happily teaches his share of non-majors.
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